creekside steamboat For many a year accommodation in Mon meant the friendly, but sadly very scrappy and slightly overpri

For many a year accommodation in Mon meant the friendly, but sadly very scrappy and slightly overpriced Helsa Cottage (%9436433782; r from 1000) run by Aunty. At the time of research Aunty was about to shut the old place down and open a new (as yet unnamed) hotel near the market area. Another venture is the confusingly named Helsa Resort (%9436000028; r 1000), a couple of kilometres out of town on the road to Myanmar. It consists creekside steamboat of four traditional thatched Konyak huts with springy bamboo floors, sparse furnishings and hot water by the bucket. Its generator is a huge plus. All the accommodation options serve meals.

With an oversized foyer better suited as a car showroom, Hotel Arun Subansiri (%2212806; Zero Point; creekside steamboat s/d 1100/1320; a) has comfortably large rooms with soft beds. It s within walking distance of the decent creekside steamboat State Museum (Indian/foreigner/camera/video 10/75/20/100; h9.30am-4pm Sun-Thu) creekside steamboat and the brightly decorated Centre for Buddhist Culture gompa set in gardens on the hill above.

The beautifully forested creekside steamboat hills around Itanagar hide the attractive Ganga Lake (5km), a local picnic spot. Further away (20km) is Poma village, which is about the closest place to town to see the traditional architecture of bamboo longhouses (although many of these are being slowly replaced with concrete box houses).