rotui some impressive traditional buildings all set, surreally, under two giant mobile phone towers. Shing

some impressive traditional buildings all set, surreally, rotui under two giant mobile phone towers. Shingha Chingyuo village (20km, population 5900) has a huge longhouse decorated with mithuna (pairs of men and women) and deer skulls, three stuff ed tigers, and a store of old human skulls. Longwoa (35km) is spectacularly sited on the India Myanmar border, with the headman s longhouse actually straddling the two nations. Despite its popularity with tourists it remains one of the most interesting villages. Chui (8km) includes an elephant skull in its longhouse collection. Shangnyu village has a shrine full of fertility references such as tumescent warriors, a crowing cock, a large snake, a man and woman enjoying sex and, to complete the picture, a double rainbow. Langmeang village, with its stack of human skulls piled up in a wooden box, is also highly impressive.

(http://tripura.nic.in/museum/welcome.html; Post Offi ce Circle; admission 2; h10am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Sat) has a variety of tribal displays plus some interesting musical instruments made from bamboo. The new Tripura State Tribal Museum (Lake Chowmuhani; admission free; h10am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Sat) has further displays of tribal dress.

The biggest, most cosmopolitan and, some might say, the most Indian city in the northeast, rotui Guwahati is an essential stop on any northeastern tour. A casual glance rotui might place Guwahati alongside any other Indian city but wander the back alleys around Jorpulkuri Ponds, away from the concrete jungle of the central business district, and you could almost imagine yourself in a village made up of ponds, palm trees, small single-storey traditional houses and old colonial-era mansions.

The impoverished hill town of Mon is in a gorgeous setting but feels like a frontier town. There s an SBI ATM in the town centre but don t rely on it working. The little village market is well worth exploring rotui and like so many markets in the northeast, it s the exotic food items that stick longest in the memory. Of the numerous tribal villages in the area the closest is Old Mon village, a mere 5km from town. Tamgnyu village (13km) is a rarely visited, yet easy to reach, village with a friendly headman, a couple of human skulls rotui left over from headhunting days and