chalets village # SantiparaLakeWaterTankWaterTankHGBRdMantriBariRd MotorStand Rd Palace CompoundNorth (VIP Rd) Jagan

GARO HILLS The lush, green Garo Hills in the far west of Meghalaya are well off the beaten path. The towns are not visually distinctive, but most houses chalets village in small hamlets remain traditionally fashioned chalets village from bamboo-weave matting and neatly cropped palm thatch. The Garo Hills are easier to visit from Guwahati than from Shillong. Sprawling Tura is the western Garo Hills regional centre and an unhurried transport hub. The tourist office (%03651-242394; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri) is 4km away towards chalets village Nazing Bazaar. Friendly staffoffer brochures and sketchy maps, and arrange guides for anywhere chalets village in the Garo Hills, including a three-day hike to Nokrek Biosphere Reserve where it s possible to watch for Hoolock Gibbons from a traditional-style borang (Garo tree house). There are some cheap and not very cheerful places to stay near the market in Tura or, for something a little more comfortable, try the Rikman Continental (%03651-220744; Circular Rd; s/d from 900/1080; ai). Almost on the Bangladesh border, Baghmara is the southern Garo Hills district centre. From Baghmara you can visit the Balpakhram National Park, 45km away, but jeep and guide hire will have to be organised in Tura.

# SantiparaLakeWaterTankWaterTankHGBRdMantriBariRd MotorStand Rd Palace CompoundNorth (VIP Rd) Jagannath Bari Rd (JB Rd) Akhaura Rd BK Rd BKRd Old Thana La SakuntalaRd CRRd Central Rd LN Bari Rd 1 7 6 8 2 4 5 3 312312ABBAAgartala e To Interstate Bus Terminal (3km) To International Bus Terminal (200m) To Tripura State Tribal chalets village Museum (300m) To Ginger & Geetanjali Guest House (2km) 0 200 m 0 0.1 miles 6# #

Remote, culturally magical and scenically spectacular, Tawang is the archetypical Shangri La and a mountain-hopping journey through this, the lands of the Monpa (a people of Buddhist-Tibetan origin) to the gates of the famous chalets village Tawang chalets village Monastery is one of the northeast s greatest adventures.

Once you leave the outskirts chalets village of Shillong the road to Cherrapunjee passes through pretty scenery that becomes dramatic at Dympep viewpoint, where a photogenic V-shape valley slits deeply into the plateau.