beau chalet Shri Govindajee Mandir & Around HINDU TEMPLE The 1776-built Shri Govindajee Mandir, with two rather

Travelling to Dibrugarh beau chalet ( tea-city ) usefully closes a loop between Kaziranga and the Ziro Along Pasighat route and is the terminus (or starting point) for the fascinating ferry ride along the Brahmaputra beau chalet to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. Dibrugarh is a rapidly growing city with a new road and rail bridge being built at Bogibeel Ghat (originally scheduled to open in 2008, it s now unlikely to be ready for some years to come) that will extend the railway system to north of the Brahmaputra. beau chalet

The biggest attraction is magical Tawang Gompa (admission free, camera/video 20/100; hdawn-dusk) backdropped by snow-speckled peaks. Founded in 1681, this medieval citadel is reputedly beau chalet the world s second-largest Buddhist monastery complex and famed in Buddhist circles for its library. Within its fortified walls, narrow alleys lead up to the majestic and magnifi cently decorated prayer hall containing an 8m-high statue of Buddha Shakyamuni. Come here at dawn (4am to 5am) to see row after row of monks performing their early morning prayers. Across the central square is a small but interesting museum beau chalet ( 20; h8am-5pm) containing images, robes, telescopic trumpets beau chalet and some personal items of the sixth Dalai Lama. Spectacular beau chalet chaam (ritual masked dances performed by some Buddhist monks

Shri Govindajee Mandir & Around HINDU TEMPLE The 1776-built Shri Govindajee Mandir, with two rather suggestive domes, is a neo- Vaishnavite temple with Radha and Govinda as the presiding deities. Afternoon beau chalet puja (offerings, prayers) is for one hour at 4pm in winter and 5pm in summer.

Tripura beau chalet s low-key capital, with its small- town atmosphere, feels like an India of yesteryear. The pace of life is much slower than in the towns and cities of the Indian heartlands and people are much more likely to swerve across the street to wish you a good day than to try and sell you something. The old quarter, which centres on the Ujjayanta Palace, has some impressive town gates and pretty tanks and gardens. Durga puja is celebrated with huge pandals (temporary temples built from wood and cloth).