bottlehouse cabins ruidoso FACIAL TATTOOING Historically famous for their beauty, Apatani women were all too often kidnapped by

FACIAL TATTOOING Historically famous for their beauty, Apatani women were all too often kidnapped by warriors of the neighbouring Nishi tribes. As a defence , Apatani girls were deliberately defaced. They were given facial tattoos, like graffitied beards scribbled onto living Mona Lisa paintings, and extraordinary nose plugs known as dat fitted into holes cut in their upper nostrils. Some men also have tattoos. Peace with the Nishis in the 1960s meant an end to that brutal practice, but many older women still wear dat. Photography bottlehouse cabins ruidoso is an understandably sensitive issue, so ask first. Some Apatani women have had cosmetic surgery to remove their tattoos.

1 Sights Ujjayanta Palace PALACE (admission 5; h5-7pm) Agartala bottlehouse cabins ruidoso s indisputable bottlehouse cabins ruidoso centrepiece is this striking, dome-capped palace. Flanked by two large refl ecting ponds, the whitewashed 1901 edifice was built by Tripura s 182nd maharaja. It looks particularly impressive floodlit at night, but for security reasons only the gardens are open to the public. bottlehouse cabins ruidoso

Framing itself as the Khasi cultural bottlehouse cabins ruidoso centre, Smit hosts the major fi ve-day Nongkrem Festival (October). This features animal sacrifices and a curious slow-motion shuffling dance performed in full costume in front of the thatched bamboo bottlehouse cabins ruidoso palace of the local syiem (traditional ruler). Smit is 11km from Shillong, 4km off the Jowai road.