breckenridge village tyler Hotel Arini HOTEL $$ (%2301557; Upper Khatla; s/d from 800/1200; W) Only a small red sign announces

Two kilometres east of Hajo is a mosque sheltering the tomb of the multi-named Hazarat Shah Sultan Giasuddin Aulia Rahmatullah Alike who died some 800 years ago. Muslims need to walk (the less pious may drive) 4km up a spiral road to reach the mosque, which is architecturally unremarkable.

Tripura Sundari Mandir (h4.30am-1.30pm & 3.30-9.30pm), a 1501 Kali temple where a steady stream breckenridge village tyler of pilgrims make almost endless animal sacrifices that leave the grounds as bloody as the temple s vivid-red shikhara (Buddhist monastery). Even more people come here at the big Diwali festival (October/November) to bathe in the fishfilled tank by the temple. The temple is 100m east of the NH44, 4km south of Udaipur. breckenridge village tyler A rickshaw from Udaipur costs 50.

HEAD HUNTERS Throughout northeastern India and parts of western Myanmar the Naga tribes were long feared for their ferocity in war and for their sense of independence both from each other and from the rest of the world. Intervillage wars continued as recently as the 1980s, and a curious feature of many outwardly modern settlements is their treaty stones recording peace settlements breckenridge village tyler between neighbouring communities. It was the Naga s custom of headhunting that sent shivers down the spines of neighbouring peoples. The taking of an enemy s head was considered a sign of strength, and a man who had not claimed a head was not considered a man. Fortunately for tourists, headhunting was officially outlawed in 1935, with the last recorded occurrence in 1963. Nonetheless, severed heads are still an archetypal artistic motif found notably on yanra (pendants) that originally denoted the number of human heads a warrior had taken. breckenridge village tyler Some villages, such as Shingha Changyuo in Mon district, still retain their hidden collection of genuine skulls. Today Naga culture is changing fast, but it was not a government ban on headhunting that put an end to this tradition but rather the activities of Christian missionaries. Over 90% of the Naga now consider themselves Christian.

Hotel Arini HOTEL $$ (%2301557; Upper Khatla; s/d from 800/1200; W) Only a small red sign announces the Hotel Arini, named after the owner s daughter. The rooms are cheerily bright and fresh- looking, and the staff pleasant and obliging. Choose a back room with a stupendous down-valley view. They have a couple of very basic singles for a mere 200.