vail village arts The impoverished hill town of Mon is in a gorgeous setting but feels like a frontier town. There s a

oHotel Tripura Castle HISTORIC HOTEL $$$ (%2501111; Cleve Colony; s/d from 3600/3720, ste 7200; aiW) Tucked away on a wooded hillside is the distinctively turreted summer villa of the former Tripura maharajas. It s this private castle that features in hotel brochures, but accommodation is actually in a mostly new, if pseudo-heritage building behind. Pine-framed rooms have a gently stylish vibe with period furniture and a level of service that s hard to beat. For the full maharaja experience opt for a suite. The hotel is 2.5km southeast of the centre.

Tawang town is a transport hub and service centre for the valley s villages; its setting is more beautiful than the town itself. Nonetheless, colourful prayer wheels add interest vail village arts to the central old market area. These are turned by apple-cheeked Monpa pilgrims, many of whom sport traditional black yak- wool gurdam (skullcaps that look like giant Rastafarian spiders). In the market area is M/S Cyber (per hr 30; h9am-6pm), which has internet sometimes. vail village arts There s an SBI Bank with an ATM just past the market on the road to the monastery.

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 vail village arts market is well worth exploring 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 vail village arts visited, yet easy to reach, village with a friendly headman, a couple of human skulls left over from headhunting days and

For many a year accommodation in Mon meant the friendly, but sadly very scrappy and slightly overpriced Helsa Cottage (%9436433782; r from 1000) run by Aunty. At the time of research Aunty was about to shut the old place down and open a new (as yet unnamed) hotel near the market area. Another venture is the confusingly named Helsa Resort (%9436000028; r 1000), a couple of kilometres out of town on the road to Myanmar. It consists of four traditional vail village arts thatched vail village arts Konyak huts with springy bamboo floors, sparse furnishings and hot water by the bucket. Its generator is a huge plus. All the accommodation options vail village arts serve meals.