chalet shanghai Built since 1972, Arunachal s pleasantly green, tailor-made capital is named for the mysterious Ita

Built since 1972, Arunachal s pleasantly green, tailor-made capital is named for the mysterious Ita Fort whose residual brick ruins crown a hilltop above town. There s a stack of ATMs in Mahatma Gandhi Marg, along with several internet cafes.

Carved out of Assam in 1972, hilly Meghalaya (Abode of Clouds) is a cool, pine-fresh contrast to the sweaty Assam plains. Set on dramatic horseshoes of rocky cliff above the Bengal plains, Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram are statistically the wettest places on earth. Most of the rain falls between April and September, creating very impressive waterfalls and carving out some of Asia s longest caves.

Nestled before a curtain of luxuriantly forested foothills, Pasighat, which sits back out on the plains, feels more like Assam than Arunachal Pradesh. The town hosts the interesting Minyong-Adi tribe s Solung Festival chalet shanghai (1-5 September). The internet cafe (per hr 60; h7.30am-8pm) is 50m from the Hotel Aane and there s an SBI ATM just along from the sumo stand in the central market chalet shanghai area.