chalet spa Razhu Pru HERITAGE HOTEL $$ (%2290291; Mission Compound, Kohima Village; d from 1800; aW) An old fam

Ahom artefacts and nearby Assam Tourism (h10am-5pm Mon-Sat, closed 2nd & 4th Sat) in the good-value Tourist chalet spa Lodge (%2321579; MG Rd; s/d 578/683), which has tiled floors, chalet spa mosquito nets and enthusiastic staff who know how to use cleaning products.

The biggest, most cosmopolitan and, some might say, the most Indian city in the northeast, Guwahati is an essential stop on any northeastern tour. A casual glance might place Guwahati alongside any other Indian city but wander the back alleys around Jorpulkuri Ponds, away from the concrete jungle of the central business district, and you could almost imagine yourself chalet spa in a village made up of ponds, chalet spa palm trees, small single-storey traditional houses and old colonial-era mansions.

RAFTING IN THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY Another newly opened route is the Pasighat to Tuting road. This route is all about two things: the River Siang and the mysterious Buddhist chalet spa land of Pemako. Tuting, which sits near the Tibetan border, is the point at which the Tsang Po river having left the Tibetan plateau and burrowed through the Himalaya chalet spa via a series of spectacular gorges enters the Indian subcontinent and becomes the Siang (once it reaches the plains of Assam it turns into the Brahmaputra). Tuting and the River Siang are starting to gain a reputation as one of the world s most thrilling white-water rafting destinations, but this ain t no amateurs river. The few people who have descended the river have reported that the 180km route is littered with numerous grade 4-5 rapids, strong eddies and inaccessible gorges. For those after adventure of a different kind Tuting also serves as the launch pad for searching out the legendary Buddhist land of Pemako. You will, however, need more than this guidebook and a compass in order to find it. Buddhist belief says that Pemako is a synonym for a hidden earthly paradise and that it s the earthly representation of Dorje Pagmo, a Tibetan goddess. It was said that this land of milk and honey was to be found in the eastern Himalaya and that to reach it you had to pass behind an enormous hidden waterfall. For hundreds of years outsiders knew that the Tsang Po river left Tibet and entered a huge, and utterly impenetrable, gorge before emerging from the Himalaya around Tuting, but what happened to the river inside that gorge was unknown until the 1950s. As it turned out the river did indeed chalet spa tumble chalet spa over an enormous waterfall and, what s more, it passed chalet spa through a rich and fertile valley chalet spa populated by Memba Buddhists, completely isolated from the rest of the world. Today, this vast region of northern Arunachal Pradesh and parts of south eastern Tibet remains almost utterly unknown to the outside world, but Pemako is out there and for those willing to endure days of incredibly tough hiking (and deal with reams of paperwork) it is possible to visit.

Razhu Pru HERITAGE HOTEL $$ (%2290291; Mission Compound, Kohima Village; d from 1800; aW) An old family house that s been lovingly converted into a heritage chalet spa hotel filled with tribal arts and antiques. We thought the sleek white deluxe rooms ( 2200) offered the best value.