moonlight chalets The best of the couple of diff erent options are the tastefully renovated Banyan Grove (%9954451548;

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 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 visited, yet easy to reach, village with a friendly headman, a couple of human skulls left over from headhunting days and

The best of the couple of diff erent options are the tastefully renovated moonlight chalets Banyan Grove (%9954451548; www.heritagetourism india.com; s/d 6272/7280; lunch 350, dinner 450; s). Dating from the late 19th century, its rooms are crammed with antiques and the drawing room is straight out of a Victorian period drama. moonlight chalets It has wonderful lawns and verandas overlooking a tea estate and swimming pool. The site is 7km down rural tracks from Km442 on NH37 (Jorhat Deragaon Rd).

The Pinewood moonlight chalets Hotel (Rita Rd), a 1920s tea- growers retreat, is particularly representative and looks great at night. The 1902 All Saints moonlight chalets Cathedral (Kacheri Rd) would look perfect pictured on a biscuit tin. Located nearby, the turreted Das-Roy House (closed to the public) lurks behind a traffic circle that harbours five forgotten Khasi monoliths as well as a mini Soviet-style globe monument.