the chalet restaurant Bus & Sumo Distance buses leave from the Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT) 8km east of Guwahati. Privat

Bus & Sumo Distance buses leave from the Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT) 8km east of Guwahati. Private bus operators run shuttle services from their offices to the ISBT. With extensive networks are Network Travels (%2522007; GS Rd), Deep (%2152937; Heramba Prasad Borua (HPB) Rd) and Blue Hill (%2601490; HPB Rd). All companies the chalet restaurant charge the same regulated fares.

oRi Kynjai HOTEL $$$ (%9862420300; www.rikynjai.com; Umiam Lake; r from 7200; a) In the local Khasi language ri kynjai means land of serene environments and this divine resort, on the banks of the Umiam lake, 22km from Shillong, is certainly that. Cottages lie scattered the chalet restaurant about the lush, green gardens and each is impeccably presented with lake views and bathrooms with deep bath tubs. There s also a spa, a decent restaurant and a bar that s perfect for sundowners.

SATRAS A satra is a monastery for Vishnu worship, Assam s distinctive form of everyman Hinduism. Formulated by 15th-century Assamese philosopher Sankardev, the faith eschews the caste system and idol worship, focussing on Vishnu as God, especially in his Krishna incarnation. Much of the worship is based around dance and melodramatic play-acting of scenes from the holy Bhagavad Gita. The heart of any satra is its namghar, a large, simple, prayer hall usually open sided and shaped like an upside-down oil tanker. Beneath the eastern end, an inner sanctum hosts an eternal flame, the Gita and possibly a horde of instructive (but not divine) images.

Khasi villagers have trained across streams to form natural pathways. Three of these root bridges (including an amazing double- decker ) are near Nongriat. Access the chalet restaurant involves a two-hour very steep trek down from Tyrna, a pretty, palm-clad village that s 2km from Mawshamok. From Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort the entire roundtrip hike takes eight hours, is highly the chalet restaurant strenuous and involves descending the chalet restaurant and ascending the chalet restaurant some 2000-odd steps (this particular author couldn t walk for two days afterwards!). The Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort provides maps.