timber ridge townhomes Around 500m from Shivadol a gaggle of hotels line AT Rd, the most appealing of which is the surprisi

Around 500m from Shivadol a gaggle of hotels line AT Rd, the most appealing of which is the surprisingly swish Hotel Shiva Palace (%222629; hotelshivapalace@rediffmail.com; s/d from 715/825; a), incorporating a decent restaurant, the Sky Chef Restaurant (mains 70-180).

Khasi villagers have trained across streams to form natural pathways. Three of these root bridges (including an amazing double- decker ) are near Nongriat. Access involves timber ridge townhomes 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 strenuous and involves descending and ascending some 2000-odd steps (this particular author couldn t walk for two days afterwards!). The Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort provides maps.

560 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES AS S A M NORTHEAST TOURS The vast majority of foreign tourists visiting the northeast states travel as part of an organised tour, and indeed for four of the states (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram), independent travel in the normal sense of the word is almost impossible. Instead, timber ridge townhomes the only realistic way of getting permits is to enlist the services of a tour company. Once you have a permit, travelling around independently is not normally a problem, but you re unlikely to find a tour company who ll help you get permits without fi rst hiring a car and driver/guide from them, thus making real independent travel in the permit states pretty much impossible. Most tour companies are based in Guwahati and all of the following can organise permits and tours throughout the northeast. Traveller s Point (Map p554; %2604018; www.assamtourism.org; Prashaanti Tourist Lodge, Station Rd) If you re staying only within Assam then Assam Tourism s commercial timber ridge townhomes booth runs a variety of city- and state-wide tours including timber ridge townhomes day excursions to Hajo via the silk-weaving centre of Sualkuchi. Network Travels (Map p554; %2605335; www.networktravelsindia.net; GS Rd; h5am9pm) A highly experienced agency timber ridge townhomes whose operations cover the whole of the northeast with tailor-made and fixed-itinerary tours. timber ridge townhomes Organising permits is a speciality. Jungle Travels India (off Map p554; %2667871, 9207042330; www.jungletravelsindia.com; 3b Dirang Arcade, GNB Rd) Another timber ridge townhomes experienced agency covering the entire northeast with tailor-made tours and fixed-date departures. It organises all the permits, but can be slightly disorganised timber ridge townhomes in this regard. With two boats, it runs Brahmaputra cruises (see www.assambengalnavigation.com) for four to 10 nights at US$350 per person per night, and also runs the Bansbari Lodge in Manas National Park. Rhino Travels (Map p554; %2540666; www.rhinotravels.com; M Nehru (MN) Rd) This agency offers set-date timber ridge townhomes tours in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It also offers two- to four-night river cruises. 4 Sleeping & Eating timber ridge townhomes