hotel les chalets H2O (Mancotta Rd; mains 80-120, beers from 80) is an upstairs bar-restaurant with elements of spaces

H2O (Mancotta Rd; mains 80-120, beers from 80) is an upstairs bar-restaurant with elements of spaceship decor. For a break from the rigours of the Indian road you ll fi nd a branch of Caf Coffee Day on HS Rd.

oHotel Gakyi Khang Zhang (%224 647; r from 1320), a couple of kilometres out of town on the road to the monastery, offers far and away the best rooms in town colourful sky-blue affairs with polished wooden floors. There s a decent restaurant (mains 80-120) hotel les chalets and the staff are great fun. It also has good monastery views, a generator and, most bizarrely, a lounge bar/nightclub complete with throbbing strobe lights!

Sumos have their booking counters in Jenkins Rd and run to Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh ( 250, eight hours) and Tawang ( 500, 15hrs). Bargain for a private taxi in the same street for the Eco-Camp at Potasali ( 1500) and Kaziranga ( 1500). A little further on is the bus station (Jenkins Rd) with frequent hotel les chalets services to Guwahati ( 140 to 150, five hours), Jorhat ( 100, four hours) and Kohora hotel les chalets for Kaziranga ( 45, two hours).