restaurant chalet The ASTC bus station (AT Rd) has frequent services to Sivasagar ( 35 to 45, 1 hours), Tezpur ( 120 t

oCherrapunjee Holiday Resort HOTEL $$ (%09436115925; www.cherrapunjee.com; Laitkynsew village; d 1480-1800; iW) With seven eminently comfortable rooms, this resort is run by truly delightful hosts. They off er a selection restaurant chalet of hikes, either self-orientated (using their hand-drawn maps) or with a local guide. Built on a ridge, rooms either look down to Bangladesh or up to the escarpment. During peak times tent accommodation ( 600) is available with shared bath

The ASTC bus station (AT Rd) has frequent services to Sivasagar ( 35 to 45, 1 hours), Tezpur ( 120 to 140, four hours) and Guwahati ( 260, eight hours, eight buses 6am to noon; buses pass Kaziranga en route).

The biggest attraction is magical Tawang Gompa (admission free, camera/video 20/100; hdawn-dusk) backdropped by snow-speckled peaks. Founded in 1681, this medieval citadel is reputedly restaurant chalet the world s second-largest Buddhist monastery complex and famed in Buddhist circles for its library. restaurant chalet Within its fortified walls, narrow alleys lead up to the majestic and magnifi cently decorated prayer hall containing an 8m-high statue of Buddha Shakyamuni. Come here at dawn (4am to 5am) to see row after row of monks performing their early morning prayers. Across the central square is a small but interesting museum ( 20; h8am-5pm) containing images, robes, telescopic trumpets and some personal items of the sixth Dalai Lama. Spectacular chaam (ritual masked dances performed by some Buddhist monks

Tripura is culturally and politically fascinating, and the state s handful of royal palaces and temples draw a growing flow of domestic tourists. For the moment though foreign tourists remain very rare indeed. There s a large Bangladeshi refugee population in Tripura restaurant chalet and much of the more accessible western parts of the state look and feel much like its near neighbour.