Sunday, December 23, 2012

chalet alpin oHotel Mona Lisa (%2320416; Mancotta Rd; r 600-1500; a), part Africa, part Cuba and possibly even a





oHotel Mona Lisa (%2320416; Mancotta Rd; r 600-1500; a), part Africa, part Cuba and possibly even a little slice of India, is a superb budget hotel with character. It s set back from the main road and everything is kept ticking along smoothly thanks to the lovely old man running it.

The best of the couple of diff erent options are the tastefully renovated Banyan Grove (%9954451548; www.heritagetourism chalet alpin 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. It has wonderful lawns and verandas chalet alpin overlooking a tea estate and swimming pool. The site is 7km down rural tracks from Km442 on NH37 (Jorhat Deragaon Rd).

A peaceful lane winding chalet alpin through forested hills and tribal settlements links Ziro to Pasighat via Along. Highlights are dizzying suspension footbridges and thatched Adi villages around Along. Do be warned though that the attractions along this route are very low-key, the villagers around Along are much less welcoming to foreigners (and they don t sport the Apatanis tattoos and nose plugs) and the route, which involves three full days of travel, chalet alpin is very tiring. chalet alpin Unless you re going to be heading from Along to fabulous Mechuka or remote eastern towns and valleys such as Tuting or the Namdapha National Park then you may find this route something of a let down.

Other enchanting gompas and anigompas (nunneries) offer great day hikes from Tawang, including ancient if modest Urgelling Gompa where the sixth Dalai Lama was born. By road, it s 6km from Tawang town but closer on foot downhill from Tawang Gompa. At the time of research construction was almost complete on a chasm-spanning cable car that will link the monastery with an anigompa on the opposite side of the valley. There was no information available on whether it would be open to tourists.

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