shadow ridge condominiums A peaceful lane winding through forested hills and tribal settlements links Ziro to Pasighat via Alo

CENTRAL ARUNACHAL S TRIBAL GROUPS The variety of tribal peoples in central Arunachal Pradesh is astonishing, but although the Adi (Abor), Nishi, Tajin, Hill Miri and various other Tibeto-Burman tribes consider themselves different from one another most are at least distantly related. Over the last few decades Christian missionaries have been highly active throughout the Northeast and in the process have brought huge changes to the region s traditional cultures, religious beliefs and ways of life. Despite this, some aspects of the traditional lifestyle are just about holding on and many people continue to practise the traditional religion of Donyi-Polo (sun and moon) worship sometimes at the same time as proclaiming themselves Christian. For ceremonial occasions, village chiefs typically wear scarlet shawls and a bamboo wicker hat spiked with porcupine quill or hornbill feathers. A few old men still wear their hair long, tied around to form a topknot above their foreheads. Women favour hand-woven wraparounds like Southeast Asian sarongs. House designs vary somewhat. Traditional Adi villages are generally the most photogenic with luxuriant palmyra-leaf thatching and boxlike granaries stilted to deter rodents.

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

Two kilometres east of Hajo is a mosque sheltering the tomb of the multi-named Hazarat Shah Sultan Giasuddin Aulia Rahmatullah Alike who died some 800 years ago. Muslims need to walk (the less pious may drive) 4km up a spiral road to reach the mosque, which is architecturally unremarkable.

A peaceful lane winding 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) shadow ridge condominiums and the route, which involves three full days of travel, is very tiring. Unless you re going to be heading shadow ridge condominiums from Along to fabulous Mechuka or remote eastern towns and valleys shadow ridge condominiums such as Tuting or the Namdapha National Park then you may find this route something of a let down.