vail village bars Iora; the Retreat HOTEL $$$ (%262411; www.kazirangasafari.com; s/d from 3300/3900; aiWs) Not quite a

560 NORTHEAST vail village bars TRIBAL vail village bars STATES AS S A M NORTHEAST TOURS The vast majority of foreign tourists visiting the northeast states vail village bars travel as part of an organised vail village bars tour, and indeed for four of the states vail village bars (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram), independent travel in the normal sense of the word is almost impossible. Instead, the only realistic way of getting permits is to enlist the services of a tour company. Once you have a permit, vail village bars travelling around independently is not normally vail village bars 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 booth runs a variety of city- and state-wide tours including 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 whose operations cover the whole of the northeast with tailor-made and fixed-itinerary tours. Organising permits is a speciality. Jungle vail village bars Travels India (off Map p554; %2667871, 9207042330; www.jungletravelsindia.com; 3b Dirang vail village bars Arcade, GNB Rd) Another experienced agency covering the entire northeast with tailor-made vail village bars tours and fixed-date departures. It organises all the permits, but can be slightly disorganised 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 tours in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It also offers two- to four-night river cruises. 4 Sleeping & Eating

Iora; the Retreat vail village bars HOTEL $$$ (%262411; www.kazirangasafari.com; s/d from 3300/3900; aiWs) Not quite as discreet as you may imagine a place named the Retreat to be, this vast new place, to the east of the tourist complex, is almost as big as the national vail village bars park itself, but despite this its deliciously quiet and subtly decorated rooms offer superb value for money. However, if you value a personal service you d best look elsewhere.