international city chalets 567 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES W E S T E R N A R U N AC H A L P R A D E S H THE LAST SHANGRI LA? Recent

567 NORTHEAST TRIBAL international city chalets STATES W E S T E R N A R U N AC H A L P R A D E S H THE LAST SHANGRI LA? Recently the government of Arunachal Pradesh has opened up a couple of new areas to foreign tourists. Possibly the most exciting of these is the road from Along to the small, remote town of Mechuka, international city chalets close to the Tibetan border. In the past the Mechuka valley, which until recently had no real road connecting it to the rest of the state, was called the forbidden valley or even a Last Shangri La. Populated by the Buddhist Memba peoples, Mechuka, sitting on the banks of the West Siang River, lives up to its Last Shangri La status and is notable for both the 400-year-old Samten international city chalets Yongcha Monastery and the stunning landscapes surrounding the town, which culminate in a massive hulk of snow- draped mountains running along the border. For the moment tourist facilities (and tourists!) remain virtually non-existent but sumos now ply the 180km from Along ( 300, seven hours, 5.30am). The only accommodation international city chalets is the Circuit House, but if that is unavailable then it s likely that local people international city chalets will put you up be generous in your donation. the owners of which have realised that it is possible to buy new tins of paint a fairly revolutionary international city chalets thought for many hotels international city chalets in the northeast. Otherwise try the plusher

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

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

CROSSING INTO BANGLADESH AT AGARTALA Border international city chalets Hours The border at Agartala is open from 7am to 6pm. Foreign Exchange There s no exchange booth and Agartala banks don t sell Bangladeshi taka, so changing money is hit and miss; ask local traders or border offi cials. Onward Transport From central Agartala the border is just 3km along Akhaura Rd ( 50 by rickshaw). On the Bangladesh side the nearest town is Akhaura, 5km beyond, reached by baby taxi (autorickshaw). From Akhaura trains head to Dhaka, Comilla and Sylhet. Coming eastbound, be sure to pay your Bangladeshi departure tax at a Sonali bank before heading for the border. Visas Unhelpful, but the northeast s only Bangladesh visa office (%2324807; Airport Rd, Kunjaban; happlication 9am-1pm Mon-Thu, 9am-noon Fri, collection same day 4pm) hides down a small lane in Agartala, about 2km north of the Ujjayanta international city chalets Palace.