kopaonik hotel The best of the couple of diff erent options are the tastefully renovated Banyan Grove (%9954451548;

Tripura s most iconic building, the 1930 Neermahal, is a long, red-and-white water palace (admission/camera/video 10/10/25; h8.30am-4pm, until 4.30pm Apr-Sep), which is empty but shimmering on its own boggy island in the lake of Rudra Sagar. Like its counterpart in Rajasthan s Udaipur, this

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

Assam s must-do attraction is an elephant safari to look for rhinoceros hiding in the expansive grasslands of this national park (h1 Nov-30 Apr, elephant rides 5.30-8.30am, jeep access 7.30am-noon & 2.30pm-dusk). Kaziranga s population of around 1855 Indian one-horned rhinos (just 200 in 1904) represents more than two-thirds of the world s total. The park consists of a western, central and an eastern range, but the central range is the most accessible, giving the best viewing chances for rhinos, elephants and swamp deer plus plenty of bird life (take binoculars).