breckenridge ski and racquet club 560 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES AS S A M NORTHEAST TOURS The vast majority of foreign tourists visiting

The most accessible villages are the Konyak settlements around Mon. Traditional houses abound, and some villages have morungs and religious relics from pre-Christian times. Village elders may wear traditional costume and Konyak of all ages carry the fearsome-looking dao a crude machete used for headhunting right up until the mid-20th century. breckenridge ski and racquet club

560 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES AS S A M NORTHEAST TOURS The vast majority of foreign tourists breckenridge ski and racquet club visiting the northeast states travel as part of an organised tour, and indeed for four of the states (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram), independent breckenridge ski and racquet club 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, travelling around independently is not normally a problem, but you re unlikely breckenridge ski and racquet club 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 breckenridge ski and racquet club 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 breckenridge ski and racquet club Travels (Map p554; %2605335; www.networktravelsindia.net; GS Rd; h5am9pm) A highly breckenridge ski and racquet club experienced agency whose operations cover the whole of the northeast with tailor-made breckenridge ski and racquet club and fixed-itinerary tours. Organising permits is a speciality. breckenridge ski and racquet club Jungle Travels India (off Map p554; %2667871, 9207042330; www.jungletravelsindia.com; 3b Dirang Arcade, breckenridge ski and racquet club GNB Rd) Another experienced agency covering the entire northeast with tailor-made 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; breckenridge ski and racquet club 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

Khasi villagers have trained across streams to form natural pathways. Three of these root bridges (including an amazing double- decker ) are near Nongriat. Access involves breckenridge ski and racquet club a two-hour very steep trek down from Tyrna, a pretty, palm-clad village that s 2km from Mawshamok. From Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort the entire roundtrip hike takes eight hours, is highly strenuous and involves descending and ascending some 2000-odd steps (this particular breckenridge ski and racquet club author couldn t walk for two days afterwards!). The Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort provides maps.

Sitting almost halfway between Kohima and Mon most people sensibly choose to break their journey breckenridge ski and racquet club in laidback Mokokchung. Aside from enjoying the town s spectacular setting, try to make time for a couple of other low-key attractions including the small, privately run Rendikala Subong Museum (Town Hall Rd; admission 10), which contains tribal items collected from surrounding villages as well as what is purported to be the world s smallest Bible. The museum is open whenever someone turns up to see it. A couple of kilometres away is pretty Ungma village, where you ll find a couple of huge log drums and a cloud scrapping Jendong (a pole that helps connect people on Earth with the Gods high up in the skies). breckenridge ski and racquet club