chalets st gervais 555 Guwahati Sights Eating 1 Assam State Museum. B2 15 Beatrix.C2 2 Courthouse. B2 16 Dhaba.D3 3 Dig

560 NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES AS S A M NORTHEAST TOURS The vast majority of foreign tourists 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 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 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; chalets st gervais Prashaanti Tourist Lodge, Station Rd) If you re staying only within Assam then Assam Tourism s commercial booth runs a variety chalets st gervais of city- and state-wide tours including day excursions to Hajo via the silk-weaving chalets st gervais centre of Sualkuchi. Network Travels (Map p554; %2605335; www.networktravelsindia.net; GS Rd; h5am9pm) A highly chalets st gervais experienced agency whose operations cover the whole of the northeast with tailor-made and fixed-itinerary tours. chalets st gervais Organising permits is a speciality. Jungle Travels India (off Map p554; %2667871, 9207042330; chalets st gervais www.jungletravelsindia.com; 3b Dirang Arcade, GNB Rd) Another experienced agency covering the entire chalets st gervais 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, chalets st gervais 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 chalets st gervais two- to four-night river cruises. 4 Sleeping & Eating

555 Guwahati Sights Eating 1 Assam State Museum. B2 15 Beatrix.C2 2 Courthouse. B2 16 Dhaba.D3 3 Dighulipukhuri Park. B2 17 Kurry Pot.D3 4 Guwahati Planetarium. B2 18 Paradise.D3 5 Kachari Ghat. B2 Tandoori. (see 9) 6 Umananda Mandir.B1 Drinking Activities, Courses & Tours 19 Caf Coffee 7 Network Travels. B3 Day.B2 8 Rhino Travels. A3 20 Trafik.D3 Traveller's Point. (see 13) Information Sleeping Assam Tourism.(see 13) 9 Dynasty. A3 10 Hotel Prag Continental. A2 Transport 11 Hotel Siroy Lily. B3 21 Blue Hill.B4 12 Hotel Suradevi. A3 22 Deep.B4 13 Prashaanti Tourist Lodge. B3 23 Kachari Bus 14 Sundarban Guest House. B3 Stand.B2