mon chalet hotel denver Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and,

The great muddy-brown Brahmaputra River s ever-shifting puzzle of sandbanks includes Majuli, which at around 421 sq km (2001 figures) is India s largest river island (many locals will tell you that Majuli is the world s largest river island, but in fact this honour belongs to Brazil s Bananal Island). Size aside, what there is no doubting is Majuli s sheer beauty. The island is a relaxed, shimmering mat of glowing rice fields and water meadows bursting with flowers. Aside from relishing the laidback vibe that permeates island life, highlights of a visit include birdwatching and learning about neo- Vaishnavite philosophy at one of Majuli s 22 ancient satras (Hindu Vaishnavite monasteries and centres mon chalet hotel denver for art). If all this makes Majuli sounds like your kind of place then don t waste time getting there surveys indicate that at current levels of erosion the island will cease to exist within 20 years.

CENTRAL ARUNACHAL S TRIBAL GROUPS The variety mon chalet hotel denver of tribal peoples in central Arunachal Pradesh is astonishing, but although the Adi (Abor), Nishi, Tajin, Hill Miri and various other Tibeto-Burman tribes consider themselves different from one another most are at least distantly related. Over the last few decades Christian missionaries have been highly active mon chalet hotel denver throughout the Northeast and in the process have brought huge changes to the region s traditional cultures, religious beliefs and ways of life. Despite this, some aspects of the traditional lifestyle are just about holding on and many people continue to practise the traditional religion of Donyi-Polo (sun and moon) worship sometimes at the same time as proclaiming themselves Christian. For ceremonial occasions, mon chalet hotel denver village chiefs typically wear scarlet shawls and a bamboo wicker hat spiked with porcupine quill or hornbill feathers. A few old men still wear their hair long, tied around to form a topknot above their foreheads. Women favour hand-woven mon chalet hotel denver wraparounds like Southeast Asian sarongs. House designs vary somewhat. Traditional Adi villages are generally the most photogenic with luxuriant palmyra-leaf thatching and boxlike granaries stilted to deter rodents.

This Jewelled mon chalet hotel denver Land is home to Thadou, Tangkhul, Kabul, mon chalet hotel denver Mao Naga and many other tribal peoples, but the main grouping is the predominantly neo-Vaishnavite Meitei. Manipuris are famed for traditional dances, spicy multidish thalis and the sport of polo which they claim to have invented. Manipur s forested hills provide cover for rare birds, drug traffickers mon chalet hotel denver and guerrilla armies, making it by far the Northeast s most dangerous state.

Voyaging to the Ziro Valley is one of the undisputed highlights of a trip to Arunachal Pradesh and, though the scenery is stunning and the village architecture fascinating, the voyeuristic main attraction here is meeting the friendly older Apatani mon chalet hotel denver folk who sport facial tattoos and nose plugs that would be the envy of any tattooist in the West (see p 566 ). The most authentic Apatani villages are Hong (the biggest and best known), Hijo (more atmospheric), Hari, Bamin and Dutta; none of which are more than 10km apart. It s vital to have a local guide to take you to any of these villages otherwise you won t see much and might even be made to feel quite unwelcome. Christopher Michi (%9402048466/8014012558; christopherdulley@ yahoo.co.in/christophermichi@hotmail.com) is the chairman of the Apatani Cultural Preservation Society and can organise superb visits to the villages don t be at all surprised if your tour culminates in an evening of drinking rice wine and chowing down on barbequed rat in a villager s house!