From Lumla, 42km towards Zemithang, helicopters ( 3000, two hours, hMon-Sat) fly to Guwahati. APST buses leave Tawang 5.30am Monday and Friday for Tezpur ( 290, 12 hours), calling cliff cove chalet at Dirang ( 130, six hours), Bomdila ( 170, seven hours) and Bhalukpong ( 240, 10 hours). More frequent public sumos to Tezpur ( 500) depart at dawn.
Silk Route HOTEL $$ (%2503301; www.hotelsilkroute.com; Keating Rd; s/d from 1200/1440; W) This small hotel has memorably cliff cove chalet colourful rooms kept ship-shape by the enthusiastic cleaners. The stylish bathrooms contain big rain showers. It s popular, so book ahead.
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 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!
Air India (%2264420, Ganeshguri), IndiGo Airlines, Jet Airways (%2633252; Tayebullah Rd), Kingfisher and SpiceJet fly to Guwahati from most major Indian cities (often with a stopover in Kolkata). Getting into town from Guwahati s orderly Lok-Priya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport costs 500/100/70 for taxi/shared taxi/airport bus.
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