ski pagosa springs Forty-five kilometres north of Kohima is the small town of Tuophema, which can make a useful overnig

From a distance Aizawl (pronounced eyezole) seems a painted backdrop to an Italian opera, such is the steepness of the ridge on which it s perched. Backs of homes at road level might be held there with stilts three times higher than their roofs.

HEAD HUNTERS Throughout northeastern India and parts of western Myanmar the Naga tribes ski pagosa springs were long feared for their ferocity in war and for their sense of independence both from each other and from the rest of the world. Intervillage wars continued as recently ski pagosa springs as the 1980s, and a curious feature of many outwardly modern settlements is their treaty stones recording peace settlements between ski pagosa springs neighbouring communities. It was the Naga s custom of headhunting that sent shivers down the spines of neighbouring peoples. The taking ski pagosa springs of an enemy s head was considered a sign of strength, and a man who had not claimed a head was not considered a man. Fortunately for tourists, headhunting was officially outlawed in 1935, with the last recorded occurrence in 1963. Nonetheless, severed heads are still an archetypal artistic motif found notably on yanra (pendants) that originally denoted the number of human heads a warrior had taken. Some villages, such as Shingha Changyuo in Mon district, still retain their hidden collection of genuine skulls. Today Naga culture is changing fast, but it was not a government ban on headhunting that put an end to this tradition but rather the activities of Christian missionaries. Over 90% of the Naga now consider themselves ski pagosa springs Christian.

From the main bus station (Mancotta Rd) both ASTC and private buses depart for Sivasagar ( 51 to 69, two hours, frequent 6am to 9am), Jorhat ( 130, three hours, frequent 6am to 9am), Tezpur ( 260, six hours) and Guwahati ( 380, 10 hours).

Forty-five kilometres north of Kohima is the small town of Tuophema, which can make a useful overnight stop on the road to Mon if you leave Kohima late in the day. Although the town itself is nothing special, the