elk ridge ski From a distance Aizawl (pronounced eyezole) seems a painted backdrop to an Italian opera, such is th

Iora; the Retreat HOTEL $$$ (%262411; www.kazirangasafari.com; s/d from 3300/3900; aiWs) Not quite as discreet as you may imagine a place named the Retreat to be, this vast new place, elk ridge ski to the east of the tourist complex, is almost as big as the national park itself, but despite this its deliciously quiet and subtly decorated rooms offer superb value for money. However, if you value a personal service you d best look elsewhere.

FACIAL TATTOOING Historically famous for their beauty, Apatani women were all too often kidnapped by warriors of the neighbouring Nishi tribes. As a defence , Apatani girls were deliberately defaced. They were given facial tattoos, like graffitied beards scribbled onto living Mona Lisa paintings, and extraordinary nose plugs known as dat fitted into holes cut in their upper nostrils. elk ridge ski Some men also have tattoos. Peace with the Nishis in the 1960s meant an end to that brutal practice, but many older women still wear dat. Photography is an understandably sensitive issue, so ask first. Some Apatani women have had cosmetic surgery to remove their tattoos.

From a distance Aizawl (pronounced eyezole) elk ridge ski 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.