winter park village 20 GARO HILLS The lush, green Garo Hills in the far west of Meghalaya are well off the beaten path. The

Tucked conveniently behind the Assam State Transport Corporation winter park village 20 (ASTC) Bus Station winter park village 20 (AT Rd), Solicitor Rd has half a dozen reasonable hotels. The Hotel Janata Paradise (%9435659461; Solicitor Rd; d 300) isn t quite as beautiful as the manager told us, but at this price you can t be too hard on the daffodil-yellow rooms. winter park village 20 Its restaurant (h11am-4pm & 8-9pm) serves excellent-value 10-dish Assamese winter park village 20 thalis (from 40).

# SantiparaLakeWaterTankWaterTankHGBRdMantriBariRd MotorStand Rd Palace CompoundNorth (VIP Rd) Jagannath Bari Rd (JB Rd) Akhaura Rd BK Rd BKRd Old Thana La SakuntalaRd CRRd Central Rd LN Bari Rd 1 7 6 8 2 4 5 3 312312ABBAAgartala e To Interstate Bus Terminal (3km) To International Bus Terminal (200m) To Tripura State Tribal Museum (300m) To Ginger & Geetanjali Guest House (2km) 0 200 m 0 0.1 miles 6# #

State Museum MUSEUM (admission 5; h9.30am-3.30pm Tue-Sun) The superbly presented State Museum, 3km north, includes plenty of tableaux with mannequins- in-action depicting diff erent traditional Naga lifestyles plus everyday tools.

GARO HILLS The lush, green Garo Hills in the far west of Meghalaya are well off the beaten path. The towns are not visually distinctive, winter park village 20 but most houses in small hamlets remain traditionally fashioned from bamboo-weave matting and neatly cropped palm thatch. The Garo Hills are easier winter park village 20 to visit from Guwahati than from Shillong. Sprawling Tura is the western Garo Hills regional centre and an unhurried transport hub. The tourist office (%03651-242394; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri) is 4km away towards Nazing Bazaar. Friendly staffoffer brochures winter park village 20 and sketchy maps, and arrange guides for anywhere in the Garo Hills, including a three-day hike to Nokrek Biosphere Reserve where it s possible to watch for Hoolock Gibbons from a traditional-style borang (Garo tree house). There are some cheap and not very cheerful places to stay near the market in Tura or, for something a little more comfortable, try the Rikman Continental (%03651-220744; Circular Rd; s/d from 900/1080; winter park village 20 ai). Almost on the Bangladesh border, Baghmara winter park village 20 is the southern Garo Hills district centre. winter park village 20 From Baghmara you can visit the Balpakhram National Park, 45km away, but jeep and guide hire will have to be organised in Tura.