Secret Seven: 7 hideaways in the North East

ANURAG MALLICK and PRIYA GANAPATHY go off the beaten track in India’s North East to come up with some hidden gems

So you’ve done the Tibetan monastery trail from Tawang to Gangtok, the train ride on the DHR (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway), tea bungalow stays in Upper Assam, the orchids of Sikkim, wildlife safaris at Kaziranga, and now wonder if the Seven Sisters have anything else to offer. You’d be surprised that there are still a few secret nooks in India’s exotic North East that remain shy of the teeming masses.

Mechuka
Tucked away in the upper mountain folds of Arunachal’s West Siang district, Mechuka lies closer to the Chinese border than any town in India. Named after the hot springs in the area (men means medicine, chu is water while kha literally means snow or mouth), Mechuka is reached after a circuitous drive from Aalo. The Siyom or Yargyap chu river snakes across the wide plateau surrounded by an amphitheater of hills with bamboo bridges lined with Tibetan prayer flags. Being an advanced landing ground (ALG) for the Indian Army, you wake up to the sound of bagpipes and military drills as wild horses neigh in the fields. Before the road was built, the airstrip was the only access to the village. Stay at Nehnang Guest House and visit Tibetan monasteries like Samden Yongjhar gompa and Dorjeling gompa; the latter has a mud statue spanning two floors, besides the cave where Guru Nanak is believed to have meditated 500 years ago on his journey to Tibet.

Getting there: 180 km from Aalong (Aalo)

Damro
Located on the back road from Pasighat to Yingkiong, the tiny hamlet of Damro is home to the longest hanging bridge in Arunachal Pradesh swaying over the Yamne river. Surrounded by terraced fields is Yamne Eco Lodge, a cluster of thatched bamboo houses run by Oken Tayeng of Abor Country Travels & Expeditions. Hike 40 minutes to the bridge and encounter Adi Padam herders heading to the forests to tend to their mithun, a semi-domesticated bovine. Visit the original village of the Adi Padam tribe and get an insight into their unusual Donyi-Polo culture dictated by sun and moon worship. Watch sprightly men wield daos (machetes) with ease as women carry firewood or harvested crops in beyen (cane baskets). Try the local staple of smoked pork, lai (leafs), raja chili chutney, apong (rice beer) and if you are lucky, experience their local festivals like Sollung or Etor livened by song and dance.

Getting there: 74 km from Pasighat
Ph 9863553243 Email aborcountry@gmail.com www.aborcountrytravels.com

Nongriat
While Mawlynnong has gained much acclaim for its tag as the ‘cleanest village in Asia’ and its pretty living root bridge Jing Kieng Jri, Meghalaya has a huge wealth of natural wonders. At Nongriat, a deep descent from Laitkynsew down 2500 steep steps, past aquamarine pools set in a boulderscape, lies a double-decker bridge. It was shaped over centuries by entwining the fast growing aerial roots of the Ficus elastica tree. Every local passerby would spontaneously twirl new wiry tendrils around older ones, in keeping with an unwritten ancient code of strengthening the natural latticed structure over time. Dangling above a pretty pool, like a tiered necklace swinging in the tree canopy, Umshiang, the double-decker living root bridge, never fails to leave any visitor awestruck. Dip your feet in the pool for a natural fish spa with butterflies wafting around. If you are up for another hour of trekking, you can catch the Rainbow Falls, another major highlight in Nongriat. While there are pocket-friendly community-run guesthouses in Nongriat, Cherrapunji Resort in Laitkynsew is a good base. Run by Dennis Rayen, an old-timer in hospitality, he’s well versed in birding, local excursions and meteorological data of the region, displayed on the walls.

Getting there: Cherrapunji (called Sohra locally) is a 56km drive from Shillong
Cherrapunjee Resort, Laitkynsew www.cherrapunjee.com

Hoollongopar Gibbon Sanctuary
Named after the profusion of hoolong trees (Dipterocarpus macrocarpus) in the area, the Hoollongopar sanctuary is the only one in the country dedicated to the protection of India’s sole ape species, the Hoolock Gibbon. Surrounded by tea plantations and a railway line, this tiny pocket was once connected to larger tracts of forests in neighbouring Nagaland. Despite its shrinking habitat, the park is a good place to spot Hoolock Gibbons besides troupes of Stump-tailed Macaque, Assamese Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, Pig-tailed Macaque, Capped Langur and Bengal Slow Loris. There’s also a Forest Rest House where visitors can stay overnight and set out for an early morning nature trail. For a more luxurious stay, try Thengal Manor at Jalukonibari on the outskirts of Jorhat.

Getting there: 27km from Jorhat
Heritage North East Ph 18001239801 www.heritagetourismindia.com

Siiro
While Ziro has garnered much attention for its music festival, nearby Siiro leads a life of relative obscurity. The pretty little village is home to an organic farmstay called Abasa, run by a charming couple Kago Kampu and Kago Habung. Staying with an Apatani family helps guests gain insights into the centuries-old techniques of paddy cultivation of the fascinating tribe, recognizable by their facial tattoos and cane nose plugs. The facial mutilation was apparently done to deter raiding tribes from abducting the beautiful women! Stay on the 10-hectare farm growing kiwi, tomato, cabbage, babycorn and rice as you get a crash course on the paddy-cum-fish farming of the Apatanis. Fish and rice form the staple with unique dishes like suddu yo, a mixture of chicken mince and egg yolk cooked on fire in tender bamboo stems, dani apu komoh or kormo pila, a chutney made of roasted sunflower seeds, yokhung chutney made of Xanthallum berries, peeke, a dish of bamboo shoots, pork and tapiyo (local vegetarian salt made from charred lai or maize leaf which is their secret to being slim) besides the local brew apong, made of fermented millet and rice.

Getting there: Siiro is 3km from the old town of Hapoli near Ziro, district headquarters of Lower Subansiri, 118 km from the capital Itanagar via NH-229.
Ph 03788-225561, 94024 60483 Email abasahomestay@gmail.com

Dzukou Valley
Cradled between the borders of Manipur and Nagaland above 2000m, Dzukou Valley is an ecological haven that is home to the endemic Dzukou lily. Named dzukou or ‘soul-less and dull’ by disillusioned Angami ancestors after a disappointing harvest; others contend it means ‘cold water’ in the local dialect, ascribing it to the icy streams that run through it. The beauty of Dzukou Valley is unsurpassed, earning its more popular tag as the Valley of Flowers of the North East. Accessed by a tough hike across the Japfu Peak from the heritage village of Khonoma in Nagaland, the valley is a pristine paradise that attracts birders and trekkers alike. En route stop at the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary, set up to protect the endangered Blyth’s Tragopan. Khonoma is incidentally the country’s first green village where hunting and tree logging are strictly banned. Other access points are the villages of Viswema and Jakhama. Entry to Dzukou valley (Rs 50 for Indians, Rs 100 for foreigners) is paid at the Rest House, which also offers basic accommodation for a reasonable fee. A better option is staying at Meru Homestay in Khonoma run by Angami couple Krieni and Megongui who happily rustle up traditional Naga cuisine. Go on heritage walks around the 700-year-old village and listen to stories of valour in the land of headhunters.

Getting there: Khonoma lies 20km south west of Kohima which can be reached via NH39 from Dimapur, 74km away.
Ph Meru’s Homestay Ph 0370-2340061, Baby’s Homestay Ph 9436071046, Michael Megorissa local co-ordinator and guide Ph 9856125553

Kewzing
Overlooking snowy peaks of the Eastern Himalayas, Kewzing is a scenic village in Sikkim perched at 1700m and surrounded by cardamom fields and forested tracts. Hike to hot water springs in the area or head on walking trails to Doling, Barfung, Bakhim and Mambru villages, besides birdwatching trips to Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary and the monastery trail to Kewzing and Ravangla. The altitudinal variation between the Rangit river valley (350m) and the highest hill Maenam (3500m) harbours nearly 200 bird species, including the Satyr Tragopan and Fire-tailed Myzornis. Bon Farmhouse, a 6-acre family-run farm helmed by brothers Chewang and Sonam Bonpo is the perfect roost where farm produce like maize, buckwheat, finger millet, green peas, rice, wheat, potato, pumpkin, beans and lettuce is stirred up into delicious home-cooked meals. Fresh eggs and milk, butter, cottage cheese, curd and buttermilk from the farm’s Jersey cows also land up at the table. The forest abounds with wild edible foods and the monsoon adds seasonal delights like tusa (bamboo shoots), kew (mushrooms) and ningro (wild ferns). Try Sikkimese delicacies like kinama (fermented soyabean), gundruk (fermented spinach) and fisnu (stinking nettles). Enjoy a hot stone herbal steam bath in a dotho, infused with wild medicinal plants collected from the forest.

Getting there: 127 km from Bagdogra Airport
Ph +91 9735900165, 9547667788, 9434318496 www.sikkimbonfarmhouse.com

Authors: Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy. This article appeared in The New Indian Express Indulge in December 2018. 

 

 

Bagan-time: Jorhat tea bungalow trail

ANURAG MALLICK and PRIYA GANAPATHY live the plantation life of a ‘Burra Sahib’ on a tea bungalow trail around Jorhat in Assam

The mist shimmied slowly in the tea gardens as we sipped orange pekoe – prepared the English way as “propah tea” should be – in the spacious verandah of our heritage bungalow. Tossing a cursory glance at local ladies getting about their daily business of plucking ‘two leaves and a bud,’ it was hard not to feel like a Burra Sahib.

We were after all in the ‘Burra Sahib’s Bungalow’ in the tea-town of Jorhat. Unlike the rest of India, the tea gardens of Assam do not follow Indian Standard Time (IST). In this eastern nook, the sun rises early so the British introduced a local system that was an hour ahead of IST. This was ‘Tea Garden Time’ or simply Bagan-time.

Assam is the largest tea-growing region in the world and the tea gardens stretched as far as the eye could see. We were at Sangsua, one of the seven South Bank estates ‘south’ of the Brahmaputra run by the B&A Group of the prominent Khongiya Barooah family of Upper Assam. Renovated into Kaziranga Golf Resort, the main bungalow served as the Club House with a Heritage Suite while eight colonial style Golf Cottages overlooked pretty flower gardens and sprawling greens. Designed by Ranjit Nanda, the 150-acre golf course was truly a first of its kind in the world – located in the midst of a tea garden!

Before tea, this region was a wild tract ruled by the Ahom kings. In 1794, Gaurinath Singha shifted his capital from Sibsagar to Jorhat but a series of Burmese invasions from 1817 destroyed the new commercial metropolis. By 1823, the British arrived on the scene. While trading in the region, Scottish adventurer Robert Bruce found the tea bush growing wild and noticed local Singhpo tribesmen brewing tea from its leaves.

The British East India Company defeated the Burmese and took over the region from the Ahoms in 1826. The leaves from the Assam tea bush were properly examined in Calcutta’s Botanical Gardens and it wasn’t long before the first English tea garden was established at Chabua in Upper Assam by 1837.

Assam’s geographic conditions were ideal for growing tea. The clayey soil in the low-lying floodplains of the Brahmaputra river valley was rich in nutrients. The climate varied between a cool, arid winter and a hot, humid rainy season, ensuring a lengthy growing season. This tropical climate contributed to the unique malty taste of Assam tea. All these factors, coupled with generous rainfall, made Assam one of the most prolific tea-producing regions in the world. Each year, Assam’s tea estates produce over 6.8 billion kg of tea! At its peak, there were over 1500 tea plantations dotting the Assam valley; today there are about 800.

The tea industry and early planters inadvertently brought about a sea change in the region – the introduction of railways, golf, the discovery of oil and the creation of Kaziranga, the home of the one-horned rhino! For a small unassuming town, Jorhat has many firsts to its credit. Jorhat Gymkhana Club, dating back to 1876, is the oldest golf course in Asia and the third oldest in the world.

The Tocklai Tea Experimental Station – the world’s oldest and largest – was established here in 1911. Jorhat was the first town in Upper and Central Assam to have electricity in 1923! The GI-AA-X, piloted by Barnard Leete, was the first aeroplane to land in the northeast in 1928 at Jorhat. Yet, there’s not much to see or do here besides using it as a transit point for Majuli Island and tea trails.

We picked up the nuances of tea tasting at Sangsua Tea Estate before heading to Gatoonga Tea Factory to see the leaf’s fascinating journey from bush to cup. After collection, the tea leaves are spread on wire mesh racks in the withering shed and allowed to dry, then processed through a CTC machine which ‘crushes-tears-curls’ the leaves, which are left on trays for fermentation and oxidation for an hour or so and finally dehydrated in a drying machine.

The plucked leaf is processed into black tea within 24 hours and sorted into varying grades within the next 24. The tea is then passed on a conveyor belt with vibrating mesh trays so that the tea dust falls right through and the rest are sorted into primary and secondary grades.

After our tea factory visit, we moved from the erstwhile Burra Sahib’s Bungalow to the Mistry Sahib’s Bungalow, the old abode of the Factory Assistant Manager. Built over a century ago and spread over 2 hectares, it had been renamed Banyan Grove after the massive banyan tree behind the sprawling bungalow. Jorhat’s charm lies in its lovely tea bungalows, some of which are open to guests.

Just 5km from the city center is the beautiful Chameli Memsaab Bungalow, named after the award winning 1975 Assamese movie that was shot here. It was based on Nirad C Chaudhuri’s tale on the relationship between a British planter and a local plucking girl, a common theme back then.

The way silver tips is considered the champagne of teas, we were primed for the crème de la crème of heritage properties. Pioneer native tea planter Rai Bahadur Siva Prasad Barooah constructed Thengal Manor in 1929 at Jalukonibari, a village where pepper (jaluk in Assamese) was once cultivated. It served as the nerve centre of cultural and literary activities of many cultural icons of Assam.

In 1931, the talkie film Alam-Ara was screened here, becoming the first Indian film to be shown in Jorhat. This was where ‘Dainik Batori’, the first Assamese daily was launched. Though the newspaper and printing press are defunct, the bungalow managed to survive two earthquakes and one world war!

Set in an immaculate lawn, the façade of the palatial homestead resembled the Pantheon in Rome rather than a planter’s home in Assam. The hallway had black and white pictures of the Barooah family and the living room was decorated with riches collected from the Far East.

The red oxide floors with colourful tiles gleamed like mirrors as we soaked in the luxury of sleeping in antique beds and dining on excellent home cooked fare. The sprawling estate had a beautiful remembrance garden enshrining the mortal remains of their ancestors.

Soon, we set off to explore the Hoolongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, home to India’s only ape, the Hoolock Gibbon. We scoured the endemic hoolong trees to spot the flagship species but also ended up spotting its other creatures – the stump-tailed macaque, pig-tailed macaque, Assamese macaque, rhesus macaque and capped langur. The forests echoed with the whoops and calls of the simians. While most of Assam’s wilderness has given way to manicured tea gardens, this small 8 square mile patch seemed to be holding out.

While exiting we stopped at a small roadside chai stall. It was not the refined near-ceremonial experience we had grown accustomed to. No tea cosies and delicate English crockery to gaze hypnotically at milk swirling into the liquor. This was milky tea over brewed with spices and served in a well-worn glass; yet the full-bodied taste of Assam tea lingered on our lips…

FACT FILE 

Getting there
Jet Airways flies direct to Jorhat via Guwahati (55 min). Sangsua Tea Estate and Gatoonga Tea Factory are 16km from Jorhat while Thengal Manor is at Jalukonibari, 15km from Jorhat towards Titabor, from where Gibbon Sanctuary is 19km.

When to Go
Tea harvesting is a year-round activity – the “first flush” is picked in March, the “second flush” in May-June, followed by the summer flush (July-September) post rains and the autumnal flush (October-November), the year’s final harvest.

Where to Stay
Banyan Grove, Jorhat
Thengal Manor, Jalukonibari
Ph 033-22651388
www.heritagetourismindia.com
Tariff Rs.6,500 upwards

Kaziranga Golf Resort
Sangsua Tea Estate, Gatoonga
http://kazirangagolfresort.in
Tariff Rs.6,500

Chameli Memsaab Bungalow
Cinnamara, Mariani Road, Jorhat
Ph 094355 84958

For more info
Assam Tourism
Ph 0361-2633654
www.assamtourismonline.com
www.tourism.assam.gov.in

Authors: Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy. This article appeared as part of the Cover Story ‘Jewels of the North East’ in the September 2018 issue of JetWings magazine.

15 reasons why India’s North East is unique

There’s more to the North East than pretty orchids, tea plantations and one-horned rhinos. It is a region of astonishing cultural and ecological diversity, geological wonders and unusual traditions, discover ANURAG MALLICK and PRIYA GANAPATHY. 

Ima Keithel, Imphal’s all-women market
Long before Mary Kom, Manipur had shattered the glass ceiling through Imphal’s Khwairamband Bazaar, an age-old celebration of womanpower. Founded in late 16^th century by Khagemba Maharaj of Manipur, the keithel (market) is run exclusively by more than 3000 imas (mothers), hence its popular name Ima Keithel. Forget men, even young unmarried women are not allowed to run a stall. Hawking fruits, vegetables, farm produce, fish and Manipuri handlooms, the tough mommas drive a hard bargain. A few thousand imas also run the Lakshmi and New Market complexes nearby.

Jet Airways flies to Imphal

Betting at teer (traditional archery) in Shillong
Archery stakes are an ancient tradition in Shillong that evolved from a tribal sport. Held twice a day (except Sunday) at Polo Ground’s Saw Furlong, archers from various clubs of Khasi Archery Association shoot 1500 arrows within four minutes at a cylindrical bamboo target. Arrows that hit the target are carefully counted before an eager audience. Betters choose two numbers. Say, if you bet ten rupees and get one number correct, you get Rs.800, but if you get both right you pocket a cool Rs.45,000! This legalized betting earns the government tremendous revenue, provides employment opportunities to locals and is a unique experience for visitors and punters.

Jet Airways flies to Guwahati, which has connections to Umroi Airport, 30km from Shillong

The world’s largest existing family in Mizoram
If you wish to meet the world’s largest existing family that has featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not, head to Baktawng, a remote habitat in hilly Mizoram. On the town’s outskirts, Pu Zionnghaka or Ziona lives in a four-storied mansion with his 39 wives, 94 children, 14 daughters-in-law and 33 grandchildren, 180 inmates and counting. Ziona is the Chief of Chana Pawl, a unique Christian sect established in 1942 by his father Khuangtuaha that practices polygamy. His wives sleep with him in turns as per a roster. Ziona has named all his children and grandchildren and remembers every family member by name!

Jet Airways flies to Kolkata, which has direct flights to Lengpui Airport near Aizawl, from where Baktawng is 70km

Mawlynnong, the cleanest village in Asia
Neat rows of houses peep over floral hedges and the village road gleams in welcome. Mawlynnong, a small village of 600 people on the Indo-Bangla border is tagged ‘God’s Own Garden’ for good reason. A conical cane basket for trash hangs outside each home. Dotted with Presbyterian churches and Khasi sacred sites pre-dating Christianity, the area is ironically covered with phool jhadu or broom grass (thysanolaena maxima). Stay at Mawlynnong Guest House & Machan for your local explorations.

Jet Airways flies to Guwahati, which has connections to Shillong from where Mawlynnong is 90km on the road to Dawki

The inscrutable phallic totems of Dimapur
Located by the banks of the Dhansiri river, Dimapur was the capital of the Kachari kingdom in 10^th century before the Ahoms invaded it in 13^th century. Not much of Rajbari remains, barring the brick gateway, with strange phallic totems in a fortified complex that have baffled archaeologists and historians alike. Topped by a mushroom-like hemispherical capital, the towering pillars bear ornamental bands, carvings of swords, daggers, flowers and geometric patterns. These Chessman Figures are believed to be fertility symbols or graves that represent ancestor worship.

Jet Airways flies to Dimapur

The living root bridges of Meghalaya
In Meghalaya’s remote hill tracts, Living Root Bridges are innovative modes of crossing mountain streams. Fast growing roots of the ficus elastica tree are entwined to create a mesh bridge across rivulets. It is an unsaid rule that any passing villager diligently twists fresh tendrils around an older root, allowing it to entangle and strengthen over time. Some root bridges are so strong they have been lined with stone pavers! Meghalaya has many centuries-old root bridges including a double-decker root bridge at Laitkynsew near Cherrapunjee.

Jet Airways flies to Guwahati, which has connections to Umroi Airport, 30km from Shillong

Spot India’s only ape, the Hoolock Gibbon
Owing to the overlap between the Indo-Tibetan, Indo-Malayan and Indo-Gangetic gene pools, the North East is blessed with great diversity. Besides rare birds and mammals, it is home to an exclusive wildlife sanctuary dedicated to the Hoolock Gibbon, the only ape species found in India. The Hoolongopar Gibbon Sanctuary is also a good place to spot troops of Stump-tailed Macaque, Assamese Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, Pig-tailed Macaque, Capped Langur and Slow Loris.

Jet Airways flies to Jorhat, from where the sanctuary is 27km

Kohima’s (in)famous Keeda bazaar
Kohima is the bustling capital of Nagaland but nowhere will you find the crowd as lively as its Supermarket or Keeda Bazaar (Insect Market). Wriggling and buzzing wasps, woodworms, silkworm larvae, eels in tubs, frogs zorbing inside plastic packets and insects hatching in the hives, this is ‘live’ action on full blast. The creepy-crawly bazaar is a top draw for tourists. Curious about what they taste like? Catch a local who will cook it fresh at home as restaurants don’t usually serve them.

Jet Airways flies to Dimapur, from where Kohima is 69km

Semoma, the ‘strongest fort in the North East’
Walking through the 700-year-old Angami village of Khonoma near Kohima, the sight of a small fortification of rough-hewn stone makes you wonder why the British called it the strongest fort in the North East. Originally built in 1825, it staved off British attacks in the first Anglo-Naga war in 1850. In 1879, the killing of British political agent GH Damant resulted in the Battle of Khonoma. The villagers booby-trapped the mountain and escaped to the top. After a stalemate, the British settled for a peace treaty, ending half a century of fighting. Each time the fort was destroyed; it was rebuilt (in 1890, 1919 and 1990) and rose phoenix-like, in defiance, a proud symbol of Naga pride.

Jet Airways flies to Dimapur, from where Khonoma is 73km

Ambubachi Mela, Kamakhya temple’s tantrik festival
Guwahati’s Kamakhya Temple is a revered Shakti pitha (seat) where a subterranean rock cleft is worshipped as Goddess Sati’s yoni (vulva). During the rains, the swollen Brahmaputra causes the rivulet flowing over the stone shrine to turn muddy red, symbolizing menstruation. During the fertility festival Ambubachi Mela or Ameti, the sanctum is shut for three days, scriptures are read and devotees do not cook or farm. After a ritual bath, the devi regains purity and angadhak (holy spring water) and angabastra (stained red cloth) are distributed as prasad. Aghoris, babas and tantriks attend the four-day mela in June to alleviate their occult powers.

Jet Airways flies to Guwahati

Headhunting village of Touphema
Right near the entry to Touphema village in Nagaland stands a large tree called Terhütsiibo (War head tree) where enemy heads once hung as war trophies. Local guide KV explained that in the old days of headhunting collecting the scalp of your enemy meant you gained his power. The village community runs an ethnic resort with wood huts bearing Naga symbols like mithun and goblets that represented vigour and prosperity. Sekrenyi Festival (25-27 Feb) is a nicer option than the more touristy Hornbill Festival.

Jet Airways flies to Dimapur and a 2hr bus ride from Kohima leads to Touphema via Botsa

 

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Built between 1879 and 1881, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) is the oldest of India’s Mountain railways. It was also the first of the lot to be declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999. The 88km narrow gauge from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling chugs along at 12 km/hr, a charming journey of loops, reverses, spirals and zig-zags past tea plantations and views of snow-capped peaks. Creak past Agony Point to Ghum, India’s highest railway station as the track bisects fruit stalls in its magical ascent to Darjeeling.

Jet Airways flies to Bagdogra Airport at Siliguri, from where New Jalpaiguri is 17km

Majuli, one of the largest riverine islands in the world
One of the largest riverine islands in the world, Majuli’s ecological and cultural landscape is unique. Its geographic isolation and serene atmosphere attracted Vaishnava reformer-saint Srimant Shankardev (1449-1568) who set up Majuli’s first satra (monastery) at Belguri. With patronage from Ahom kings, these spiritual centres flourished and ignited an artistic revolution in Assam. However, each year, the Brahmaputra consumes chunks of Majuli’s riverbank, shrinking the island from its original 1,200 sq km to half its size. Belguri has long sunk into the Brahmaputra, but Bhogpur is Majuli’s oldest surviving satra, established by Shankardev in 1528 while Garamur, Auniati, Kamalabari and Chamaguri satras are also noteworthy. Visit during the annual Raas Leela (Oct-Nov).

Jet Airways flies to Jorhat, 12km from Nimati Ghat, from where ferries are available for Majuli

The fascinating Apatanis of Arunachal
With distinct facial tattoos and cane nose plugs, the Apatanis have intrigued the outside world. The disfigurement was done to make Apatani women less desirable to neighbouring raiders! Unlike other nomadic tribes, Apatanis are settlers who cultivate permanent terraced wetlands instead of jhum (slash and burn) cultivation. They don’t till their fields but use an ancient irrigation technique. Surplus water drains off from one terrace to the next while a nala (drain) running through the fields is stocked with fish. This paddy-cum-fish farming ensures year-round food supply. Hong, 6km from Ziro, is the largest village of the Apatani plateau. During the annual Myoko Festival in March, revellers swing high in the air on jungle vines tied between babos (festive bamboo poles) erected by every clan.

Jet Airways flies to Guwahati, from where Ziro is 450km

Meghalaya, India’s top spelunking hotspot
Not many know that Meghalaya is among the world’s Top 10 destinations for spelunking or caving. Record rainfall and a profusion of limestone hills in the south of the state have blessed it with 1350 caves, formed over thousands of years. Running over 400 km, the caves are among the deepest, longest and largest in the Indian subcontinent. Explore an underground realm of stalagmites, stalactites, cave curtains, candles and cave pearls. Maswmai Caves near Cherrapunjee in the Khasi Hills is easily accessible while Shnongrim Ridge in the Jaintia Hills is riddled with cave passages like Krem Liat Prah, the longest natural cave in India.

Jet Airways flies to Guwahati, which has connections to Umroi Airport, 30km from Shillong

The dothos of Sikkim
The northeast bubbles with hot sulphur springs used as traditional medicine for soothing nerves, body aches and joint pains. Sikkim is known for its ethnic hot stone bath called dotho where stones are heated and infused with Himalayan herbs in a hot tub of menchu, or medicinal water, in the local Bhutia dialect. Neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh has a place called Menchuka, named after these medicinal springs. In North Sikkim, enjoy a natural bath at riverside huts at Yumthang on the River Lachung, Yume Samdong near Donkia-la Pass (25km from Yumthang), Reshi (25km from Gyalshing) on the Rangeet River and Kah-do Sang phu (Cave of the Occult Fairies). Soak in a dotho while staying at Kewzing Bon Farmhouse and Biksthang Heritage Farmhouse.

Jet Airways flies to Bagdogra Airport at Siliguri, from where Gangtok is 126km

Authors: Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy. This article appeared as the cover story in the March 2018 issue of JetWings International magazine.

Meghalaya: Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs

ANURAG MALLICK and PRIYA GANAPATHY chase the monsoon across the Khasi hills to Shillong, Mawlynnong and Cherrapunjee while relishing local cuisine

A gnarled bridge made entirely of roots spanned a swift flowing stream in our path. The surreal setting was Tolkienesque to say the least, as we wondered what adventures lay beyond. It was as if some sorcerer had cast a spell, leaving us speechless and transfixed. While we took in the dreamlike scene, two kids chirpily ran across the heavy bridge. Roughly paved with mud and stone, it swayed ever so gently, and the reverie was broken.

This was no ordinary bridge. It was a ‘Living Root Bridge’ of Meghalaya, locally called Jing Kieng Jri, shaped over centuries by entwining the fast growing aerial roots of the Ficus elastica tree. In these remote hill tracts, long before the availability of cement and steel, these were age old modes of crossing streams. It was an unwritten rule that anyone passing by would diligently twirl new wiry tendrils around older ones to strengthen the latticed structure. It was CSR taken to another level.

We were at the root bridge at Riwai, a 2km walk from Mawlynnong, a remote village in the East Khasi hills on the Indo-Bangladesh border. Our guide Henry explained that his village was named after the rocks hollowed by rainwater – maw was ‘stone’ in Khasi and lynnong meant ‘cavity’. After all, this was Meghalaya, the Abode of Clouds, home to the rainiest place on earth, a title that had passed from Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram. With Cherra as our next stop, we were hoping to find out…

For now, we just wanted to float forever in the tranquil sun dappled pools but Henry promised to take us to a better spot. The jump from a little stream to a 300m cascade was definitely an upgrade. The Wah Rymben river tumbled over a wide rock face as Niriang waterfall, ending in a deep pool fringed by reeds. Having a waterfall all to yourself is a rare luxury in a populous country like India. With butterflies for company, we lazed around for what seemed like hours.

On the way back, we stopped at Maw Ryngkew Sharatia or Balancing Rock, an ancient Khasi shrine that existed long before the arrival of Christianity. A trio of monolithic stones or Maw-byn-nah stood outside every home or in the fields to honour ancestors. In the old animist traditions of Meghalaya, stones, rivers, forests, all life forms were sanctified and nearly two centuries of proselytization had not eroded these beliefs. Sacred groves like Mawphlang were still zealously protected as sanctuaries.

The road was lined with broom grass, what we commonly call ‘phool jhadu’ (Thysanolaena maxima). A cash crop for locals, they harvested the inflorescence, which was made into brooms. Not surprisingly, Mawlynnong was pegged as ‘the cleanest village in Asia.’ The locals were indeed sticklers for cleanliness and we noticed cane trash baskets outside every home. Flower-lined pathways led us past Balang Presbyterian Church before we returned to our bamboo perch at Mawlynnong Guest House and Machan.

All of a sudden, a crack of thunder boomed with the severity of a giant transformer bursting in the sky. We stepped out to witness nature’s sound and light show in all its fury. Flashes of lightning in the dark foreboding clouds above looked like explosions of some inter galactic battle, lighting up the plains of Sylhet below. There was a terrifying beauty to the whole experience.

When we reached Cherrapunjee the next day, it had already received a fresh coat of rain. But then, it almost always rains in Cherrapunjee. And when high rainfall, humidity and elevations of 1000 m rich in limestone come together, you get caves! With 1350 caves stretching over 400 km, Meghalaya has the deepest, longest and largest labyrinth of caves in the Indian subcontinent. Driving through the mist, negotiating dizzying bends, we reached Mawsmai Caves.

It was a good introduction to the subterranean world of stalactites and stalagmites, formed over thousands of years. There were all sorts of shapes – candles, cave curtains, grotesque shapes and cave pearls. It was apparent why Meghalaya was becoming a spelunking or caving destination with adventure enthusiasts heading to the Shnongrim Ridge in the Jaintia Hills that holds Krem Liat Prah, the longest natural cave in India.

The bounty of nature was apparent everywhere. Waterfalls like Nohkalikai and Nohsngithiang Falls plummeted from high perches into aquamarine pools. It was the scenic beauty and cool climes that prompted the British to set up their first base in the North East at Sohra or Cherrapunjee. David Scott, Revenue commissioner of Assam and agent to the Governor General came from the plains of Sylhet and died here in 1831.

A stone memorial noted his contribution to society. The first missionary to arrive at Cherra was Rev Thomas Jones in 1841 and the Nongsawlia Presbyterian Church was built by 1846. A tablet marked the centenary of the Welsh Mission in the hills. Ramakrishna Mission’s lovely old building dated back to 1931.

After our local sightseeing, following quirky yellow signs, we finally reached Cherrapunjee Resort at Laitkynsew. Our host Dennis Rayen had painstakingly collated meteorological data over the years, with rainfall patterns and weather charts lining the walls of his reception as decor. It was a great base for birdwatching and long trudges into the valley to see more root bridges. But nothing could prepare us for the double-decker bridge at Nongriat.

Rising water levels in the stream had forced locals to build a second bridge a little higher than the old one, hence the name. Knowing that we would soon be back in the urban sprawl of Shillong, we lingered at the pools, allowing tiny fish to nibble away at the dead skin of our tired feet.

It wasn’t the best way to return the favour, but soon we were nibbling on fish at our lakeside retreat of Ri Kynjai 15km from Shillong. The stunning resort, located on the banks of Meghalaya’s largest lake Ummiam or Barapani (Large Water), used Khasi architecture and décor in cottages built on stilts. We relished the Khasi feast of dohshaiin (chicken meatball appetizer) served with tungtab (spicy fermented fish and garlic chutney), kha rang (pan fried dry fish), doh sniang khleh (pork salad), jadoh (rice flavoured with local turmeric) and Cherrapunjee Chicken, a peppery chicken curry.

Ri Kynjai was a great base for trekking to Lum Sohpetbneng or The Navel of Heaven, the most sacred mountain for the Khasis. As per local spiritual beliefs, while the Khyndaitrep or Nine Huts people remained in their celestial abode, the Hynniewtrep or the Seven Huts people of East Meghalaya descended to earth – interestingly, using a golden vine bridge atop the sacred peak. A repository of ancient wisdom and values, the peak was an umbilical cord to the Divine. An annual pilgrimage is held on the first Sunday of February.

Shillong, despite being Meghalaya’s bustling capital, had its own charm and all the trappings of a ‘hill station’ – bracing climate, a water body with a jogger’s park in the form of Ward’s Lake, viewpoints like Shyllong Peak, landscaped gardens at Elephant Falls and a clutch of museums for the visitor. Don Bosco Museum, part of the Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures, shed light on local culture.

The Butterfly Museum at Riatsamthiah, a private collection of the Wankhar family, showcased a dazzling array of butterflies, beetles and moths. The Rhino Heritage Museum was a piece of history by itself. Built in 1928, it was used as a small arms store by the British, in 1944 it housed Japanese POWs during Second World War and was called Dungeon Lines, the 1/8 Gurkha Rifles used it as a magazine and after independence it lay abandoned until it was converted into a museum in 1998-99.

There was a lot to Shillong. Historic churches, stunning architectural gems like the Brahmo Samaj building dating back to 1894 and small tidbits of history. Arundhati Roy was born here. Arthur Llewellyn Basham, author of the tome ‘The Wonder That Was India’ lies buried here. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore lived here. His summer residence Mitali was being used temporarily as a State Legislative Assembly.

Tagore’s writing desk and chair adorns the Maharaja suite of Tripura Castle. The erstwhile summer retreat of Tripura’s Manikya dynasty, the castle was built in the 1920s and renovated into the first heritage hotel in the North East in 2003! Shillong had lovely stay options like Rosaville, a delightful colonial era bungalow with old furniture and photos.

In the evenings menfolk met at the Polo Ground for betting over the age old sport of teer (archery). The younger generation sported funky hairdos and blasted rock music from their Made-in-China phones. With visits to this little nook in the north east by iconic bands like Mr. Big to MLTR and Scorpions to Sepultura, tiny Shillong was giving major metros a major complex. We polished off a Khasi meal of pork and rice at Trattoria ‘Restauranto Khasino’, a local joint before hiring a cab back to Guwahati. As we walked out, the mist rolled in. Like the Cherrapunjee Resort sign said ‘Heads in clouds, feet firmly on ground’…

FACT FILE

Getting there
Shillong is 100km/3hrs south of Guwahati. From Shillong, Cherrapunjee is 56km while Mawlynnong is 81km via Pynursla off the road to Dawki.

Where to Stay
Tripura Castle, Shillong http://www.tripuracastle.com
Rosaville, Shillong http://www.rosaville.in

Ri Kynjai, Umiam Lake http://www.rikynjai.com

Cherrapunjee Resort, Laitkynsew http://www.cherrapunjee.com

Mawlynnong Guesthouse http://www.mawlynnong.com

 

Contact
Tourist Information Centre
Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation
Police Bazaar, Shillong 793001
Ph 0364-2226220

Nakliar Tours
Ph 0364-2502420, 9863115302
Email nakliartours@gmail.com

For more info, http://www.megtourism.gov.in

Authors: Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy. This article appeared in the March 2016 issue of India Now magazine.

The Battle for Kohima: Heroes of World War II

ANURAG MALLICK and PRIYA GANAPATHY visit Kohima War Cemetery to understand why the 1944 conflict is hailed as Britain’s greatest battle, telling their story in 1944 words…

In a recent poll organized by The National Army Museum in London, the Battle for Imphal/Kohima in 1944 was voted as Britain’s greatest battle ever. The fact that it ranks higher than celebrated conflicts like the Battle of Waterloo or the D-day landings at Normandy speaks volumes of its significance to the British.

At a debate, historian Robert Lyman argued that ‘Great things were at stake in a war with the toughest enemy any British Army has had to fight’, hailing Kohima as one of the turning points of World War II. There were 12,600 Commonwealth casualties and 58,000 on the Japanese side in what writer Sir Compton Mackenzie described as “fighting as desperate as any in recorded history”.

Nearly seventy years after the war, we disembarked at the railway station at Dimapur, the 10^th century Cachari capital known for its totemic chessman figures, and bounded on a bus to Kohima. Undulating clusters of tin roofs presented themselves as Angami men cloaked in red striped shawls looked somber like Native Indian chiefs. We watched live creepy-crawlies at the Keeda bazaar in the Supermarket, took a walk around the khels (old colonies), visited local landmarks like the Catholic Cathedral and State Museum, until a gate ushered us into Kohima War Cemetery spread across the battleground of Garrison Hill.

Except for the old man squatting amidst the headstones, weeding, there was no one else. His eyes crinkled against the sun as he turned to see us before he resumed his task in quiet meditation. We stepped forward hesitantly, dumbfounded by the utter size of the garden of remembrance that bore the weight and price of war. Stories of brave soldiers, sons and fathers, grim tales of grit, loss, separation and pain… buried in the ground. And memories, lying like open wounds in a strange clinical geometry of stone tablets. Poignant messages and goodbyes that could bring tears to even battle-hardened hearts…

Lance Corporal CE Culverwell, The Dorsetshire Regiment, 1^st May 1944, Age 24 “Dear Charlie, To the world you were only a soldier, To us you were all the world”

Private AW Evans, The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, 5^th May 1944, Age 28 “Come you back, You British soldier, Come you back to Mandalay”

Captain EA Davies, The Dorsetshire Regiment, 4^th June 1944, Age 31 “Too Far away your grave to see, But not too far to remember thee”

Row upon row we read names from every corner of England, Scotland and Wales, of young and old, brigadiers and privates, tank-drivers and stretcher-bearers, snipers and signalmen. The terraces led us to the Cross of Sacrifice in a quiet grassy clearing overlooking the valley. Out there in the perimeter of India’s northeast, at 5000 feet in the Naga Hills, Kohima seemed like a charming hill station. Was this really the site of one of the world’s bloodiest battles?

Kohima was strategically located on the only road leading from the supply depot at Dimapur (40 miles northwest) to Imphal (80 miles south). From 1942, the British Fourteenth Army, under the command of General William Slim, had set up tactical bases at Dimapur and Imphal for an eventual offensive into Burma. In early 1944, Lt General Renya Mutagachi of the Japanese Fifteenth Army was ordered to halt British preparations. As part of operation U-Go, the Japanese planned to split the 31st Division into three columns that would cut off the Kohima–Imphal Road and surround Kohima. Between April and June 1944 Kohima became the location of a bitter bloodbath in the Second World War.

The battle for Kohima was fought in two phases: the siege from 4 April, which lasted for 13 days, and clearing Japanese forces from the area to reopen the Kohima–Imphal road. The second phase stretched from mid-April to 22 June, causing high casualties for both sides. Cut off from Dimapur, the defenders had to rely on daily air supply by the RAF. Despite these obstacles, they withstood the heavy fighting without backing down. The Kohima ridge comprising Garrison Hill, Jail Hill, Field Supply Depot (FSD) Hill, Detail Issue (DIS) Hill and the Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) Bungalow, were used as the main lines of defence.

The original DC’s bungalow was destroyed in the fighting, but white concrete lines denoted the boundaries of the historic tennis court. With heavy artillery, mortar fire and infantry assaults, this area saw some of the hardest, closest and grittiest fighting. Officers’ diaries recount how sniping duels seemed like ‘unending snowball fights’, grenades were lobbed at point blank range across the tennis court as if it were a tennis match and how soldiers dug holes like beavers for burrowing or tunneling themselves forward using plates, mugs, bayonets, entrenching tools or anything one could find. The hardships they faced were inconceivable, yet the hostility of the terrain was apparent in the steep slopes and dense vegetation… Decades ago, things would have been worse.

As Lieutenant Horner, signals officer of the 2nd Royal Norfolks, 4th Infantry Brigade, described: “The physical hammering one takes is difficult to understand. The heat, humidity, altitude and the slope of almost every foot of ground combine to knock the hell out of the stoutest constitution. You gasp for air, which doesn’t seem to come, you drag your legs upwards till they seem reduced to the strength of matchsticks, you wipe the sweat out of your eyes… So you stop, horrified to be prodded by the man behind you or cursed by an officer in front.”

Major Boshell, who commanded ‘B’ Company, 1st Royal Berkshires, in the 6th Infantry Brigade reported: “The lie of the land made it impossible to move by day because of Japanese snipers. We were in Kohima for three weeks. We were attacked every single night… They came in waves, like a pigeon shoot. Most nights they overran part of the battalion position, so we had to mount counter-attacks… Water was short and restricted to about one pint per man per day. So we stopped shaving. Air supply was the key, but the steep terrain and narrow ridges meant that some of the drops went to the Japs. My company went into Kohima over 100 strong and came out at about 60.”

The 161st Indian Infantry Brigade’s defensive stand at Kohima blunted the Japanese attack. With the opening of the Dimapur-Kohima road, the 2nd Division and troops from XXXIII Corps moved into the area to support the counterattack in early May. On 31 May, General Sato, Commander of the Japanese 31st Division, ordered the first units to withdraw and wrote with a heavy heart: “We fought for two months with utmost courage and have reached the limits of human fortitudes… Shedding bitter tears I now leave Kohima.” 

Forced to retreat, it was the biggest Japanese defeat in their entire history. British and Indian troops from Kohima and Imphal met at Milestone 110 on 22 June, formally ending the siege. The fierce hand-to-hand combat in the Battle of Kohima, especially in the garden of the DC’s bungalow, was a defining moment in the Burma Campaign and pivotal in halting Japan’s foray into India.

We walked around the terraced cemetery, pausing at a headstone now and then. There were 1420 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War. Some were stark, in the nameless incomplete shock of death itself, others etched in grief by their families and friends. At the highest point of the cemetery stood the Kohima Cremation memorial, commemorating 917 Hindu, Sikh and Muslim soldiers of the British Indian Army cremated in accordance to their faith. At the base, near the entrance, was a memorial to the IInd Division – a massive stone dragged up by Naga tribesmen, etched with the immortal words renowned as the Kohima Epitaph: “When you go home, tell them of us and say; For your tomorrow, we gave our today”.

The cemetery also contained memorials to the 1^st Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, 2^nd Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment, 4^th Battalion of the Gurkha Rifles and other regiments. Strewn across Kohima’s landscape were monuments to the Royal Scots at Aradura Spur, the Royal Norfolks on GPT (General Purposes Transport) Ridge and the Durham Light Infantry at Kuki Piquet. The Kohima War Cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which looks after 1,179,000 war graves at 23,203 burial sites in 148 countries around the world.

In a message ‘to all ranks on the Manipur road’, Earl Mountbatten wrote ‘only those who have seen the horrific nature of the country under these conditions will be able to appreciate your achievements’. He described the war as ‘probably one of the greatest battles in history…in effect the Battle of Burma… naked unparalleled heroism… the British/Indian Thermopylae’.

The Battle for Kohima was critical for many reasons. Its implications were immense; its irony, inextricable. Indian troops fought on both sides – under the Allied forces were Jats, Rajputs, Sikhs, Marathas, Gurkhas and others, while on the opposing side leading the Japanese advance were soldiers of Subhash Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj. Would the possibility of a Japanese-INA victory and unfurling of the Indian flag have prompted the sepoy to switch loyalties and ignite a revolt within the British Indian army? If the eastern offensive through Burma and North East by Japan was coordinated with the German advance through Egypt, Iran and Iraq, could a war on both frontiers have threatened the British Empire? How would an alternate outcome to the war have rewritten world politics?

The questions rose as we trod gently, realizing how the future of great empires lay rooted under the grass below our feet. Some answers we’d never know. Perhaps, no one can comprehend what it must have been like. Perhaps, the ghosts of war are meant to waft in memories of our consciousness. The words of Kohima war veteran Major Gordon Graham of the Cameron Highlanders will return to haunt us. When he revisited the battlefield in 1954, he recorded his feelings in a moving tribute ‘Memories of Kohima’.

“The trees are all young on Garrison Hill, and in Naga Village children are playing. The wet earth and sprouting shrubs have the same spring-fresh smell. And there is no stench. Grass-filled fox-holes still mark forgotten remains and some rusty ration tins and leather straps have escaped, as too worthless to pick up, a decade of scavengers.

Beneath the Hill, the graves… in orderly, impersonal, endless rows. In this geometrical panorama there is no heartbreak, no rebuke, no regret. It is a design of peace, the pious peace that follows war, the repulsive peace of ‘Never Again’. It is the mute attempt to express the inexpressible by those who, helpless, are left behind. It has the same conscious inadequacy as the ‘Remarks’ column in the Visitors’ Book, where a sudden embarrassment catches the pen which has written smoothly the name and address and then stumbles on to an anti-climactic ‘Very impressive’ or ‘A fitting resting-place for heroes’. But one ex-soldier had written in a flash of perceptiveness, ‘I wish my name were here’.

Statistics can be comforting. Fifty thousand rupees; 200 saplings; 36 tons of cement; 1387 graves; and 10 years. Like the poignant milestones, past which the country bus had driven in as many minutes as the advancing troops had moved in days, these figures measure the thinker, not the thought. To some they are mere computation; to others they are the sight, smell, and touch of a forgotten battlefield. Just as, at the summit crossroads where the bus groans to a standstill, the level space above is to some that which was once a tennis court and is now a war cemetery; to others it was a point of dominating destiny.”

Authors: Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy. This article appeared in the June 2013 issue of Rail Bandhu, the in-train magazine of the Indian Railways.

India’s Exotic North East: Amazing places to Stay

ANURAG MALLICK and PRIYA GANAPATHY pick the best homestays, tea plantation bungalows, wildlife lodges, heritage hotels, bamboo huts & farm stays across Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal and Nagaland

Assam
In the land of the mighty Brahmaputra, the one-horned rhino and the fabled Assam tea, there are hidden pleasures waiting to be discovered. At Majuli, the world’s largest river island with several centuries-old satras (Vaishnava monasteries), stay in French-designed huts of bamboo and thatch as you savour the rustic riverine culture of the Mishing community. Lush countryside, tea plantations and colonial comforts greet you at the heritage tea bungalows around Jorhat. Choose from the majestic Thengal Manor at Jalukonibari, the sprawling Burra Sahib’s Bungalow with a lake and a golf course, or the tranquil environs of the Banyan Grove, named after its ancient arboreal wonder. Live in chang bungalows (traditional houses on stilts) at Mancotta or Chowkidinghee near Dibrugarh and go horse riding or tea picking in the morning. After wildlife safaris and nature trails, relax in the warm ambience of jungle camps at Kaziranga, Nameri and Manas. Wildgrass Lodge at Kaziranga even arranges cultural evenings of Bihu and other local art forms. Spot Gangetic dolphins on boat cruises along the Brahmaputra river while staying in riverside bamboo huts.

Jet Airways flies to Guwahati, Jorhat and Dibrugarh

Hacienda, Guwahati
Thengal Manor, Jalukonibari
Banyan Grove & Burra Sahib’s Bungalow, Jorhat
Ph 0376-2304267/673, 9954451548 
E heritagenortheast@gmail.com 
Web www.heritagetourismindia.com  
Tariff Rs.6,500-16,000

Chang Bungalows, Dibrugarh
Purvi Discovery 
Contact Rishi Saraf
Ph 0373 2301120, 2300035
E purvidiscovery@gmail.com    
Web www.assamteatourism.com, www.specialinteresttours.in
Tariff Rs.5,200

Diphlu River Lodge, Kaziranga
Bansbari Lodge, Manas
Ph 0361-2602223, 2602186, 2540995
E assambengal@rediffmail.com
Web www.assambengalnavigation.com
Tariff Rs.3,000-6,000

Wild Mahseer Lodge, Balipara
McLeod Russel India Ltd 
Contact Mr. Durgadas Sarcar
Ph 03714-234354/79, 9435197650
E wildmahseer@yahoo.com, wildmahseer@gmail.com
Tariff Rs.6,600

Wild Grass Lodge, Kaziranga
Contact Manju Barua/Deepak
Ph 0361-2630465, 03776-262085, 9954416945
E wildgrasskaziranga@gmail.com
Tariff Rs.2,300

Prabhakar Homestay, Guwahati
Ph 0361-2650053, 9435033221/2 
E bookings@prabhakar-homestay.com 
Tariff Rs.4,500-6,000

Eco Camp, Nameri
Assam Bhoroli Angling & Conservation Association
Contact Ranesh Roy
Ph 9435145563, 9435250025, 9854019932
E ecocampnameri@gmail.com
Tariff Rs.1,100

La Maison D’Ananda, Garamur, Majuli
Contact Manjeet 
Ph 9957186356
E danny002in@yahoo.com
Tariff Rs.600-800

Me:Po Okum, Majuli
Contact Haren Narah
Ph 9435203165
Tariff Rs.500

Meghalaya
Be it rock music, rainfall or nature’s best-kept secrets, Meghalaya has it all. Enjoy the unique hilly region kissed by clouds and swathed in dense green forests with waterfalls thundering down deep gorges. Walk down gnarled root bridges of the Ficus elastica tree, bathe in waterfalls and savour home-cooked meals in a tree-house in the spotlessly clean village of Mawlynnong! Indulge in the colonial charms of heritage bungalows in Shillong. At Rosaville, sip Assam tea with English elegance and browse through vintage sepia photographs or put your feet up like royalty at Tripura Castle. The summer retreat of the Maharajas of the Manikya dynasty of Tripura has a collection of antique Chinese furniture, Victorian objet d’art and a bed graced by Rabindranath Tagore! Soak in true-blue khasi hospitality and cuisine in the swanky resort by the lakefront – Ri Kynjai, a luxurious Eden overlooking the serene expanse of Umiam Lake (Barapani). Its impeccable décor and architecture blends in aspects of khasi culture, textiles and art. Near Cherrapunjee, the old British headquarters of the North East, stay at a lodge that meticulously documents the region’s prodigious rainfall while offering adventure activities like caving, river canyoning and nature trails to Meghalaya’s legendary living root bridges. 

Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort, Laitkynsew
Contact Denis & Carmela Rayen
Ph 03637-244218/9
M 9436115925, 9615338500, 9863079856
E cherrapunjee@hotmail.com 
W www.cherrapunjee.com 
Tariff Rs.1,800-2,250

Ri Kynjai, Umiam Lake
Ph 0364-2570 45
E rikynjai@yahoo.co.in
Web www.rikynjai.com
Tariff Rs.7,000-10,000        

Royal Heritage Tripura Castle, Shillong
Ph 0364-2501111/49
E rh_tripuracastle@rediffmail.com
Web www.tripuracastle.com 
Tariff Rs.3,600-6,000

Rosaville, Shillong 
Contact Mrs. Topoti Bauri
Ph 0364-2231248, 9612170858 ‎
Tariff Rs.2,000-3,500

Aerodene Cottage, Shillong
Contact Sharlene
Ph 0364-2224958, 97740 65366
E aerodene.cottage@gmail.com
Web www.aerodene.in
Tariff Rs.2,500-3,000

Bo-Ville Homestay, Shillong
M 9863062909, 9436335322
E enid@bovillehomestay.com
W www.bovillehomestay.com
Tariff Rs.2,300

Arunachal Pradesh
In high mountainous tracts where yaks roam free, prayer flags rustle in the breeze and hardy Monpas bearing heavy loads strapped across their foreheads trudge uphill, Arunachal’s stunning beauty reveals itself at every turn. From the entry point at Bhalukpong, the road rises past Sessa Orchid Sanctuary and Eagle Nest Camp to the quaint hamlets of Bomdila and Dirang and the quiet pastures of Sangti Valley, visited by black-necked cranes. Spartan accommodation is often compensated by what you wake up to – hot tea and momos, unparalleled views of the snow-clad Himalayas and chants ringing out from nearby monasteries. Beyond the Zen-like calm of the high-altitude lake at Sela Pass, lies Tawang. Looming over town is the 400-year-old monastery with an 8ft high Buddha statue, striking wall frescos and old thangkas adorning the prayer hall. Budget hotels around Old Market, Nehru Market and Old Bazar Line are a good base to explore Singsar Ani Gompa (a nunnery), the 700-year-old Gorsham Gompa, monasteries, craft centres and rows of shops selling Tibetan and local handicrafts, jewelry and textiles. A drive beyond Tawang takes you past several high-altitude lakes like the hauntingly beautiful Sangetsar, created by an earthquake in 1973 and renamed ‘Madhuri Lake’ after the movie Koyla was shot here.

Eaglenest Camp, Tenga
Kaati Tours/Bugun Welfare Society
Contact Ramana Athreya, Mr. Indi Glow
Ph 91-3782-273359, 02132-245770 
E kaati_tours@vsnl.net

Hotel Tsepal Yangjom, Bomdila
Contact Rinchen Trashi
Ph 03782-223473, 223674, 9436241432
E info@hoteltsepalyangjom.co.in
Tariff Rs 1,600-3,600

Elysium Lodge, Bomdila
Ph 03782-223156, 9402071827, 9436069051
Tariff Rs.1,110-1,600

WelcomHeritage Pemaling, Dirang
Ph 03780-242615
Tariff Rs.2,200-5,000
E holidays@welcomeheritagehotels.com

Gakyi Khang Zhang Farmhouse, Tawang
Ph 03794-224647/48/49
E info@gkztawang.com 
Web www.gkztawang.com
Tariff Rs 1,300-2,600

Nagaland
The native land of warriors, log drums, elaborate costumes, vibrant dances and hand-woven shawls, Nagaland is a dream destination for many. Heritage stays in the heart of Kohima like Razhu Pru and Old DC’s Bungalow (now called The Heritage) are ideal to explore the town’s various khels (old quarters). For an authentic Naga experience, try the hospitality of an Angami home in the historic village of Khonoma. Stay in typical Naga huts designed by various clans of Touphema as you get insights into their unusual culture and cuisine. Locals act as guides to nearby sites and you can share a hot brew in a morung (boys dormitory) as they regale you with folklore, stories of ancestral exploits and lavish village feasts. In Mon district, stay at Shiyong, in the home of a Konyak family and understand how their tribe evolved from being headhunters with elaborate facial tattoos to modern day farmers and tea planters. Participate in farm work and tea-picking or trek through the tribal villages.

Jet Airways flies direct from Guwahati and Kolkata to Dimapur, Nagaland’s only airport, from where Kohima is 74 km away

Razhu Pru, Kohima
Contact Jasmina Zeliang
Ph 0370-229 0291
E razhupru@yahoo.co.in 
Tariff Rs.1800

The Heritage, Kohima 
Contact Teja Meru
Ph 0370-2241864, 9856972762
E info@theheritage.in 
Web www.theheritage.in  
Tariff Rs.1800-2500

Tourist Village, Touphema 
Contact KV
Ph 9436005002
E kvls@yahoo.com 
Tariff Rs.1,200

Jah-poh-long Mountain View Resort, Mon 
Contact Shepha & Phejin Wangnao
Ph 9436606212, 9436424210
E shepha3@yahoo.com

Shiyong Homestay, Mon
Contact Phejin Konyak
E phejin@gmail.com 
Web www.shiyongvillage.com

Meru’s homestay, Khonoma
Contact Khrieni & Megongui Meru
Ph 0370-234 0061

Baby’s Homestay, Khonoma 
Contact Angulie Meyase 
Ph 94360 71046

Sikkim
Crowned by the world’s third-highest peak Kanchenjunga and bisected by the legendary Teesta River from north to south, Sikkim is India’s least populous state and perhaps one of the best places to lose yourself. Get pampered at the luxurious Nor-Khill (House of Jewels), the summer palace of the Chogyal kings in Gangtok. Experience village tourism with Himalayan homestays at Dzongu, Kewzing, Pastanga, Yuksam and Naitam. Or choose from a bouquet of farm stays – the Lepcha homestead of Mayal Lyang at Dzongu, the heritage Bhutia farmhouse of Yangsum Farm at Rinchepong or Bon Farmhouse at Kewzing, a birdwatcher’s paradise. Dotted by numerous monasteries at Rumtek, Pemayangtse and Tashiding, Sikkim flourishes under the benevolent gaze of patron saint Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), who introduced Buddhism to the region in 9^th century AD. The 120 ft high seated sculpture at Namchi is the world’s tallest statue of Padmasambhava.

Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Sikkim (ECOSS)
Ph 03592-232798, 9733088003
E ecoss@sikkiminfo.net 
Web www.sikkimhomestay.com

Elgin Nor-Khill, Gangtok
Ph 03592-205637, 200170/1, 220064
E norkhill@elginhotels.com
Web www.elginhotels.com 
Tariff Rs.7,200

The Hidden Forest Retreat, Gangtok
Ph 03592-205197, 203196, 9474981367, 9434137409 
E kesangforest@yahoo.in
Web www.hiddenforestretreat.org 
Tariff Rs.2,000

Norbu Ghang Resort/House, Pelling
Ph 03595-250173, 258245/72, 9933004491/3/6
E norbughangresort@yahoo.co.in  
Web www.norbughangresort.com
Tariff Rs.3,000-10,000

Yangsum Farm, Rinchepong
Contact Thendup Tashi & Pema Chuki Bhutia
Ph 03595-245322, 9434179029 
E yangsumfarm@yahoo.com 
Web www.yangsumfarm.com 
Tariff Rs.6,250

Mayal Lyang, Dzongu 
Contact Gyatso & Samsay Lepcha 
Ph 9434446088
E gyatso@mayallyang.com   
Tariff Rs.3,800

Bon Farmhouse, Kewzing
Contact Chewang & Sonam R Bonpo
Ph 9735900165, 9547667788
E bonfarmhouse@gmail.com
Web www.sikkimbonfarmhouse.com
Tariff Rs.2,150-2,950

Mount Narsing Village Resort, Ravangla
Ph 03592-226822
E info@yuksom-tours.com 
Tariff Rs.700-2,100

Authors: Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy. This article appeared in the September, 2011 issue of JetWings magazine.