Northeast States

The park’s 2400 one-horned rhinos represent about two-thirds of the world’s total population (in 1904, there were only 200). Kaziranga offers popular 4WD safaris that allow you to get close to the rhinos and other large mammals; you may want to avoid the elephant-back safaris on animal welfare concerns. Safaris are available in four of the park's five ranges, of which the central Kohora Range and western Bagori Range offer the best overall wildlife sightings and also have most safari traffic.

A mighty gash in the earth fringed by magnificent mountains and speckled with gold-and-white gompas (Tibetan Buddhist monasteries), the Shangri La–like Tawang Valley awaits at the end of a long, spectacular route up from the Brahmaputra plains. Getting here is an adventure in itself as you zigzag up and down mountainsides where colourful prayer flags and stupas proliferate, while the lush jungle gradually gives way to icy passes and peaks. Most of the population in and en route to Tawang are Monpa, a Buddhist people who historically had their closest links with Tibet.

Tawang's setting is more beautiful than the town itself, but murals of auspicious Buddhist emblems and colourful prayer wheels add interest to the central Old Market area.

Along the way you can't fail to notice the heavy Indian Army presence, a consequence of the disputed border with China along Arunachal's northern edge.

The undulating Meghalaya uplands give way abruptly on the state's southern fringe to deep, jungle-clothed, waterfall-ribboned valleys plunging precipitously to the plains of Bangladesh. Cherrapunjee (also called Sohra), sitting near the lip of the escarpments, is the obvious base for exploring this spectacular landscape. Thanks to the prodigious monsoon rainfall produced by this geography, Cherrapunjee was once feted as the wettest place on earth, though nearby Mawsynram is nowadays reckoned to be a few drops damper. Domestic tourists flock here during the monsoon for the cool air, the celebrated rain and the waterfalls, meaning that Cherrapunjee's peak season runs from about May to August.

Beached amid the mighty Brahmaputra River’s ever-shifting puzzle of sandbanks is Majuli, which at around 350 sq km is India’s largest river island. Though continually ravaged by the primal forces of nature (much of it disappears under water every monsoon, and it's steadily shrinking due to erosion), Majuli flaunts unparalleled scenic beauty. Coming here is like stepping back to an earlier India of little motor traffic (cycling is a delight), peaceful woodlands and wetlands, and Mishing tribal villages with wooden stilt houses, where the goats, geese, cows and pigs easily outnumber the people. The island's serene atmosphere is enhanced by the influence of its 22 satras (Hindu Vaishnavite monasteries and centres for art).

The two main villages are Kamalabari, 4km from the main ferry port, and Garamur, 5km further north. The ideal months to come are November to February.

In a hilly jungle setting 160km northeast of Agartala, the archaeological site of Unakoti is one of Northeast India’s little-known jewels. Massive rock-cut sculptures of Hindu gods and goddesses (some dating back to the 7th century) adorn rock faces at the site, including a 10m-tall face of Shiva sculpted on a monolithic rock and a trio of Ganeshas hewn beside a waterfall. Well paved though sometimes slippery paths and steps lead to the main carvings, and unpaved paths lead to various Shiva linga in the forest. Local people still come to make offerings to the Shiva images and linga.

It takes about two hours to see all of the more obvious sights.

Scattered across a series of forested ridges and hilltops, Nagaland's capital might on first appearance seem drab and uninspiring, but on closer acquaintance you'll find it's a relatively prosperous place with warm and helpful people, and without the excessive crowds and noise of many other cities. You'll also find that almost everyone has a working knowledge of English, thanks to it being the language of instruction in Nagaland schools. The festive Christmas week is a particularly beautiful time to be in Kohima. On Sundays nearly all businesses and many sights are shut, but it's a delightfully tranquil day to wander round town.

All the hills around the Imphal Valley drain their waters into picturesque, shimmering blue Loktak Lake, south of Imphal. The 250-sq-km lake is dotted with hundreds of clumps of matted floating vegetation called phumdis. Large circular phumdis are created as fishing ponds, and fisherfolk build huts on the floating ‘islands’ and paddle about in dugout canoes. Boat rides on the lake, and views over it from Sendra Island in the middle, are highly photogenic. In the southern part an enormous 26-sq-km phumdi forms the heart of Keibul Lamjao National Park, touted as the world's only floating national park and home to the last surviving wild population of sangai deer.

At the southwestern corner of the lake, Moirang village's INA Museum commemorates the unfurling of the Azad Hind (Free India) flag here in 1944 by the anticolonial Indian National Army advancing with Japanese WWII forces against British-held Imphal.