Nagaland Kohima Tour

Details

Led by Nagaland Tourist office, you will start your adventure Nagaland in Dimapur, a gateway to this mystical state. We are moving towards an agreed point in the morning (we will be exchanging the information over email) and that is where your adventure in the beautiful highlands begins.

Strap up and enjoy a beautiful 3h drive as we travel to Khonoma that is located at an altitude of 5,320ft. You can say goodbye to the noise of cities and dive into the quiet of the Eastern Himalayas as the road passes through the lush hills and panoramic views taking you higher and higher.

When you finally arrive at Khonoma, put in the time to relax and settle into your accommodation. Then, unite in a hearty welcome lunch where you get to mingle with your fellow travellers through delicacies on a plate and wonderful tales.

Later in the afternoon, we shall visit the first Green Village in Asia. Khonoma is not only a beautiful place, but it can also be called a living testimony of strength and sustainability surrounded by its rich history and green roots. Khonoma was once a war-like village that fought against the invasion of Britishers but today it also stands world renowned due to its community-based conservation and unique terraces farming.

It is also acceptable to approach locals and discuss them, their lifestyle, and take a session of listening to the generation stories. and should you wish, take some tea and go strolling down a little stream-side, and have quiet reflections--but be back before sundown.

When the night falls, the group will sit down and share with each other a full traditional meal of the Angami, lovingly made by our local hosts. The bold flavours and the usage of indigenous ingredients are to be expected along with the type of hospitality that makes you feel as if you are at home.

Details

Khonoma day starts with the sun breaking. Rise early to the soft melodies of country life and stock up on a healthy dose of regional breakfast - this will be the day to be connected to the land, its past and today.

A heritage tour around the heart of Khonoma. The village becomes an encapsulation of Angami culture since it sits on the slopes, with a few houses, providing the appearance of a museum devoted to that culture. As we walk, you will learn more about rich Angami tribal culture and customs where you will get to know more about exclusive and strong tribal communities.

Among the Peranakans, one of the main features of the walk will include a Morung or a traditional men's dormitory where young boys are initiated into the social and cultural life of their people. The Morung is one of the most important parts of the society of Nagas where there is the transfer of stories, knowledge and values of warriors over several generations.

Be on the look for complex local woodcraft, a great way to help a local community and carry some heritage with you. You will also get to know about wet-rice terrace farming where it involves a rather uncommon farming practice that is expertly developed by the Angami so that they can cultivate a specific piece of land again and again without harming it.

The morning will be spent after a fruitful session and we will say farewell to our accommodating hosts and head to Dzuleke, a cool village nestled amidst the hill and the habitat of the Mithun (Indian bison) about 22 km away by car.

Once at the destination, you will get to unwind in your lovely homestay and very much like the state of Nagaland, you will be embraced by people with a lot of warmth. We will take a small rest and then go out to examine the raw beauty of Dzuleke by hiking through forest pathways, plunging into hidden waterfalls and breathing fresh mountain air in.

It is even in the evening that we will get back to the homestay. Even the night belongs to you to unwind and meet other travellers, talk to the locals or just to look at a star-littered sky in this peaceful retreat.

Details

Having had a hearty breakfast at Dzuleke we will say goodbye to the silent countryside and start in the crowded capital of Nagaland which is named Kohima that is approximately 38km away.

Kohima: The City in Contrast

Kohima is not merely the capital of Nagaland, but it is a smorgasbord of culture, history as well as modernity. The city bustles in the cosmopolitan mood and is home to several villages and the Angami tribe which is one of the 17 known tribes of Nagaland. It has not only tradition but a modernization that goes by a vast array of markets, small cafes, etc.

We will visit the famous World War II Cemetery, an emotional remuneration to the martyrs of the Battle of Kohima. It is a meditation site, a serene area, and a place of ground-breaking history.

You will have time to tour Kohima on your own after this visit. Drink some coffee, taste some local food, buy some tribal crafts or just walk on the streets. The most ideal way of exploring Kohima is to just leave it to discover itself before you.

Post Lunch Movement: Kigwema it is the Gateway to Dzukou

In the afternoon we will reassemble and drive around 17km to the pleasant village of Kigwema, where we will be starting our Dzukou Valley trek.

Relax in the homestay, meet your other travelling members and get to know them. This is going to be a memorable adventure starting tomorrow, and, therefore, we suggest you to keep it easy and to have a good night's rest. The valley doth call-and it shall be intense.

Details

Wake up, have breakfast, tie your shoelaces, it is time to go on a long-awaited Dzukou Valley Trek, and this experience is not only going to be challenging but also very calming.

The climb will commence.

After breakfast we take a short drive towards the starting point of the trek. The initial leg is an ascent, meandering through thick bamboo forests and through greeneries of the forests. The burning is not abnormal at all, every good view requires a journey. However, fear not we will take it easy with a few stops to breathe, absorb the environment, and get back into nature.

The Wildflowers Bloom

Even nature has best secrets that are unlocked gradually as we make our way up. Flowery route, then song of the birds dwells in the hills and very soon, the great Japfu Peak - the 2nd Highest Peak in Nagaland at 3,048 m then clearly visible in the horizon.

And suddenly it occurs, you reach Dzukou Valley, a paradise in high lands that lies between Nagaland and Manipur. It is a vast amphitheatre of green spreading out before you with here and there an armful of seasonal flowers and waving grass. The valley turns into a riot of colours during monsoons and early July, with rare and beautiful Dzukou lily blooming every year.

A Valley that is not like any other one.

Dzukou is hidden like a pearl inside the boxes of the modern world, corrupted and untouched. You sit on a river bank, you take a photo of some flowers found in the wild, you even just look into the horizon. This is when you would remember it because it is the time you are going to be taking with yourself.

When the sun starts fading away we will hike back towards the bottom, exhausted yet bubbling with excitement. Go back to your accommodation at Kigwema and treat yourself to a hot breakfast and a well-deserved sleep.

Details

Welcome to the silent valley where the mist is felt and the time is more leisurely. Enjoy a hot cup of tea and sit back as the silence of the place settles into you and you wait on the remnants of the magic of Dzukou. With another fine breakfast we start our descent--the reverse of a hard mountain in the previous direction, but a pleasant walk full of glimpses and quiet.

Trek to Jakhama

As we go down the valley gradually disappears behind us and we enter the forest paths and twittering birds. The track is less long, yet walk with caution, sometimes the ground can be very slippery. Enter the beat of the trail with the company of the memories of the recent few days.

By the time we take the lunch stop, we will have reached Jakhama village and here we can take a rest and have lunch. Absorb the remaining rays of rustic beauty and rural living as we got to the road again.

To the City we go once more Kohima beckons

After lunch, we head back to Kohima because it is back to civilization after our adventures in nature. The rest of the evening is at leisure you can rest, recollect or continue to discover a little more at your tempo. The memorable trek is now lodged in your adventure journal and you get back to your fellow travellers, recount stories and experiences seen, experienced and felt.

Details

With the sun coming up on Nagaland, for the last time it is finally time to put things in bags and start getting away-not the memories though. We set out on another road trip leaving the breakfast place, heading back to Dimapur on the same route the whole adventure started.

The experience of the last several days is difficult to describe through words and what I was able to feel due to the sound of crackling fires, the friendship established during the hikes and wonder of pristine nature and an immense pride of being part of something incredibly lovely.

We would miss you more than you ever thought. And farewells, they never are easy things to make, but you have to remember this, once you have travelled with us, you have joined our family. The paths may now diverge, but soon through each again.

Do you hear the call of adventure again? Well we are just a message away. Check out our other itineraries and we will make more magic.

Until that time, watch out, follow sunsets, and love life.