This post is meant for the people who would like to travel to the state of Nagaland or who would like to know about culture and tradition of Nagaland.I travelled the state of Nagaland from 1st April 2010 to 7th April 2010.
Entry formalities:
All the Indian & Foreign nationals require Restricted Area Permit (RAP) or Protected Area Permit (PAP) to enter Nagaland. It can be obtained from following places.
Deputy Resident Commissioner
Nagaland House,
Shakespeare Sarani,
Kolkata
Deputy Resident Commissioner
Nagaland House,
29 Aurangzeb Road,
Delhi
About Nagaland:
Nagaland is located on the eastern most part of India. Its capital is Kohima. There is a single flight carrier to Dimapur. Dimapur is one of the major cities of Nagaland. The state has 11 districts and each is dominated by a Naga tribe e.g. Angamis are predominant in Kohima, Ao are predominant in Mokukchung, Semas in Dimapur. The word dominance here does not mean "rule", but indicates the majority. Nagas are very hospitable people. You will feel it when you visit a Naga village. Kohima is around 70 kms from Dimapur and it will be late in the evening by the time you reach Kohima. It is advised that you book the hotel before your travel. The streets are literally deserted after 6 pm and you will hardly get any transportation. You should request the cab driver to drop you to the hotel you have booked. The room rates are a bit high as compared to other North Eastern states and I leave it to the readers to find out why. There lies adventure & risk in finding it.
Places of Interest:
Kohima:
War Cemetry - This is a cemetry of soldiers who fought during WW-II.
Catholic Cathedral Church - Cathedral is one of the major tourist attractions in Kohima. It is a classic blend of western and local architecture.
Kissema Village (Naga Heritage Complex)- Naga home
Japfu Peak - Japfu peak is around 15 km south of Kohima. The trek leading to the peak is very beautiful. The river cutting across the rocks teaches you to be patient and not get disappointed by any obstacles. You can see the world's tallest Rhododendron tree in Japfu.
Dzukhou valley - Dzukhou valley lies in the southern most part of Kohima. One has to trek around 6-9 kms to reach Dzukhou. It depends on where you start your journey 1) Zakhama village or 2) The highway (NH 39). The shared cabs are available from Kohima town which will drop you at either of these locations and one can trek ahead.
You should take care of the following while going to Dzukhou.
a) Guide: You should be accompanied with a trained guide who knows the local language and terrain. The guides are available from the tourism department. You can get in touch with me to get the phone numbers or email ids of the contact person. It is necessary to plan the trek before hand.
b) Ration: Make sure that you carry enough ration for as many days as you want to stay in the valley. There is no habitation around the valley. You will get enough water flowing across the valley.
c) Sleeping Bags: The sleeping bags are available from the tourism department at a very cheaper rate.
d) Naga Knife: You will need it to get fire wood.
The valley is picturesque and never forgetting experience. The hills are covered with plush green sheet of grass and trails cutting across small bamboo plants lead you to the valley. There are some big rocks underneath which you can find the place of accomodation. There is a rest house on the way which charges Rs. 300/- per day, but when you have taken pain to reach the valley, then why to stay in the rest house. One should stay deep inside the valley.
You should take care of the following while going to Dzukhou.
a) Guide: You should be accompanied with a trained guide who knows the local language and terrain. The guides are available from the tourism department. You can get in touch with me to get the phone numbers or email ids of the contact person. It is necessary to plan the trek before hand.
b) Ration: Make sure that you carry enough ration for as many days as you want to stay in the valley. There is no habitation around the valley. You will get enough water flowing across the valley.
c) Sleeping Bags: The sleeping bags are available from the tourism department at a very cheaper rate.
d) Naga Knife: You will need it to get fire wood.
The valley is picturesque and never forgetting experience. The hills are covered with plush green sheet of grass and trails cutting across small bamboo plants lead you to the valley. There are some big rocks underneath which you can find the place of accomodation. There is a rest house on the way which charges Rs. 300/- per day, but when you have taken pain to reach the valley, then why to stay in the rest house. One should stay deep inside the valley.
Mokukchung:
Mokukchung district is dominated by Ao tribe of Nagas. Ao tribe is considered to be most advanced of all the tribes in Nagaland. I encountered a sad incident while travelling to Mokukchung. We came across huge cobra enroute. The vehicles coming from both sides stopped and locals were trying to keep it away from the road. The cobra looked magnificient raising its hood as if it was warning "dare you mess with me". Then our cab driver drove the car over it. This upset me very much since I am a snake lover.
a) Impur - The batch of first missionaries came to Ao area through Impur. It is also the head quarters of Ao baptist churches all over Nagaland.
b) Mopung Chuket - This village is one of the most important tourist villages. The village houses 100 year old log drum. In ancient times, log drum was used as a musical instrument as well as signal to the fellow villagers when the village was under attack by enemies. The village has a very beautiful park "Sungkutam". This is the nice place to spend some time close to the mother nature.
c) Longkhum village - Long means "stone" and Khum means "made up of". The name itself suggests that this village is built on rocky area. It is inhabited by Ao tribe. You should not miss meeting Naga scientist who is a genius and a living legend. He has received many accolades from Indian and many foreign countries for his art work. If you are lucky enough then he will show you his inventions and he will share the stories & folklores. There is a source of spring water near this village which is a must see attraction.
d) Ungma village and cemetry
Itinerary:
Day 1:
Kohima. Visit War Cemetry, Cathedral, Naga heritage village, Botanical garden (if you have enough time). I did not find botanical garden to be as much interesting as I thought of.
Day 2:
Japfu Peak. You can stay as much time as you like in Japfu.
Day 3:
Dzukhou Valley:- You can stay as much time as you like provided you get accomodation under some rock or you have your own tent.
Day 4:
Back to Kohima
Day 5:
Mokukchung:- The shared cabs are available from Kohima to Mokukchung starting 6 am to 10 am. It takes around 4.5 hours to reach Mokukchung which is 165 kms from Kohima.
Day 6:
Back to Kohima. There is no transportation available from Mokukchung to Kohima during the evening hours. So if you are planning to leave Mokukchung after 4 pm, then you have to catch state transportation bus which goes to Dimapur (via Assam) and then come back to Kohima.
Dos & Donts:
Whenever you plan to visit any village, make sure you get the permission from village head (Gaon Bhudho). You will definitely get the permission and you can get closer to village community.
Always keep the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) with you. You may be asked to produce it by any government agency, if required.
Dont discuss anything about organizations fighting for separate Nagaland. They are called National Workers, not Insurgents.
Please contact me by mail for any other details or leave the message and I will get back to you. I will try to keep this blog updated with as much information as possible.
Some Nagamese phrases (Courtesy Abon):
How are you? - Keneka aase
I am fine. - Bhal aase
What is your name? - Tor lagaa naam ki aase
My name is Gautam.- Mor lagaa naam Gautam aase
