Nagaland

The Hornbill Festival

Tour Code: RO_03

Spirits, social bonding, and purification are the key elements that form the essence of Naga festivals – the custom that each tribe follows translates into a festival. The Hornbill Festival, an yearly event taking place from the 1^st-10^th December is a modern-day cultural extravaganza of all the Naga tribes. It is the only festival, conceptualized by the government of Nagaland, where one can experience the culture and diversity of all the 16 Naga tribes at one place.

Named after the revered and respected Hornbill bird, the festival is celebrated in the beautiful heritage village of Kisama. The festival is a unique experience where all the Naga tribes gather for cultural performances and celebrations, displaying ethnic crafts, food, fairs, and games. A few highlights are – traditional Morungs (where children used to learn from elders) of all the Naga tribes, food stalls, flower shows, arts and crafts exhibitions, traditional archery, wrestling, musical concerts, folks songs, folk dances and much more.

Day 1

Kohima – Kisama

[su_dropcap]W[/su_dropcap]e shall start from Dimapur at 7 am from the railway station or airport depending upon your preference and drive to Kohima city. After breakfast, we will visit the World War II cemetery in Kohima town and then head to the village of Kisama, host to Hornbill Festival and ‘an open air museum of Nagaland’.We shall spend the rest of our day enjoying the festivities. Surrounded by lush green mountains & valleys, Naga songs, dance performances, we will start with the guided tour of village Kisama, exploring the Morungs of different Naga tribes (16 in total) and their cultural practices. Come prepared for a shopping spree, you’ll see numerous shops/stalls selling local arts and crafts. After a sumptuous local Naga lunch, we will continue our Hornbill experience with mesmerizing games and traditional performances. We shall witness the Hornbill night carnival at Kohima where we shall see people selling different items from Christmas decorations to chicken barbecues. Overnight stay in hotel/homestay in Kohima.

Day 2

Kigwema Village

We shall start our day by exploring Kigwema village, one of the oldest villages in Kohima and surrounded by idyllic terraced fields. We will get to know a typical Angami Naga village, and learn a thing or two from the beautiful people there. A very peculiar thing in Kigwema is huge wooden carvings on the houses of the prosperous people. Thereafter, we will continue experiencing the Hornbill Festival. On this day there won’t be any guided tour. Instead we can walk around, experience the traditions and cultures of different Naga tribes, watch games, and even participate in some. Today will be the last day of the festival and we shall witness the magnificent closing ceremony of the Hornbill Festival in the evening, after which we shall assemble at a designated point and drive back to our stay in Kohima. Overnight stay in hotel/homestay in Kohima.

Day 3

Khonoma Village

After an early breakfast, we shall drive to Khonoma village, Asia’s first green village inhabited by the Angami Nagas. A beautiful village perched on top of a hill surrounded by terraced paddy fields and lush green hills as high as 3000m. We shall do a guided tour of the village, observing and learning the fortification, traditional Morungs, Khel(clans), peer groups, history and culture of the village. The people of Khonoma have set an example through their exemplary sanitary system and community and peer groups who work together. Later during the day, we shall go for a walk outside the village to observe ‘jhum cultivation’ also known as shifting cultivation and terraced paddy fields. Understand their way of life, interact, and learn. The evening welcomes us with dinner, a bonfire and maybe rice wine. Overnight stay in hotel/homestay in Khonoma.

Day 4

Dzukou Valley – Dimapur

We shall have an early start to our day with a hike to the lesser known ‘valley of flowers’ of India which is the Dzukou Valley. With a packed lunch, we shall drive to the base camp and then hike to the top, a distance of around 6 kms or 3 hours of crisscrossing rivulets, mountains of ferns and plantains covered with moss and junipers. After a while, tall rhododendrons and trees thickly covering the entire trail from sunlight greet us and at the top we see the valley undulating and green in front of us. After spending a couple of hours on the top we will start our journey back to Khonoma. After an early dinner, we drive back to Dimapur.

Tour package includes –