Most of us are aware of Sunburn Festival and NH7 Weekender but very few of us know about 'Hornbill Festival'. Let me start by giving you a brief introduction. Every year, in the month of December, the Government of Nagaland’s Tourism and Art & Cultural Departments organizes ‘Hornbill Festival’ (named after the Hornbill bird which can be found in the folklore of many tribes) to promote richness of Nagaland’s cultural heritage and encourage inter-tribal interaction. It is a 10-day long celebration where people from across the country and nations come to enjoy the food, games, colourful performances, musical concert and a lot more, that too amidst the beautiful mountains and natural beauty.
Even though I am from the North Eastern State of India- Assam, I haven’t been to other states in the North East except for the adjacent state of Meghalaya. When I came to know about the ‘Hornbill Festival’ and the exciting celebration, I immediately knew that it had to be a part of my bucket list but ticking that off my list was taking time.
Last year, I was talking to a friend about it and like a miracle the plan took off and few other friends also joined in. Without wasting much time, we booked our train tickets from Guwahati to Dimapur, Nagaland on Jan Shatabdi Express. This train runs on daily basis and is quite convenient. There were three of us who travelled from Guwahati to Dimapur by train and we were supposed to meet few other people in Dimapur for the next leg of our journey.
You can also reach Kohima directly by road via NH39 or take a flight from Guwahati or Kolkata to Dimapur and travel by road to Kohima, the capital of Nagaland.
Domestic tourists need to obtain inner line permit. You can get it online at:
Foreign Tourists are supposed to register themselves at the local Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) of the district with 24 hours of arrival or nearest police station.
Back to our journey now. So, we hired a vehicle from Dimapur to Kohima. From there, we reached Kigwema, a village 15km south of Kohima after a bumpy ride slicing the foothills and smashing one of the deadliest roads, which turned out to be an adventure in itself. Finally, after 5 hours of drive, we reached our tiny but really beautiful homestay-Vicano’s Homestay, surrounded by beautiful hills and greenery all around.
Kisama Heritage Village is where the Hornbill Festival takes place. The entry fee will cost will around INR 40/- only, which you need to purchase each day. The village is beautifully decorated and effervesces with the spirit of celebration during that time. We enjoyed 10 beautiful days trying different food, experienced the colourful culture of various tribes, and enjoyed the musical rock concert, dance, games and a lot more. During our stay we also explored India’s first green village Khonoma and Dzuleke, for which I might just write another blog to do justice to the experience.
This festival deserves to be a part of everyone’s bucket list. An experience which every city dweller needs in their lifetime. The hospitality and warmth of the people would make you want to be a part of this festival a number of times in your lifetime.
To know more about it. Visit: https://hornbillfestival.com/
Comments