Kachari Kingdom Legacy Lives On In Dimapur

A series of mushroom shaped monoliths are the trace of the existence of Kachari Kingdom in Dimapur. Though the reason for these monoliths and their purpose is a mystery that is yet to be unraveled, it is still a sight to behold. Sadly, apart from these monoliths and ruins, nothing much is left of the massive fort. These monoliths were extremely lucky to have survived the test of time.

Apart from an iron railing erected around the ruins, no other care and importance has been taken to preserve this monumental site of historic importance. The government too purely looks at monuments as a money making model rather than preserving our ancient monuments. No wonder the lesser known ones are left in a pathetic condition. To make matter worse, the locals treat this as a dump yard. We Indians have absolute zero respect for our monuments and history. These are the monuments that we have to be proud of but are in a very sorry state. 

The monuments that don't fall under the revenue generating category are totally neglected and we as responsible citizens immediately turn them into dump yards or worst urinals. The government can only take initiatives such as "Swacch Bharat" Mission but it is every citizen's duty to keep the Nation clean.

Dimapur is the only place in Nagaland which does not require a permit. However, to visit other parts of Nagaland you would need the Inner Line Permit, which can be obtained from the Deputy Commissioner's Office at Dimapur. No wonder, Dimapur is termed as the gateway to Nagaland.

While in Dimapur, Rajnandini Restaurant is the best in town. We dined there regularly during our stay and every dish turned out to be awesome. Their service is very good and pricing is totally budget friendly. A very good meal for two including a soup, starter and main course costed us Rs.250.

IRCTC restaurant at Dimapur railway station comes as a pleasant surprise. The hotel is doing brisk business with good ambience and healthy service quality. They had an extensive menu to choose from. The place was clean and the piping hot food served was awesome. What came as even nicer surprise was a pluck card that read "Birthdays and kitty parties could be celebrated here." Something that we were used to seeing in burger and pizza joints. To access the restaurant one does not have to buy platform tickets.

Tourist Lodge at Dimapur is a sparkling new stay option for tourists, thanks to the renovation it is one of the best accommodations. They offer suite, deluxe and single rooms at Rs.2000, 1000 and 500 respectively. The rooms are very spacious and are equipped with all basic amenities and also have a sit out. The suite is the only room that comes with a geyser. It is centrally located but if you can put up with laid back service, this would be an awesome place.

Another option that can be considered is hotel Jal Mahal, right opposite the Tourist Lodge. The rooms are spacious with clean and fresh sheets and has all basic amenities. WiFi can be accessed from their hotel lobby. The rooms have hot water and they are priced at  Rs.1500. The best part about the hotel is the proximity to the railway station and state transport bus stand from where one can take buses to all parts of Nagaland and neighboring states. DC office is 3 km away from here.

Both Dimapur and Guwahati have plenty of ATMs.

Photo Blog Of Stunning Longwa Village

Heaven may be a myth, Longwa exists! Wondering how to reach this remote corner of India, click here. 

Longwa- Home To The Last Remaining Headhunters

Reaching Mon way too early in the morning, shivering in the biting cold, we were blessed to see the first sun rays of the day glitter the entire sky from behind the mountains providing us the much needed sunshine. Though headhunters lived among every Naga tribe, the Konyak tribe in Longwa and Mon is where we found men sporting tattoos on their face which symbolizes only one thing- these men have actually severed heads during raids. We had come to Mon just to catch a glimpse of these men, little did we know that we would dine with one and spend time with a couple of others and have a friendly chat while they were smoking up fresh opium in their wooden pipes. After a tedious ride to this extreme remote corner- Mon, it only made sense to reach Longwa a border town in between India and Myanmar.

While we were waiting for a shared taxi to continue our journey to Longwa village, we saw a tattoo faced man walk past us. It was hard to imagine that such a frail body had severed many heads during his early days. But his eyes spoke a lot, the hardships that he had seen- how things have changed from being the most feared headhunters to completely transforming to urbanization.

Do not be surprised if you come across people carrying guns. Here people seem to carry guns just like how we carry our phones and it is routine to hear gunshots. They could either be hunting birds or celebrating. Most of these guns are locally made and they tend to use it regularly, of course they have never heard of needing a license to own one.

A drive of 3 hours and we reached Longwa Village. The roads are in terrible condition and a total distance of 41 km takes 3 hours. Despite a difficult and lengthy journey, on reaching Longwa we realized how beautiful, rewarding and memorable this trip has been.

Apart from the headhunting tribe, Longwa Village is famous for its borders. This village shares boundaries with Myanmar and the Chief's House or the King's Palace is right between the international border with one half of the house in India  and the other half in Myanmar. The tale that keeps doing the rounds is the Chief has his meals in Myanmar and sleeps in India.

The Chief is said to have 60 wives and he seems to have control over not just the villages in India but also the villages in Myanmar. While we were visiting the chief's house, we met the Myanmar Village head who had crossed the border and was paying a visit to the Chief. This cross border travel for these villagers have been left untouched. They do not require a passport or visa, they can just cross over and meet the neighboring villages no matter which country.

The Kings palace would also be an excellent place to pick up souvenirs from Longwa. The hand made bamboo smoking pipes, wooden carvings, jewelry and the list goes on. All of them are reasonably priced and make for an ideal memento. The Mithun skulls and the massive buffalo horns make the chief's house look spectacular. Earlier the homes were adorned with the skulls of heads severed but once headhunting was banned these homes now just display the skulls of animals.

 A short relatively easy hike to "Pillar 154" in Longwa officially marks the end of Indian territory and start of Myanmar. One side of the pillar has inscriptions in Hindi and the other in Burmese. Apart from the pillar, there is no other sign that depicts the international border. The views of the valley and Longwa village from here is spectacular. Though you maybe tempted to venture into Myanmar do respect international boundaries and save yourself the trouble.

Zero point which is on the other end of the village, is an interesting place and this is where India's territory ends. You can catch a glimpse of the valleys of Arunachal, Myanmar and Nagaland all from this point.

Though the tribes belong to the same state, their cultures are very different. Not just the way they dress or their cuisine but even the way they have built their homes are very different. The typical Konyak homes are long and lengthy and have thatched roofs.

There are many Morungs or bachelor dormitories in Longwa. These morungs were more like educational institutions where the young folks would learn more about their culture and develop skills for sustaining livelihood. These morungs again have the typical Mithun skulls, carvings and massive Log drums. The log drums were telegraphs of those days and were used to send out long distance messages.

Agriculture is the main source of income for the residents of this village. While it is mostly the women of the household who work in the fields, you can see the men hooked on to opium at any time of the day. At the end of the day, the household members gather around the kitchen fire and eat their meals. Catching a glimpse of the tattoo faced headhunters was a beautiful moment but dining with them while they shared their gruesome stories of the past was a different ball game altogether. To calm the atmosphere, there were rounds of opium being passed along. Watching the art of smoking unadulterated opium was an experience of a different kind. It was amazing to smoke out of bamboo pipes all thanks to a friendly tribes man who was kind enough to prepare a joint using local herbs and the whole preparation took an hour. We sat around a small bonfire and it gave us a feel of a little meth lab, all natural one.

The only stay option in Longwa village is a home-stay "Jeilei's Guesthouse." This incredible place let us experience the Konyak lifestyle in its true form. Their massive kitchen has a central fire place where food is slow cooked and is the ideal place to continuously sip black tea, have lengthy conversations and get to know one another. An interesting aspect about the kitchen is the extensive collection of rural and traditional artifacts such as the real beak of a hornbill, wooden carvings, the dao (Konyak axe) and a muzzle loading gun.

The food is as organic as it can get and their service is excellent. They take great care and try to give their best. The rooms and sheets are clean and they provide you with thick quilts to keep you warm and the rooms have incredible views of the valley. They charge Rs.500 per bed per person. Food is charged at Rs.200 per person per meal. It is a perfect village home with a common bathroom so do not expect any modern amenities. Though figuring out the house might take sometime as they do not have any sign boards. You can reach them at 8732093138.

The best way to reach remote Longwa village is to take a bus from either Dimapur or Kohima to Mon. Many private players operate bus in this route. After much debate and comparison we opted for 'Blue hill Travels' as they operate very comfortable buses with decent legroom. The tickets are priced at Rs.700 per person. The buses to Mon leave at 2:30 pm and from Mon at 3:30 pm. Nagaland State Transport also operates super deluxe buses to Mon but only from Dimapur. After reaching Mon, we had to wait for another 3 hours for a shared sumo ride to Longwa. Needless to say it was on dusty, bumpy and terrible roads. These taxis are available from Mon fire station junction.

One can reach Mon from Wokha via Mokokchung but there is no direct bus or shared taxi. One has to take a taxi to Mokokchung (keep in mind there is only one that leaves at 7 am,) reach Mokokchung, halt for a day and then take another taxi to Mon from there. You have to wait until all ten seats are sold out so keep in mind to go to a taxi service where you see a bit of crowd.

Our perilous journey to the land of most ruthless headhunting tribe- Konyak tribe started with a grueling 14 hour bus journey from Kohima to Mon via Assam. This is the best among the worst route one can take. The 352 km distance of bad to terrible roads is covered on an overnight bus journey.

Keep in mind that Mon does not offer decent stay options to stay overnight. Also, there is only one decent food joint "Hungry Hope." It would be a good idea to stock up some snacks as there are no hotels.

P.S: Due to the abundant availability of Opium in Longwa village it becomes an easy opportunity for drug peddlers to make quick bucks. To curb this menace the villagers ensure that contraband is not smuggled out of the village, all vehicles and bags are subjected to extensive checking. Respect the law and do not attempt to carry drugs out.

Experiencing The Angami Tribal Culture In Touphema Village

Every nook and corner of Nagaland is blessed with abundant natural beauty and we would have a tough time choosing the best destination in these hills, Touphema however, has stood out in the crowd by being a self sustaining village. The local community took onus to develop the village and are responsible for making it a tourist destination. They decided to construct a resort for tourists to come stay and understand more about their tribal culture.

This village is now considered as a model example and other villages too are following suit. This excellent initiative by the Angami tribe is very efficiently run by the local community. The land was donated by a villager for constructing this Tourist Village and this self funded resort has 12 cottages with each clan from the village sponsoring one cottage.

They have done a wonderful job of providing Ethnic Angami model huts with a fire place along with modern amenities and is a perfect place to experience an age old culture. The huts are aesthetically done giving it a very traditional Angami feel. They are made of wood with thatched roofs and once you enter, there is an area to light a bonfire. The huts do not come with a lock and key and instead have huge wooden logs that are used to lock the door. The room has the softest mattress, pillow and an amazing quilt. Once tucked in you are guaranteed to sleep like a baby.

Right behind the cottages is their grand and traditional authentic dining hall which is beautifully decked up with artifacts and jewelry. The large traditional Angami kitchen setup which houses a massive fire place is surrounded by livestock, pulses, grains and handwoven baskets. The large wooden tables are so inviting to sit on and have a meal. The lengths that the community has gone to give a true and authentic Angami experience is truly commendable. Skulls of Mithun, Naga spears and axes adorn the kitchen wall.

The pathway outside the huts is dotted with cherry blossom trees and a host of lot more trees and bushes. The entire area is filled with grass and of course the entire picture would be incomplete without a huge nursery with the colorful flowers swaying at the gust of the wind.

Now coming to the part that we loved and spent most time in the tourist village is a sit out facing the green valley providing unadulterated views with the magnificent orange sun setting in the background. It has a massive tree trunk that has been converted into a coffee table. Sipping a cup of hot tea on a cold evening made us want to stay back here forever.

We had  arrived at Touphema around Diwali and on the eve of Diwali we had an in-house bonfire symbolically celebrating the festival of lights. These little pleasures in life make for some great memories.

Around the resort is Touphema village museum which is a treasure trove of exhibits belonging to the Angami tribe. The galleries are dedicated to earthenware and wooden utensils that include a massive and all natural rice pounding table showing the different stages of the extraction process. Moving on, we saw hand knit woolen shawls, jewelry, head gear and beautiful ornaments. Then comes an extensive collection of guns of various sizes and the iconic axes, swords and spears.

The most amazing exhibits are the chairs made of buffalo horns and elephant bones. We have to give it to their creativity and smart usage of natural products. It houses an impressive massive elephant skull with ivory tusks and their most remarkable exhibit was the wooden tobacco pipe that had intricate engravings on them. Majority of the artifacts displayed in the museum have been collected from the families living in the village.

Right opposite the museum is a massive log drum on display. The log drum is a massive musical instrument made from a single chuck of tree and is very intriguing. In earlier times, the log drums were used during war- to announce the approach and retreat of an enemy forces. The drum is played by a group of men using wooden dumbbells.

If you still want more out of Touphema, fret not, starting from amazing and true village walk experience to interacting with friendly locals it is truly amazing to see how self sustained the villagers are. They breed their own livestock, grow as many trees, fruits and vegetables in their garden and all in a very organic fashion. Their respect for nature is a lesson that everyone should learn. A beautiful church at the centre of the village adds more charm.

A small pathway led us to the old village which is right behind the resort. On the way do checkout the warhead tree on which war trophies in the form of enemy heads were displayed once. The entrance to the old village is where the warhead tree is accompanied by a small compound wall made of stone slabs. Do stop by the demon, thunder stone and husband wife clutching stone.

As we walked into the secluded old village we were greeted by the Angami people with broad smiles and a cup of chai. It was amazing to see massive bamboo baskets that are used as storage containers being hand woven. We saw how labor intensive, time consuming it is and the high skill set required to weave just one basket. The road leads to the old baptist church near which lies the Husband and wife rock. The villagers were gearing up for a wedding in the nearby amphitheater and it was a very pretty sight. Do take a walk around to appreciate the architecture of this

Among many very first experiences, our first hitchhiking experience happened here. Driving or riding in your own vehicle though has its own perks but it takes away the experiences that a backpacker can completely relate to. Hitchhiking being one of them. These experiences make you meet new people and strangers instantly become friends. Even better, it makes you trust people more and brings back faith in humanity. People in these hills are very kind and helpful. The person who offered us a lift was more than happy to drop us to the tourist village. He made sure he drop us right at the reception and not just at the entrance of the property.

An ideal duration to stay here would be a minimum of two days as you could soak in and cover the entire village by foot. The kids in this village are not camera shy and are more than happy to pose. Watching these kids play made us realize that here all kids play football without any gender specific games. It was a relief to see that girls were not stopped from playing so called boys games, in fact the girls were better at scoring goals. Point proven it is all in the mentality of the people rather than how educated and well read you are.

It was at Touphema tourist village that we were introduced to exquisite Angami cuisine. They serve all vegetarian lunch and it is surprising to see the extent of vegetarian delicacies that were prepared. We were served dal with spinach and local herbs adding a lot of flavor. The vegetable curries were simple and organic- pumpkin, squash and potatoes blended with local herbs made for great accompaniments to go with dal. However, the one dish that completely stood out was 'Boiled beans and bamboo shoot,' the aromatic after taste of bamboo shoots lingered in our taste buds for a long time. Another must try would be their spring onion pickle blended with Naga King Chilli.

Their breakfast is simple but wholesome with omelette bread. jam and locally procured honey with a cup of tea or coffee. You would be amazed to taste the unadulterated mountain honey. Irrespective of the generous quantity of honey you consume in one sitting, you never feel like you have had an overdose of sugar rush. It is such a blessing to stay in rural India where the FMCG companies are yet to take over and replace the natural products with adulterated factory made ones.

All remote villages in Nagaland have one lone bus that leaves from the village to the nearest town early in the morning and returns to the village on the same day. These buses provide an excellent opportunity to travel with the locals and freshly felled bamboo, livestock and ration gives you company in the bus.

Locals here understood that connectivity was a big hindrance in their daily lives as there were no public transport services available even though the village was only 41 km away from Kohima. It was then that  the village community decided to pitch in and buy a mini bus so that they could commute to the capital and return the same day. All 600 families pitched in their savings in 1985 and bought a bus that runs till date and they try and accommodate everyone on the way.

Early in the morning you can spot villagers waiting for the local community bus to arrive. It was such a lovely sight to see villagers have lengthy conversations with each other and exchange pleasantries. As soon as we all boarded the bus and before the journey could commence the people in the bus came together and offered prayers for a safe journey.

If you are reaching Touphema from Wokha, then keep in mind that there is only one bus that leave from Wokha to Kohima daily between 6 to 7 am. If you miss the bus, taxis are your only hope. After a one hour bumpy ride in a shared taxi to Botsa village and hitchhiking a 4 km steep ghat road we reached Touphema tourist village.

If you want to have an even more awesome time in Touphema, visit during "Sekrenyi Festival" which is a purification festival held in the month of February. For reservations contact 9436832075, 8014926733. Each cottage is priced at Rs 2300 per night per couple while breakfast lunch and dinner are priced at Rs. 200, 250 and 350 respectively per person plus government taxes.