I am sure you all had a lovely time travelling with me virtually through Assam, so let us proceed to Nagaland……….the untouched virgin state of the Naga tribes !!
We left in the wee hours on 25th October from Majuli Kamalabari Ghaat by ferry to reach Jorhat Nimatighaat which is an upstream ride of one and half hours and journeyed towards Nagaland. You need to get border pass duly signed from the Government of India and show it to the border police in TULI….the border village for JORHAT and NAGALAND.
We reached MOKOKCHUNG on 25th October afternoon after passing through some smooth roads, some bumpy roads, the first town in Nagaland. The place is so rich in greenery. Here the AO TRIBE live.
ONE THING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT NAGALAND IS THAT IS THIS STATE HAS VARIOUS TRIBES WHO ARE DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER AND THEIR SHAWLS PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN IDENTIFYING THE TRIBE !! THERE ARE VARIOUS TRIBES LIKE THE AO, CHANG, SANGTAN, SUMI, POCHARI, REGNMA, PHOM, LOTHA, KHIMNUINGAN, KONYAK, ANGAMI, CHAKHESONG, ZELLANG, YIMCHIUNGRU. THE MEN FOLK ALL WEAR BEAUTIFUL HEAD GEARS,BEADED GIRDLES AND NECKLACES.
We reached around mid afternoon and had great difficulty enroute getting vegetarian food. Being a Vegetarian myself had a tough time !! They look at yo strangely when you ask them for curds/yoghurt/dahi/buttermilk !!
Our first view of this small town was from the tower when the SUN was ready to disappear for the day !! What a beauty !!
I must tell you here….. the shops open by 10ish and close by 3.30ish since the SUN sets early. By 5.30, the town is almost in darkness and nobody ventures out due to thugging or fear for being mugged.
We just enjoyed the scenic beauty of this town and celebrated DIWALI EVE in our rooms with HALDIRAM’S SONPAPDI !!
The next day we proceeded in the jeep towards WOKHA another town.
We passed through UNGMA village comprising the AO TRIBE where the old man of the village (the only person who spoke Hindi / English) directed us to 3 MONUMENTS that has statues of Naga warriors, the MORONG HOUSE.
Their houses are so unique ie, the roof is shaped like a NAGA (snake’s) hood !!
I have to compliment the State of Nagaland and the tribal villages for maintaining a clean habitat. It is a hilly country where water and electricity is so precious but our NAGA friends definitely need a standing applause for maintaining this.
The below pictures depicts this !!
This is a dustbin and the crafter in me prompted me to click this too !!
We reached WOKHA on 26th October, which is 80 km from MOKOKCHUNG !!
You can see all the army jawans from various states of India staying in Nagaland as border security forces. I take this opportunity to salute them not only for protecting our Mother India but also offering us accommodation during or trip…….THANKS SO MUCH MY BROTHERS !!
WOKHA is where the LOTHA TRIBE live and every year on NOVEMBER 7th, they hold the harvest festival TOKHEMONG FESTIVAL !!
We reached the State Capital KOHIMA on 27th October. I must say here that the traffic is so congested but the traffic police control it so well and the drivers are also very responsible driving here. This is also a town which has roads going up and down.
DON’T underestimate the tribal girls and boys in their dressing !! They wear ULTRAMODERN clothes and in the latest hairstyles !!
KOHIMA is famous for the WAR CEMETRY, the CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL, the STATE MUSEUM, the BARRA BASTI holding the ANGAMI TRIBE, the second largest village in India.
TRAGOPAN is the state bird and is an endangered species !!
We were fortunate to see some Model villages like TOUPHEMA, KHONOMA AND BENREU. We spent 2 days in Kohima looking around the market, the town and the villages.
On 29th, we reached DIMAPUR, the commercial capital of Nagaland. This was the ancient capital of KACHARI RULERS.
30th was spent in exploring DIMAPUR local sights like the KACHARI RUINS, the State handicraft emporium and the local area.
On 31st, We visited DIEZEPHE CRAFT VILLAGE where one can see the local weavers making shawls, cushion covers, bags etc for export !! The weaving is so unique and very beautiful.
On 1st we looked around the HONGKONG MARKET which has so many shops that sell shoes, bags, clothes, perfumes and all items imported from CHINA and BANGKOK. The best part of this market and my favourite is the wholesale BEAD shop wherein I bought so many lovely stuff that one do not find anywhere commonly (will make my stuff and present them later once I settle down) !!
We visited INTANKI to see the wild life but were unfortunate to go in since we did not have a pass but saw the lovely DHANSRI RIVER separating ASSAM on one side and NAGALAND on the other side.
OUR JOURNEY OF NAGALAND ENDS HERE FROM WHERE WE PROCEEDED TO MANAS NATIONAL PARK.
HOPE YOU ALL HAD A LOVELY TIME EXPLORING THE UNTOUCHED VIRGIN LAND OF THE NAGAS !!
