Sunday 25 November 2018

How to reach Nagaland Hornbill festival venue Kisama for tourists

Hornbill festival is celebrated by the Nagaland state annually from December 1-10 at the Kisam Heritage Village, some 13 Kilometres away from the state capital. 

Here is how you can reach Nagaland and to the venue Kisama (Nagaland Heritage Village)


By Train
If you are traveling by train, your destination is the Dimapur train station and from there you have to take a taxi or a bus to travel to Kohima. It's about 73 Kilometres (3 hours journey).
How to get taxi or bus service, if you reached Dimapur, when you walked out of the station, you will find the taxi stand (in yellow colour) left to the station. The normal charge for taxi fare is Rs 250-300 depending on the road conditions. Plus there will be tourist Police outside the railway station to guide you through to the taxi stand.
By Flight
If you are traveling by flight, as you walked out of the airport, there will be the taxi driver (yellow) who will be calling you to go to Kohima. You may take the taxi and go to Kohima, the charges are still the same. Rs 250-300 as per the rate of the Nagaland Taxi association. 
Via direct Guwahati
If you are planning to travel from Guwahati (ISBT Bus station). Book an Ola cab from the Airport or Railway station straight to the Bus station, don't take a local cab for your own convenience. This buses are usually the night super that takes you straight to Kohima (Guwahati - Dimapur - Kohima). The bus fare is Rs 700-800 till Kohima. It will take around 10 hours to reach Kohima.

#How to go about when you reach the capital i.e Kohima#
You will reached Dimapur Taxi Stand in Kohima. There will the tourist Police to guide you through  for hotel booking or the location you wanted to go. The fare for town hire of the taxi is Rs 100 and may go higher according to the distance covered. The city bus is also there if you wanna travel. High school to Tinapati to Razhu point to BOC, the fare is Rs 10 for each stop.
Hotel booking
Due to the festive season, the hotels are all usually booked in advance. So the price in the last moment are sky rocket. You can expect 1000-5000 per night for the stay if you haven't book your hotels yet. If you are looking for a hotel, here is one called #Vipirian Genesis Home Stay# near Kisama. It's 1000 per night, you may contact +918217312575 for advanced booking or late booking.
How to go to Kisama from Kohima
When you have a hotel or you wanna go to Kisama directly. What do you have to do. First thing to do is go to BOC side and asked people around where to get taxi to go to Kisama. The passenger taxi will cost you 30-50 Rs per head. If you wanna hire a taxi, it will cost you around 300-400 till the venue.
When you reach the destination, you will have to pay a nominal charge as an entry fee to go inside the venue. From the venue you can explore all the possible thing you wanted without any guidance. There are different venues in other districts such as the Rock concert will take place in Dimapur, Mokokchung (Cycling) , Kezhakenuo (Bikers) etc etc. 

When you reach the destination, you will have to pay a nominal charge as an entry fee to go inside the venue. From the venue you can explore all the possible thing you wanted without any guidance. There are different venues in other districts such as the Rock concert will take place in Dimapur, Mokochung (Cycling) , Kezhakenuo (Bikers) etc etc.

#Night bazaar in state capital#
When you are done with the day, you can go back to Kohima to experience the night bazaar. It starts from 6pm and go till 9pm. That's the place where you find lots of eatable things with normal charges.

#How much money should I carry to travel for Hornbill festival#
Taxi fare: For a day, it may not cost you so much. So Rs 300 for a day Food: You will find cheap food as well as the costly ones. I say Rs 500-100/ per day.
Hotel: Sky rocket price depending on how much you get. 10k maybe
Miscellaneous: Whatever you want to buy while here in the state capital, i would say you need around 20k for the 10-day festival. But depending on the hotel booking, your price may go down.
#What are the things to see in Kohima#
Second World War Cemetery, State Museum Bayavu, Cathedral, Mini Zoo High school area, Kohima Village.
Shopping complex: Old MlA Junction What do we sell? Go to Super Market near Kohima or BOC South Point market for vegetables and other stuff.
Hospital: Bethel Hospital, Oking Hospital, Naga Hospital (government), Kohimas etc.
What speciality do we have
Please don't forget to try local beer, we call it Dzutho (sour) or Thutse (sweet)You l find a cup for 30-50 Rs. We love Axone (fermented soya bean) in the curry. It's best with the dry meat in both pork and beef. Galho is also something you need to try. It's like a Indian briyani but don't think that way. It's made from local vegetables including the meat (Beef or Pork) and not masala.
#Is there a vegetarian restaurant in Kohima#
Of course there is one near Mezhur Higher Secondary School, it's near the highway to the BOC called Yaotsu's Veggie-Table Restaurant. Ask people around that you want to go near Mezhur Higher Secondary School Overbridge, there is the hotel just below the overbridge.
If you still need more information, you may still contact me for guidance., PR Hill Kohima7640828017/ azhove@gmail.com. PS Don't worry am not a tourist agency, am just a blogger to help the ones in need. Happy traveling.