Skip to content
Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

Culture & Heritage · Kisama, near Kohima

Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

The festival of festivals

Duration
5 – 6 days ex Dimapur
Level
Easy
Starts from
Dimapur

01 · Overview

About this experience

Every year from 1 to 10 December, the Naga Heritage Village at Kisama, just outside Kohima, hosts the Hornbill Festival. Each tribe has its own morung, and the days fill with traditional dances, songs, games, food and craft from across Nagaland.

We plan the festival days so you see the best of the programme without the crush, and add the places around it that make the trip: Khonoma, the green village that turned its hunting grounds into a sanctuary; Kohima's history and markets; and, for the energetic, the walk into the Dzükou valley.

02 · Highlights

Highlights

  • 01Two days at the Hornbill Festival at the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama
  • 02A village visit to Khonoma
  • 03The Kohima War Cemetery and the town's old market
  • 04Naga food — smoked pork, bamboo shoot and the local chillies
  • 05Optional day walk into the Dzükou valley

03 · Itinerary

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Dimapur to Kohima

    A drive up into the hills, with the evening free to settle in.

    Kohima Dinner
  2. Day 2

    Hornbill Festival

    A full day at Kisama — the morungs, the dances and the food stalls.

    Kohima Breakfast, dinner
  3. Day 3

    Khonoma village

    Walk through the terraced fields and stone lanes of Khonoma with a local guide.

    Kohima or Khonoma homestay Breakfast, dinner
  4. Day 4

    Festival day two

    Back at Kisama for a second day, and the Kohima night market in the evening.

    Kohima Breakfast, dinner
  5. Day 5

    Kohima to Dimapur

    The War Cemetery in the morning, then down to Dimapur for onward travel.

    Breakfast

Included

What is included

  • Stays in Kohima and a village homestay
  • Private vehicle and driver
  • Local guide at the festival and in Khonoma
  • Breakfast and dinner daily
  • Inner Line Permit assistance

Before you go

Good to know

  1. 01

    Indian travellers need an Inner Line Permit for Nagaland. We arrange it — carry ID.

  2. 02

    Stays around Kohima book out months ahead for the festival. Plan early.

  3. 03

    December evenings are cold in the hills. Pack warm layers.

  4. 04

    Always ask before photographing people, especially outside the festival grounds.

Photographs from Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

  • Hornbill Festival, Nagaland — photograph 1
  • Hornbill Festival, Nagaland — photograph 2
  • Hornbill Festival, Nagaland — photograph 3
  • Hornbill Festival, Nagaland — photograph 4

Enquire

Ask us about Hornbill Festival, Nagaland.

Tell us your dates and who is travelling. We will confirm availability and send the details and an indicative cost — usually within a working day, and always before you pay anything.

We reply within one working day. No spam, and we never share your details.

More experiences

You might also like.

All experiences

Munsiyari, Pithoragarh district

Nanda Ashtami Yatra

Join the Nanda Devi celebrations in Munsiyari — processions, folk songs and a village festival in the shadow of the peaks.

4 – 5 days ex Munsiyari Explore

Garhwal Himalaya

Char Dham Yatra, Uttarakhand

Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath — the great Himalayan pilgrimage, planned at a pace that leaves room for the journey.

10 – 11 days ex Haridwar Explore