India Travel
Khonoma northwest from Kohima in the Northeast
The beautiful Angami village of KHONOMA, 20km northwest from Kohima, holds a special place in Naga history as the place where Angami warriors made their final stand against the British in 1879. Magnificent rice terracing surrounds the village, irrigated by a complex system of bamboo water pipes, and twenty different types of rice are grown here, each specifically suited to the elevation, soil and aspect of the terraces. A flight of steps, approached through a traditional carved gate, leads up to the highest point of the village from where excellent views take in the hills and the neighbouring villages of Mezoma and Secuma. Khonoma is divided into three khels -Merhumia, Semomia and Thevomia, which holds the Hiekha Khwehu (large meeting circle).
Over the densely forested ridge behind the village lies the scenic Dzoukou valley, part of the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary. Guides can be hired in Khonoma for the popular four-day trek to the heart of the sanctuary, which is graced with waterfalls and offers wonderful views. Public transport is limited to the daily village bus which leaves Kohima around 2pm below the Japfu hotel and returns to Kohima early the following morning but, as there are no hotels in Khonoma, hiring a taxi is the best way to make a day-trip there.
Related Properties from Gurgaon
Kohima the capital of Nagaland in the Northeast
Founded by the British in the nineteenth century. KOHIMA, the capital of Nagaland, was built alongside the large Angami village of Kohima, solely for administrative purposes. The town continues in this role - for a more intimate glimpse of traditional Naga life you'll need to wander up to the old village, or visit Khonoma. 20km beyond Kohima, the Nagas' once impregnable stronghold, sacked by the British in 1879 and again by the Indian army in 1956. Jakhema, a few kilometres south on the road to Manipur, with terraced fields surrounding the village, is also worth visiting for its traditional feel.
Dimapur northwest of Kohima in the Northeast
DIMAPUR, the "city of the river people", 74km northwest of Kohima, is Nagaland s largest and most industrialized town - and the only one not located in hill country. It bears little resemblance or affinity to the rest of Nagaland and functions for visitors primarily as a gateway to the state. It's a noisy polluted city and the mushroom-like monuments - fertility symbols dating back to the Kachari Kingdom - are the main point of interest, standing on the riverside edge of town. The sole railhead in Nagaland, Dimapur, is served by trains to Simaluguri (for Sibsagar), Tinsuleia and Dibrugarh in
The Town of the Kohima in the Northeast
Spread loosely over a saddle joining two large hills, Kohima forms a pass that played a strategic role during World War II. The highway from Imphal to Dimapur - the route along which the Japanese hoped to reach the plains of India - crosses the saddle at the foot of the Second World War Cemetery, which dominates the town. Its immaculate gardens stand as memorial to the Allies who died at this very spot during the three-month Battle of Kohima, which ended in April 1944 after claiming the lives of over 10,000 soldiers. Below the cemetery in central Kohima, bustling markets
Travel details in the Northeast
Trains Guwahati to: Calcutta (2-3 daily; 23-24hr); Chennai (6 weekly; 54hr); Delhi (4 daily; 28-41 hr); Dibrugarh (2 daily; 14-15r»rr); Dimapur (2 daily; 6hr); Jorhat (1 daily; 12hr); Mughalsarai (2-3 daily; 23-29 hrs); Mumbai (3 weekly; 43-46 hr). Jorhat to: Guwahati (1 dailly; 12 hours). Buses Agartala to; Guwahati (1 daily; 24hr); Neermahal (every 30min; 2hr); Shillorag (1 daily; 20tir); Silchar (2 daily; 11hr); Udaipur (every 15min; 2hr). Aizawl to: Silchar (2 daily:; 12hr). Guwahati to: Agartala (1 daily; 24hr); Imphal (1daily; 18hr); Itanagar (2 daily; 11 hr); Jorhat (12daily; 6-7hr); Kaziranga (12 daily; 4hr 30min);Kohima (1 daily; 12-14hr>; Shillong (12 daily;3-4hr); Silchar
Practicalities to Kohima in the Northeast
Most private buses from Imphal are through services to Dimapur and don't go into the centre of town - ask the driver to drop you off on the main highway just below the Japfu hotel. State buses arrive and leave from the bus stand in the centre of town. Taxis and minibuses are the main forms of public transport around the town although the central area is small enough to explore on foot. The tourist office (Mon-Fri 10am-4pm) is on the National Highway,below the japfu. Kohima has few accommodation choices, though standards aren't bad. Kohima's showpiece hotel is the Japfu, on PR
Nagaland on the with Myanmar in the Northeast
On the border with Myanmar, south of Arunachal Pradesh and east of Assam, NAGALAND is physically and conceptually at the very extremity of the subcontinent. Many of its hills and valleys, home to the fiercely independent Nagas, were uncharted until recently, and the eastern regions remain far beyond the reach of the skeletal road network, despite the fact that the forested' mountains rarely exceed 3000m in height. Today this remains the most politically sensitive of the northeastern hill states. The two factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) are locked in battle for independence against the Indian army
Bindevasani and forest trails northest of Chila at Uttaranchal
Along the Kimsar road, which penetrates the deep sal forests northeast of Chila, visitors have a reasonable chance of glimpsing wild elephant. Elephant herds migrate here seasonally from as far away as Corbett, and can sometimes be seen in the forests behind Swarg Ashram in Rishikesh. The tiny hamlet of BINDEVASANI, 14km northeast of Chila and linked to both' Chila and Haridwar by regular buses, stands at the foot of steep hills. Besides a small dhammshala and a teashop, there's little here to detain travellers, but it's possible to camp in the covered forecourt of the small cliff top Durga
Bharat Mata northwest of Godaulia in the Eastern UP
About 3km northwest of Godaulia, outside the old city, the modern temple of Bharat Mata (Mother India), inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi, is unusual id that it has a huge relief map in marble of the whole of the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan plateau, with mountains, rivers and the holy tirthas all clearly visible. Pilgrims circumambulate the map before viewing it in its entirety from the second floor. The temple can be reached by rickshaw from Godaulia for around Rs7.
Nawalgarh Northeast of Jaipur in Rajasthan
Teetering on the edge of the hills 3km northeast of Jaipur. Nawalgarh, or "Tiger Fort" (10am-4.30pm: Rs4) was built by Jai Singh II in 1734 as a retreat for his wives, the maharanis. Its unique design, regular and repetitive, stands in contrast to the other royal dwellings in Jaipur, and the views are breathtaking. All the queens' apartments are identical, arranged around the central courtyard in perfect symmetry, each with a room for a personal maidservant. Ram Singh, who in 1868 built more apartments on the upper floor, continued Jai Singh's tradition of orderly design by constructing another set of
Northwest Himachal Pradesh
From Shimla the main road winds west and north to the riverside market town of Mandi. an important crossroads in the heart of Himachal linking the Kullu Valley and the hills to the northeast.The rolling foothills in the northwest are warmer and more accessible than Himachal's eastern reaches, though less dramatic and considerably lower. The area however sees litde tourism outside Dharamsala. the British hill station turned Tibetan settlement, home to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Dharamsala is an excellent base for treks over the soaring Dhauladhar Range to the Chamba Valley, harbouring uniquely styled Hindu temples in Brahmour and
From the West Coast
From the West Coast, it takes about as long to fly east or west - a minimum of 22 hours' total travel time - and if you're booking through a consolidator there may not be much difference in price. Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, Northwest, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines are the main carriers flying over the Pacific to India, via their respective hubs. Air India doesn't do the trans-Pacific route, but can book passengers on Northwest to any of several Asian capitals and then fly them the rest of the way. From Los Angeles or San Francisco, you're looking at a
Arrival and information in Gujarat
Three main roads radiate from the busy road junction at Sanganwa Chowk in the centre of Rajkot: Dhebar Road heads south, past the ST bus stand 100m away; Lakhajiraj Road goes east, through the old city; and Jawahar Road runs north, past Alfred High School (whose former pupils include M. K. Gandhi) and Jubilee Gardens towards Rajkot Junction station, 2km northeast (get off here rather than at City Station if arriving by train), and the airport 4km northwest. Rajkot's rather redundant tourist office (Mon-Sat 10.30am-6prn; ©0281/234507) is off Jawahar Road, north of Sanganwa Chowk behind the State Bank of Saurashtra -
Kausani and around northwest of Almora in Uttaranchal
Spreading from east to west along a narrow pine-covered ridge, 52km northwest of Almora, the village of KAUSANI boasts a spectacular Himalayan panorama and as a result has become a popular resort. It's a simple day-trip from Almora, though as the peaks - Nanda Choti, Trisul, Nanda Devi and Panchol - are at their best at dawn and dusk, its worth staying overnight.There are several ashrams, including one that once housed Mahatma Gandhi, who walked here in 1929, thirty years before the road came through. Gandhi-ism continues to be a major influence in these hills and his symbol of self-reliance,
Pune (Poona) and beyond in Southern Maharashtra
At an altitude of 598m, PUNE, Maharashtra's second largest city, lies close to the Western Ghat mountains (known here as the Sahyadri hills), on the edge of the Deccan plains as they stretch away to the east. The British chose Pune in 1820 as an alternative headquarters for the Bombay Presidency to escape the captials summer heat and monsoon deluge. Their milicary cantonment in the northwest of town is still used by the Indian army, and a number of British buildings, such as the Council Hall and Deccan College, survive. Settlement on the site is though: to date back two thousand
North Tripura in the Northeast
In the northwest corner of Tripura, 20km from Dharmanagar and 180km from Agartala, UNAKOTI is one of the most intriguing archeological sites in the region. The site consists of several gigantic rock-cut images scattered across a hillside. Although most of the images are as yet unexplained, it is considered an eighth-century Shaivite site. Certainly Shiva, Durga and Vishnu, as well as a particularly enormous Ganesh, can be discerned, and a palpable Buddhist influence there too. The nearest accommodation at Kailashahar. the District Headquarters for North Tripnra, lies 10km away. Neither the Forest Rest House nor Dak Bungalow are really intended for
Jogindernagar and Baijnath in Northwest Himachal Pradesh
JOGINDERNAGAR, 63km northwest of Mandi, is an uninviting little town holding little more than two streets flanked by wooden-fronted houses and a crowded bus stand. The main reasons to stop here are to pick up the Kangra Valley trains (8am, 12.20pm) to Pathankot, and to visit the Tibetan settlement at BlR, 15km to the west, where there are a couple of monasteries and a fledging paragliding centre. Rickshaws near the bus stand cover the three-kilometre journey west to the railway station. The smart HPTDC Hotel is at the eastern end of town. BAIJNATH, 30km west of Jogindernagar, is only noteworthy for
Jogindernagar and Baijnath in Northwest Himachal Pradesh
JOGINDERNAGAR, 63km northwest of Mandi, is an uninviting little town holding little more than two streets flanked by wooden-fronted houses and a crowded bus stand. The main reasons to stop here are to pick up the Kangra Valley trains (8am, 12.20pm) to Pathankot, and to visit the Tibetan settlement at BlR, 15km to the west, where there are a couple of monasteries and a fledging paragliding centre. Rickshaws near the bus stand cover the three-kilometre journey west to the railway station. The smart HPTDC Hotel is at the eastern end of town. BAIJNATH, 30km west of Jogindernagar, is only noteworthy for
The trek to Yamunotri northeast of Rishikesh in Uttaranchal
Cradled in a deep cleft in the lap of Bandarpunch, and thus denied mountain vistas, the temple of Yamunotri (3291m), 223km northeast of Rishikesh, marks the source of the Yamuna, India's second holiest river after the Ganges. The least dramatic but most beautiful of the four dhams (temples) of Garhwal, it's also the most unspoiled and the least commercial, and the undemanding fourteen-kilometre (5hr) trek up to it from Hanuman Chatti is one of the region's most popular short hikes. The trail leads through attractive countryside, following the turbulent ice-blue river as it runs below terraced fields, with snowy peaks
Kottayam and around in Kerala
The busy commercial centre of KOTTAYAM is strategically located between the backwaters to the west and the spice, tea and rubber plantations, forests, and the mountains of the Western Ghats to the east, 76km southeast of Kochi ana 37km northwest of Alappuzha. Most visitors come here on the way somewhere else - foreigners take short backwater trips to Alappuzha or set off to Penyar Wildlife Sanctuary, while Ayappa devotees pass through en route to the tor-est temple at Sabarimala (see p.1335). Kottayam's long history of Syrian Christian settlement is reflected by the presence of two thirteenth-century churches on a hill 5km
From eastern and central USA
Flying east, you'll stop over somewhere in Europe (most often London), the Gulf, or both. Figure on at least eighteen hours' total travel time from the East Coast. Air India and PIA discount their tickets heavily through a few specialist, understaffed New York consolidators. Marked-down tickets on European carriers - notably British Airways, Air France, KLM/Northwest and Lufthansa - are frequently sold by other discount agents. Other airlines flying between the eastern US and India include KLM/Northwest, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Aeroflot, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways and Egypt Air. Or you can simply hop on any of the dozens of