Kohima Before Hornbill: A Slow Day in Nagaland's Capital

Most people meet Kohima through a windscreen. They come up the long road from Dimapur in the dark, check in, and the next morning they are on a shared taxi to Kisama for the opening of the Hornbill Festival. The town itself becomes a place they sleep in. That is a pity, because Kohima is one of the most layered small capitals in India, and the best way to understand the festival you have travelled so far to see is to give the town a full day before you ever reach the stadium-style arena at the Naga Heritage Village.

This piece is a case for that day. Arrive a day early if you can, keep the first morning free, and walk.

A town built on ridges

Kohima sits high on a series of ridges, a little under 1,500 metres above sea level, and almost nothing in it is flat. Streets switch back on themselves, steps cut between houses, and the view from one neighbourhood is usually the roofs of the next. In December the light is clear and low, mornings are cold and the sun drops early, so a walking day here starts after breakfast and ends with the first chill of late afternoon.

Wear shoes that grip. The pavements are uneven and the steps can be steep. Carry a light jacket even if the noon sun feels warm; once the sun slips behind the hills the temperature falls quickly.

The War Cemetery, first

Begin at the Kohima War Cemetery, on the slope of what was once the Deputy Commissioner’s bungalow and its tennis court. In April 1944 this hillside was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the Second World War in Asia, when Japanese forces advancing towards India were held at Kohima. The Battle of Kohima, together with Imphal, is often described as a turning point of the Burma campaign.

The cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and it is quiet, terraced and immaculately kept. Walk slowly. Read the names and the ages. Near the top you will find the memorial carrying the lines that begin “When you go home, tell them of us and say”. The court lines of the old tennis court are marked, because the fighting there was famously close.

Go early in the morning while the town is still waking. It is a place that rewards silence, and you will understand something about why Nagaland’s relationship with the wider world is complicated before you have spoken to anyone. Opening hours can change, so check locally rather than relying on old listings.

Into the old village

Kohima is not only a government town. Above the commercial centre sits Kohima Village, known in Angami as Kewhira, one of the oldest and largest villages in the region. This is where the town’s roots are, and where you will see the older architecture of the Angami Nagas: gates carved with symbols of warriors, mithun heads and the sun and moon, and houses that still keep some of the old forms among the newer concrete.

Do not treat the village as an open-air museum. People live here, children go to school here and Sunday is church day. Walk the main paths, nod to anyone who looks at you, and ask before you photograph a house, a gate or a person. If you can, go with a local guide, ideally someone with family ties to the village. They will know which gates belong to which khel (clan quarter) and the stories that go with them, and they can make introductions that a stranger cannot.

The market, in the middle of the day

By late morning, head back down to the town’s markets. Kohima’s local market is where you see what people actually cook: river fish, smoked pork, bamboo shoot in several forms, fermented soybean, chillies including the famous king chilli, leafy greens and herbs whose names you may not know in any language. Some stalls sell insects and larvae in season, and this is often where visitors first realise that Naga food is a world of its own rather than a version of something they know.

Be curious and respectful. Many vendors are women from surrounding villages who travelled in that morning. Ask what something is, how it is cooked, whether it is for today or for keeping. If you want to take a picture, ask first and accept a no without fuss. Buy something small, such as a packet of dried chillies or a jar of fermented bamboo shoot, if your luggage rules allow it.

The cathedral and the view

In the afternoon, walk or take a short taxi ride to the Catholic Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians on Aradura Hill. It is a large, distinctive building that draws on traditional Naga house design, and it holds one of the largest wooden crosses you are likely to see. Even if you are not religious, the cathedral says something about modern Nagaland, where the large majority of people are Christian and the church is central to community life.

From the slopes around Aradura you get one of the better views over the town: the ridges stacked against each other, the roofs, the wooded hills beyond. Late afternoon light in December can be beautiful here.

Why a slow day matters

When you finally reach Kisama, a little over ten kilometres from town, the festival grounds are laid out as a series of traditional morungs, one for each of the major tribes. Performers in full dress dance, sing and re-enact ceremonies in front of large crowds. It is spectacular and well organised. But it is also, by design, a showcase.

The day in Kohima gives you the context. You will have seen the cemetery that explains why many older Nagas have a particular memory of outsiders. You will have walked through a village gate and seen how carvings are part of daily life, not just festival décor. You will have stood in a market where the ingredients of the festival food stalls are sold by the women who grow them. And you will have noticed how the town works: the taxis that wait in queues, the Sunday hush, the way people greet each other in the street.

Practical notes for the extra day

Kohima has a range of guesthouses and hotels, and homestays in and around the town. During the festival, accommodation fills early and rates usually rise, so book well ahead and confirm the location carefully, since a hotel listed as “Kohima” can be some way out of town on a winding road.

Taxis are the main way to get around. Agree the fare before you get in, especially in festival week. Walking is entirely possible between central areas if you are comfortable with hills, and it is often faster than sitting in traffic during the busiest festival evenings.

Cash is useful. Digital payments are increasingly common, but network coverage can be patchy and smaller vendors may prefer cash.

Finally, remember that you need the right permit to be in Nagaland at all. Our piece on permits and the inner line in this issue explains the basics; check the current rules with the state government before you travel, because they have changed more than once in recent years.

One small ask

If you take one thing from this day, take the habit of asking. Ask before you photograph, ask what something is before you eat it, ask who carved a gate before you assume it is “traditional art”. Kohima rewards travellers who treat it as a home rather than a backdrop, and that habit will make the festival itself far richer when you finally walk into the arena at Kisama.