Hornbill Festival, Nagaland and Manipur

Arrive at Dimapur Airport by noon, where your driver meets you for the transfer towards Kohima. En route, stop for around thirty minutes to discover the historic Kacheri Ruins, home to ancient mushroom-domed stone pillars left by the Kachari kingdom. Continue your journey up into the hills to Nagaland's capital. Check in to your hotel in Kohima and spend the evening relaxing and acclimatising to the cooler hill climate and higher altitude. Dinner is included tonight at your hotel.

After an included breakfast, set out around 9:00 AM on a guided cultural walk through Kigwema, one of the earliest settlements of the Angami tribe. Spend about three hours learning about local traditions, building styles, and rural life, followed by a traditional lunch served at a local tribal house. In the afternoon, return to Kohima for a three-hour city tour. Pay your respects at the Kohima War Memorial commemorating the World War II Burma campaign, and visit a local church to observe the region's Christian heritage. Return to your hotel for an included dinner.

Have breakfast at your hotel before departing at 9:00 AM for the Hornbill Festival Arena at Kisama Heritage Village. Watch the colourful opening ceremony of the festival and spend the day exploring tribal morungs representing eighteen ethnic communities across Nagaland. Browse traditional arts, listen to folk music, and sample tribal preparations at festival food stalls during lunch. As darkness settles, wander through the bustling night carnival stalls and enjoy live music concerts. Return to your hotel in Kohima for dinner.

Depart at 9:15 AM after breakfast on a one-hour drive to Khonoma, recognized as Nagaland's green village. Spend two to three hours on a guided walk discovering its community-led conservation history, hunting bans, terraced fields, and Angami heritage. After your village visit, travel back towards Kohima to revisit the Hornbill Festival grounds in Kisama. Use this afternoon to see cultural performances you missed earlier, wander among your favourite morungs, or simply take in the festival atmosphere at your own speed. Return to your Kohima hotel for dinner.

Eat an early breakfast before heading out on a scenic and challenging trek into Dzukou Valley. Hike through green bamboo groves and along hill trails to reach the wide, undulating valley floor. Enjoy panoramic views of the open meadows, seasonal streams, and distinctive floral landscapes that make this valley famous across the region. After spending the day walking in the valley and exploring its natural features, make your way back along the trail and drive to Kohima for your overnight stay and dinner.

Have breakfast, check out of your hotel in Kohima, and embark on a scenic inter-state drive crossing the border into Manipur to reach its capital, Imphal. Start your afternoon sightseeing at Kangla Palace, the historic administrative and spiritual seat of the Meitei rulers, where you can view ancient temples, moats, and gardens. Stop for an authentic Manipuri lunch at Luxmi Kitchen, known for local specialities. Later, wander through Ema Keithel, the historic mother's market run entirely by thousands of women traders. Check in to your hotel in Imphal for dinner.

Following breakfast, check out from Imphal and drive southward towards Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater body in Northeast India. Break the journey for local sightseeing, including a stop at the INA Museum which commemorates the Azad Hind Fauj and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Upon reaching Loktak Lake, take in views of the unique circular floating vegetation masses known as phumdis. Check into your floating accommodation situated directly on the lake, where you can watch evening life on the water. Dinner is included at the lake stay tonight.

After breakfast on the lake, check out and begin your return drive to Dimapur. If time allows before your flight, take an excursion to explore Chumukedima Village in the foothills and admire the scenic cascades of Triple Falls set amidst lush greenery. Afterward, your driver transfers you directly to Dimapur Airport in good time for your onward flight, concluding your journey through Nagaland and Manipur.