Dzukou Valley Trek, Nagaland

Valley of Flower - Dzukou Valley, Nagaland 

Nagaland is a microcosm of India, many different languages, people with different religious beliefs and places of worship, multiple cuisine, different musical instruments and weapons for hunting (this although is not very Indian)


On my last trip to Nagaland I was totally taken by the diversity of Nagaland and hospitality of Naga people. I made couple of good friends and I was always trying to find ways to meet them again. Last trip was also a great learning experience as I got to learn a lot about Geography of Nagaland and I was advised by a good friend to trek around Dzukou Valley as the winter subsides and that is exactly what I did.

IIT has a very weird culture of Holi, we dig a hole in the ground, fill it with water and then you pick up everyone in the hostel and throw him in the mud. After having gone through all this for first year I planned to escape all this. Dzukou Valley essential came in my mind as it is a short trek, barely takes some 5-6 hours to climb up. So I called up my friends in Nagaland about this and they were all excited for the get together.

I planned on traveling during the night to Nagaland because of the time crunch. So I took a train from Guwahati to Dimapur which dropped me there at 6:30 AM. There is a taxi stand just outside the railway station, there taxis directly go to Kohima and charge around INR 200. It takes some two hours to reach Kohima.

The road to Kohima is beautifully dotted by the scenic expanse of the green valley, you can see the valorous Assam Rifles troops near the road and the prettiest faces of the Naga Women, awe-inspiring. At around 8:30 we were already in Kohima. As I got down the memories from the last visit flashed in my mind. I took a little walk around the city, on my way I saw the World War Two memorial with all its glories, it feels good to revisit the memories sometimes. As a general habit before any trek, I buy some chocolates for the way as they are good source of instant energy. Moku, a friend from Nagaland was waiting for me near the bus stop, so I stopped the train of memories and rushed towards it.

I requested Moku to make this trip with me but due to his preoccupations he could not make it. So he helped us in getting the right bus, after half an hour we landed in Vishwema Village from where the trek actually begin.


It was 9:30 in the morning and we started our trek, it is a short trek but not the effortless one. All along the trek one has to follow a stream which runs parallel. You can see a lot of local people on the way who are quite friendly in showing you the way. No guide of porter service offered for this trek, and one doesn't even feel the need of it. I could not find anyone else on the trek and this was giving me a strange sense of uncertainty.

So after five hours of trekking through the forest, we finally landed on the top. While taking the final steps, at first you don't see anything but when you span your sight around you a valley whose beauty is unparalleled. I sat there for half an hour and then made the journey forward. After walking for one more hour we saw couple of huts and from them was emanating an enchanting sound of christian music.

Meditating on Nature.

We went inside one of these huts, introduced ourself. We were advised to buy some firewood for the night as the temperature in the valley goes subzero. After spending some time interacting with another group of trekkers from Manipur we went to for a walk around the valley. From here I saw one of the most beautiful sunset in my life.

At night I went to meet the other group and had a nice time talking to them, they taught me how to light the fire, we discussed about the internal politics and problems in Manipur. I also got to know, in a great detail about the Arunanchal Pradesh. One very interesting thing that I noticed about Arunanchal Pradesh was that they speak hindi over there and that to in a "Bihari Accent" while the other parts of North East like Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland us english as a common language to communicate. I also go to know about the some very strange traditions in Arunanchal Pradesh.

At night we realised that the sheet which we brought on the trek was not enough as the temperature went below zero. I for the first time in my life realised slept inside my backpack and was just wishing that the night would end. When the cold became unbearable I covered went out to light the fire again, it took an effort of around one hour to light up the fire for a short duration of half and hour but anyway the efforts themselves kept me warm.


Next morning we could see the layer of ice on the valley, we could also see the small stream frozen. We walked around the valley to witness some amazing sights, an abandoned cave and sparse vegetation. We took some tea in one of the huts and than I started talking to the owner of the house. As always I am always curious about the traditional drinks of hill people and I was introduced to one such drink called "Sigmai". When I asked if they had some Zouthou, the drink which I had the last time in Nagaland they declined, but Sigmai did its job, it surely does lighten your mind.

After spending some time with local people and knowing some ghost stories about the place we trekked down the valley, it took us some four hours to trek down and just after climbing down for two hours we were able to find the motorable roads. You can find a lot of people, relaxing on there jeeps with hunting guns in there hands, if they see that it is discomforting they come to you to explain.

At the base we were lucky to find a jeep to Kohima, where we eat in one of shops managed by a marwadi. We were lucky meet Moku and his friends again and they bid us farewell.

The train from Dimapur to Guwahati was at night and we had some time in Kohima to spend. I got in  conversation with some Manipuri students and got an understanding about the AFSPA law there. At 3 PM around we left Kohima for Dimapur.


Thereon we had another train journey back to Guwahati.

On my second visit to Nagaland,  I have become more comfortable around Naga people. I also learned the differences in Political ideologies, need and necessities of minorities in our country. Also the fact that a ban in one part of a country on something can raise the insecurity in the minds of minorities living in the other part. If I have to sum up in one line, this trip really made me more diplomatic.