Hornbill Festival guide: Kohima in December

The dates are fixed every year: 1 to 10 December. This makes planning easy compared with lunar festivals elsewhere in the region. The opening day often brings dignitaries and a formal programme, and weekends are the busiest days.

Indian citizens need a Nagaland Inner Line Permit, applied for online at about ₹200 for 30 days, usually approved within hours. Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit, reimposed in December 2024, plus a Nagaland ILP of about ₹500. For Hornbill 2025 the PAP requirement for foreigners was relaxed, and the state has asked for its withdrawal, so this is a rule to check close to your dates. Check current status before you travel.

The nearest airport is Dimapur, with flights from Kolkata, Guwahati and Delhi, though routes change. From Dimapur, Kohima is about 74 km, or 2.5 to 3 hours by road on NH-29. Kisama is a further 20 to 30 minutes from Kohima, and traffic is heavy during the festival. A private car and driver make a large difference, since parking and drop-off points shift daily.

If you are travelling from Kaziranga or Guwahati, the road via Dimapur takes about 5.5 to 6 hours to Kohima. The final climb is slow, so arrive in daylight.

Accommodation is the hardest part of planning Hornbill. Kohima has no luxury hotels and a limited number of good rooms, and demand in early December far exceeds supply. Prices rise sharply, and the best rooms sell out by mid-year.

The options are well-run hotels in Kohima's upper town, small heritage guesthouses in old colonial bungalows, family homestays in Kohima, and homestays in villages close to Kisama, such as Kigwema and Jakhama, which save the daily traffic. The state also sets up festival campsites. We book the best available rooms for our guests by July, and choose between town and village based on whether you prefer evening events in Kohima or easy mornings at Kisama.

Whichever you choose, check three things before booking: whether rooms have reliable hot water and heating, since December nights are cold; how far the property is from Kisama by road at festival times; and whether meals are included, as restaurants fill quickly in the evenings. A homestay with a good host can be the most rewarding choice of all, with home-cooked Naga food and conversation about the festival from people who take part in it.

The table gives the broad shape of a festival day. Exact programmes are published by the organisers and change daily.

The arena performances are the centrepiece. Dancers in feathered headdresses, cowrie shell ornaments, woven shawls and arm bands perform war dances with spears and shields, harvest songs in slow circles, and ceremonial dances that mark stages in the farming year. Log drums, hollowed from single tree trunks, are beaten in thunderous rhythm. Traditional games include wrestling, climbing greased bamboo poles and contests of strength.

Around the arena, each morung displays its tribe's architecture, carved posts, skulls of mithun and other symbols of status, and household objects. Elders sit by the fire and are often happy to talk through a translator. Craft stalls sell Naga shawls, each tribe's pattern distinct, as well as beadwork, wood carvings, bamboo and cane work and jewellery. Buying directly supports the makers.

The festival has grown to include rock concerts, a night bazaar in Kohima, motor rallies and other events, which some visitors enjoy and others avoid. The core, though, remains the morungs and the arena.

Each morung runs a kitchen serving its tribe's food, and eating your way around them is one of the festival's pleasures. Smoked pork cooked with bamboo shoot or axone, the fermented soybean that gives Naga food its distinctive savoury depth, is the staple. Expect boiled greens, river fish, sticky rice, and chutneys made with the raja mircha, one of the hottest chillies in the world. Some stalls offer silkworm larvae, snails and other foods unfamiliar to most visitors.

Nagaland has prohibited alcohol since 1989 and is officially a dry state. Rice beer, made and served in traditional ways, appears in festival contexts. Follow local guidance, do not bring alcohol into the state, and drink plenty of water. Vegetarians will find options, though fewer than elsewhere; tell your guide in advance.

Photography is welcome at Kisama, and many visitors come for it. Performers are used to cameras, but courtesy matters. Ask before taking close portraits, especially of elders. Do not walk into the arena during performances, block other spectators or use flash in performers' faces. Inside morungs, ask before photographing ritual objects.

Dress warmly and modestly. December mornings in Kohima are around 5 °C, and Kisama's hillside can be windy. Comfortable shoes matter, as paths are steep and uneven. Keep valuables secure in the crowds. Above all, remember that you are a guest at a celebration that belongs to the Naga people.

Two or three days at Kisama are enough for most visitors, ideally in the first half of the festival, when crowds are lighter. Use the remaining days to see Kohima and its surroundings: the Commonwealth War Cemetery on Garrison Hill, where the 1944 battle was fought; Khonoma, the Angami village known as India's first green village; and, for fit walkers, a long day hike to the rim of Dzukou Valley.

A five-night stay in Kohima works well, followed by three nights at Kaziranga, about 5.5 to 6 hours away, where December is excellent for rhinos. Fly out from Jorhat or Guwahati. Our eight-night Hornbill and Kaziranga journey follows this plan.