Nagaland HornBill Festival in 1-5 Dec 2008

ihavetravellust

Hi

I'm heading to Nagaland, North East India for the Annual HornBill Festival which starts 1-5 Dec 2008 so I need to be there maybe in the last week of Nov or the 1st of Dec.

For those who don't know whats the Horn Bill festival's about
It's one of the biggest celebrations where all the indigeous warrior tribes of Naga people gather, quite the highlight of that region!

To visit Nagaland, a travel permit is required and only given if there are 4 people to a group, this is to be booked thru a travel agent.

I need 3 more people who can share the cost of the travel

Quite a bummer that I can't travel freely and more independantly.

So if you are interested in coming along, please do send me a message!

I will be travelling from Kolkata/Calcutta
- sometime in last week of Nov 2008

Flying to into Guwahati Assam or
Dimapur, the only airport in Nagaland (only if I have the 4 person Permit !)


If you have been to Nagaland, Please Share your experience on how to get there, which is the best way of travelling there from Calcutta or Assam

and if you have a tour agent who can do the permit and land transfer cheaply, Please suggest it!

Thanks

ajaybijoor

Hi... I am an avid wildlife but had never head of this before. Can you please tell me something more about what actually happens here?

sanjay_atr

hi.....,


thanx for the info ,i just came to know about requirement of permit.Even am planning for a trip but by road .can u pls let me know any other states in that area need a permit and how long will it take to get permit.

sanjay

ihavetravellust

Perhaps you check on the FAQ under this Forum for more information for permits.

I am not from India, it is different for indian nationals.

Check these websites for more info. They do a better job in describing the whole festival
www.hornbillmusic.com/ABOUT_HORNBILL.HTM
miyzone.blogspot.com/2007/05/nagaland-hornbill-festival.html

assault_power

hi IHAVETRAVELLUST where are you taking a flight from to dimapur ,do let me know in advance, can help you through the permit thing permits are needed in lot of states in india,, they are like places on international borders we can bring in a whole lot of the subject to indiamike if fellow im ers are ready.

regards

ihavetravellust

I will be coming from Kolkata.
Can you tell me more how you can help with the permit issue.
Thanks

Gregor Samsa

Hey man. I was also into the idea of visiting Nagaland in this period, until I stumpled upon the permit requirements. I'm not sure I'll be able to go, but if I decide to go, I'll definately let you know.
Best, Paul - Photographer from Norway.

assault_power

please let me know your travel dates and number of passengers coming, and the duration of stay, will get you the details

arindamdhar0

i have spend 6 years in nagaland,mostly my childhood.after 1993 i never been their.Okha,junuputo,dimapur ...mostly in okha.
beautiful places..i like to go their again.can any one from here tell me how to be their.those place are not for tourist,so any lodge or any hotel any travel agency's name..if you people know please inform me.

Reemus

First post

There is only one Flight from Kolkata to Dimapur, operated by Indian Airlines. There is a direct train (Kamrup Express) from Kolkata to Dimapur, but you may need to book well in advance and the train reaches Dimapur late in the night.

Please try to avoid travelling in the night in entire North East, unless you have some local accompaning you, and even then I would not recommend it.

Travel to Guwahati by train or flight from Kolkata, for which there are many option available.
You can then travel to Dimapur by Train (4-7 hours) hours, Bus (7-10 hours) or by a Taxi (6-10).

If you choose to travel by taxi you could stay for a night in Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary. There are a few good resorts there, Wildgrass used to be good, don't know how it is now. The risk of travelling by taxi is that this part of India (Assam) may have Strikes at the drop of the hat and travelling by road may not be possible.

Keep your itinerary flexible in this region.

Cheers
Reemus

Reemus

check out the following link for information on Nagaland.

http://www.incredibleindia.org/newsi...asp?pageid=384

For Inner Line Permit, you can contact FRRO Office:

Foreigner's Regional Registration Officer, Kolkata
FRRO : B.K.Talukdar.
Telephone No. : 033-22470549 (O)
033-22470549 (Fax)
Email Address : frrokol@nic.in

Foreigners Registration
Office Address : 237, Acharya Jagdish
Chandra Bose Road,
Kolkata-700020.

Cheers
Reemus

mezakichu

Hi all,
A very informative post by Reemus. Please take note of what it was said.
I am from Nagaland and currently residing outside of Nagaland (not in India). I'll be in Nagaland by late nov.
Since this country site is yet to be a tourist destination spot, i think you need to slog a bit to find out more about the place and accommodation prior to taking the trip.
The best option to reach Nagaland is by flight(Dimapur)- normally arrives by afternoon- have time to think of whether to stay back for the night in Dimapur or catch a taxi to Kohima ( fare is around Rs 150 = USD$4).
Hi "ihavetravellust", i have a friend wanting to visit Nagaland and is on the process of finding non-Indian nationals for RAP. If you haven't yet found the other members,please let me know.

Cheers,
Meza

paperplanepilot

hello there,

just saw this thread for the first time, i'm excited to hear about the hornbill festival! i've always been fascinated with nagas and their colorful attires, and it would be great to join! Also, it fits in very nicely with my unfinished itinerary: varanasi-bodhgaya-kolkata-northeast intenerary help!

is your plan still on, ihavetravellust? haven't seen a post from you on this thread for a while. If you're still going, please let me know about the details. you can find my email id in my profile.

warm regards,
bhuvan

__________________
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- Walt Whitman

erik

hi everyone,i'm from Kohima, Nagaland.a very warm welcome to everyone planning to visit my home state.check out this website may help...http://tourismnagaland.com/.

nagamero

Here is how u can get it. The Restricted Area Permits can be aquired through the Home Ministry in Delhi or through the Nagaland houses in Delhi, Kolkota, Gauwahati and where ever else there is Nagaland house. For the rest of the domestic tourist you can get the Innerline Permits through Nagaland house or through the Surperintendent of Police in Dimapur. They have special fast track made specially for the hornbill festival. Good luck to you all who wants to be there for the festival.

I too shall be going there along with my family. What a way to start the festive month! Bundle up its winter

The best way to get there is to fly to Dimapur from Kolkota. Indian Airlines/Air India flies to Dimapur. The last time I flew in to Dimapur that was in August 2008, Air Deccan was flying in to Dimapur as well. The roads from Gauwahati to Nagaland is not the most pleasant one and driving on that highway is hair raising. There is a Rajdhani train that goes (i think) daily to Nagaland from Gauwahati.