Tourists discover a ‘peaceful’ Nagaland

From about 60,000 domestic visitors and 2,000 foreign tourists in 2005, the figures shot up to over one lakh Indians and a little over 3,500 foreigners who came to Nagaland last year.

Says Tourism Commissioner and Secretary Khekiye K Sema: “Tourists are coming to Nagaland from different parts of the world, including France, Germany, England, Israel, Korea, Thailand and the US.”

Such is the rush that capital Kohima is witnessing a spurt in new hotels and tourist bungalows. While three years ago, a government tourist lodge and Hotel Japfu (initially promoted by ITDC) were the only two decent accommodations, now the city has at least 10 good hotels and lodges. Two bungalows have been converted into heritage hotels.

Chief Minister Rio says Nagaland has many attractions for tourists: “We have so many things to show. And the state has always evoked a sense of mysticism and awe due to its geographical remoteness. While an ordinary Naga may not be able to compete with people from other states in many fields, when it comes to hospitality, I can bet the Nagas are the best.”

One of the features the state is touting is its unique model of villages generating their own income through communitisation of assets. This started at Touphema, 41 km from Kohima, and now its 600-odd villagers are beginning to reap the benefits of tourism.

“The Touphema Village Council has a village development board which, like panchayats in non-tribal states, is responsible for overall planning and development. The village also has a tourism committee that not only coordinates with the Tourism Department and private tour operators, but also runs a community kitchen for guests apart from looking after things like cleaning and acting as guides,” says Sema.

As a visitor arrives at the village, he or she is greeted with a welcome drink comprising the traditional rice beer, followed by music and traditional dance. Villagers also show tourists how to cook local dishes.

The Touphema experiment is fast catching on. Khonoma, a historic village 20 km west of Kohima, is being developed as a green village (it has a 25-sq km Khonoma Nature Conservation Tragopan Sanctuary).

Benreu, about 60 km away, has been getting foreign tourists for the past two years.

Nagaland has also developed a 60-acre site at Kisama near Kohima as a Naga Heritage Site. It has 16 morungs, or traditional dormitories, representing 16 different tribes which showcase the state’s unique tribal art and culture, and also hosts the Hornbill Festival in the first week of December every year.

The dormitories also house college students coming for excursions, with local villagers showing them how the traditional Naga society requires its young to not just live together but also take part in community work like cleaning the village and helping construct roads and houses.

Jesmina Zeliang, the young entrepreneur who only last month converted a private bungalow into a nine-room heritage hotel called Razhu Pru, is happy he took the plunge. “We initially thought it was a risky affair. But it has been an instant hit with tour operators in Delhi and Guwahati,” says Zeliang.

Theja Meru, who revamped the 100-year-old deputy commissioner’s bungalow in the heart of Kohima for his heritage hotel, is equally thrilled.

But the last word comes from the CM himself. “Nagaland may have been in the news for being a trouble-torn place, but there isn’t a single instance of a tourist being touched.”