Have I traveled for the first time? Wondered I, the Universe had a burst of hearty laughter and nodded her head in incongruity!
Asked me, "Tell me how the earthy scent and the slight showers feel like in the unseen land?" Said her, "
The petrichor, you would carry in your memory and my exquisiteness in your heart forever"!
Screamed I in joy and ran into the lovely arms of the Mother Nature!
Caressed her, tucked I safe and deep in the warmth of her bosom never to return empty-handed!
The dreamy and the mystical land of some intriguing tribes and culture is indeed a paradise for the ones who hanker to unwind freely and wildly in Mother Nature's abode. Everything here seems eternally blissful and it certainly makes one feel like they are taking a stroll in the celestial abode with angels greeting them.
The people, the culture, the sweeping views of the paddy fields, the spacious sea of clouds covering the land can allure anyone and yes, I am talking about the most beautiful place on the earth, "The Nagaland".
Being a first-timer in the North East, exploring this stunning piece of beauty was really an experience and every single step that I took felt extraordinary and close to my soul. Well, to quote, "Man proposes, God disposes", my plans went erratic and I was drawn towards this astounding beauty by a stroke of luck.
I had unusually got into the fitness regime and had not realized that it would come handy while I trekked to this lovely place. Every bead of my sweat paid off as I took steps towards the mighty Dziikou valley, located on the borders of the finest states of Manipur and Nagaland. If there exists a synonym for "Virgin beauty", then it is undoubtedly the "Dziikou valley".
Though there are flights directly to Dimapur which is at a distance of 74 km from the capital city of Nagaland, Kohima; I chose to board the flight to Guwahati because the flight tickets to Guwahati was considerably cheaper and also I would get an opportunity to take a tour around the sprawling city.
The city is an abode of one of the famous temples which attract devotees from across the world, the Kamakhya Mandir. Being revered as one of the famous pilgrim centers for Hindus, this temple had always caught my attention and here was my chance which I did not want to let go off.
Off I set to Guwahati on the June 7th early morning from the Kempegowda International Airport in Namma Bengaluru and landed in the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati after a cumbersome sitting position with negligible leg space with the Air Asia airlines.
There were times when I felt that the normal KSRTC buses had enough leg space when compared to this flight. Well, I had no choice and I drifted off to sleep but was soon awakened by the announcements from the flight captain.
I always felt Bengaluru was the only city which had a lot of traffic but, Guwahati surprised me with the colossal traffic and the gratuitous driving skills of people. Everyone wanted to chase one another and my uber driver was also taking off like a pilot.
Since Uber is one of the most common services, it is recommended to book one in advance because I ended up waiting at the airport for more than an hour after my arrival.
At times, it also becomes a little difficult to handle the balderdash of the local taxi drivers who would demand twice the price the very moment they realize you are an outsider. After all the hassles and beating the deadly traffic jams, I reached my hotel, "Treebo Trend Park Rivera" located at the Uzan Bazaar, one of the oldest colonies of Guwahati.
After a couple of hours of sound sleep, I woke up and headed straight to the Kamakhya temple which is at a distance of 9 km approximately and my Uber Driver Champak Bhayya was a very courteous man. Being Friday the temple was heavily flooded with a large number of devotees and it was almost impossible to enter the sanctum sanctorum.
I sought blessings from the outside and walked out to experience the flawless Brahmaputra and the sunset after which I took a stroll in the streets of Guwahati, visited a café called the Tea Story and walked back to my temporary yet, lovely and cozy home, the Treebo Trend Park Rivera after bidding bye to my amazing driver, Champak Bhayya who was my chauffeur for the entire evening.
With amazing hosts and services at my residential hotel, I spent the night peacefully snuggled comfortably in the warm blankets and snored away to glory. The next day morning I woke up early because the sun here shines brightly by 3:30 am wishing everyone a lovely morning coupled with the melody of the birds chirping and hopping from one branch to the other enthusiastically. I packed my bags quickly and started off towards the railway station where I had the Janshatabdi waiting to transport me to Dimapur.
The journey took about 3 hours and at the Dimapur railway station, my fellow-trekkers and I were greeted by our trek leader and captain, Novi-u Kere. Being a typical Naga guy, he was pretty confident, witty and spoke quite too less but, ended up becoming a good friend by the end of the trek.
The roads of Nagaland are in a very bad state for a tourist but, as a traveler, I enjoyed every bit of that off-road four-wheel drive. It was lunch time and we were taken to one of the finest Naga restaurants called the Niathu resort on our way that served some of the authentic Naga delicacies made of pork, fish and of course, their staple food; the rice.
As a vegetarian, I had very limited choices but the chef helped me to order a few dishes of which the wild leaves curry in combination with the millet rice satiated my hunger and I also loved the sticky rice.
But, I wanted to try more hence, after a ten minute of deep discussion, I went ahead and ordered the local Naga vegetarian dish called the rupsup, which was made using a type of bitter-gourd and green chilies but, the taste was extremely different.
Finally I had to settle down with a bowl of Rajma Dal called the Naga Dal, which was also cooked with a wide variety of spices and herbs and of course, everything served to me was an acquired taste. We took a stroll in the Anthurium garden of the resort and then started back our journey to Kohima after some slight showers.
As I looked outside the window the famous quote of Ibn Batuta suddenly came to life, "Travelling - It offers you a hundred roads to adventure, and gives your heart wings!" and it felt so true at the moment.
The sight of freshly grown plums, the army convoys, the rugged and the rough roads, the humpy and the bumpy ride, the local village people everything is so beautiful.
I enjoyed the sight of small stores that sold vegetables like French beans, bamboo shoots and ladies fingers that are pretty common on your way to Kohima, I stuck my head out smiling until a cloud of dust hit me hard.
The roads are under maintenance hence, the drive gets extremely dusty; so it is good to carry a mask as prevention and these roads would last until we reach Kohima.
After 3 hours rugged and rough drive in the Bolero, we reached the most wonderful piece of my journey, " The Japfii homestay ". This was a typical Naga home and the host was one of the finest ladies I have ever met. The home itself was like a dreamy place, everything used as the décor was made with wood or bamboo.
Everything in the home looked so classy, trendy and colorful. There were flower pots that were arranged uniformly and this was one home where I saw the dogs and cats playing together gleefully and that was pretty surprising.
My stay there was just for a day and a half but the attachment and fondness with the home and her would be etched in my heart forever. The dal, the papad, the veg fried rice, and the veg momos along with the other dishes always got served with heaps of love and affection and I must say, she is a brilliant chef.
After a bumpy ride on the rough and untouched roads, with all our bones crushing we had to hit the bed early as the next day was an adventurous one. Waking up early in the morning had now become a habit to me and I ended up waking up by 4:30 am and walked into the kitchen and exchanged some pleasantries with my lovable host.
I played with the kitten and the pup for some time and made some Maggie my own way. Our lunch bags were ready and we were all set to trek to the mystical, the whimsical and the tough Dziikou valley.
Our captain along with his little brother, Adolie a had arrived on time and we started to ascend the valley from the Viswema village, it had started to drizzle and we were all prepared with the rain jackets and windcheaters. The first few steps were slightly easy but, after which the climb started to get tougher and steeper.
While the others moved slightly faster I managed to keep the same pace throughout my trek without having to worry about the competition. The pack was lead by Adolie followed by Novi-u being the last wolf who watched over the others.
I walked slowly and steadily and at times took breaks more than required, took sips of water to stay hydrated, laughed and cracked jokes with my fellow-trekker and our captain and finally clicked a lot of photographs which would always be treasured.
The trail is covered with thick foliage of various species of trees, shrubs, flora, and fauna forming a canopy as you walk protecting you from the unpredictable downpours and we also spotted varieties of insects, flies, and bugs on our way up.
The pine trees, the maple trees, the bamboos, the eucalyptus, and the multi-colored rhododendron trees are the ones that I could identify. Watching the different kinds of fungi, mushrooms, and wildflowers can again to the joy especially when you are tired.
After climbing up 4 hours straight we were led to the glorious valley, The Dziikou valley. The valley unveils like a shining gem hidden in the crown of a beautiful princess taking away all the down in the dumps feeling all at once.
The mother earth in her most curvaceous form draped in different hues and shades of green and muted tones of brown and yellow would leave you thunderstruck at the very first sight. It reminded me of my most favorite character Tiffiti, from Moana and I jumped with glee like a little girl.
She is so massive, yet so placid; the path to get a glimpse of her is so craggy and feral yet, the spectacle view of hers makes us go weak in knees. We are so tiny in front of her yet, she embraces all of us with equal love, she truly is a mother, and everything is her!
Everything came to still and I could hear the mountains speak and calling out to me in a playful tone. I basked in the warmth at the entrance of the valley for about half an hour and filled my heart and soul with the ravishing beauty before we started off to the base camp.
The walk from the entrance of the valley to the base camp is pretty easy and consists of flat terrain. Walking till the base camp would take another hour and from there reaching the valley to catch the glimpse of the indigenous lilies, the Aconitum, and the euphorbia would easily take another hour and a half.
Dziikou is also apparently the Valley of Flowers of the North East and you get to see a lot of flowers blooming in full swing which would be nothing lesser than a feast to the pair of eyes.
There are a couple of streams and small bridges that you need to cross to reach the valley and they aren't too tough but, just for a couple of places where there are sand stones which makes the descend a little slippery. While coming back too, the trail isn't that tough and you can make it easily back to the base camp in about an hour and a half.
At the base camp, there are restrooms, dormitories and separate rooms to rest and camp for the night. There are also options for camping tents which can make your stay even exciting. The overall trek one way would approximately be 20-21km. After a memorable trek to the valley and binging on some hot and yummy dal chawal and the potato curry in the kitchen at the base camp.
After a lazy chit-chat and some funny conversations, I went straight into my cozy sleeping bag with three layers of clothing as the temperature drops down in the valley to 10-11 degrees at night and it is important to stay warm.
The next day was again another exploratory day because we had to climb down the valley after some yummy Wai Wai noodles and tea. Descend apparently was one of the exciting bits because it was pouring cats and dogs yet, we did not stop and continued to walk down slowly and steadily.
On our way back we stopped at a beautiful gorge that offers an exciting view to the adventure junkies because the climb at that stretch gets a little tough and to get to the stream you must get down which is slightly arduous.
With least number of pit-stops and few difficult points, we made it brilliantly to the foothills where a Tata Sumo awaited to pick us up back to the Homestay.
Every single step that I took in the wild is tremendous and would be cherished incessantly because of the perspectives and the dimensions it gave me, this trek was a classic example for hard work always pays off and it was a challenge for my endurance.
The acquaintances, the deep conversations, the jokes, the one-liners, the jaw-dropping first sight of the valley and the songs on our way back down the valley are those priceless moments which are too less to capture in the form of words.
I am sure to go back to the enchanting Dziikou again because the feel of life in cloud-cuckoo land is no more a myth, it is REAL and yes, MIRACLES happen!
Trek guides: No-viu Kere and Adolie Kere can be reached on
87878 33207 Japfii Homestay: 87310 53304
Until another delightful place beckons me, FreeFeet signing off!
Trek Details
1. Trek level: Moderate to Difficult
2. Duration: 2 days Best time to trek: Every season has its own charm.
Things to Carry
1. Preferably a pair of waterproof trekking shoes with good lugs is needed.
2. Torch, headlamps, thermal wear, fleece jacket, and windcheaters are must carry.
3. Ponchos and raincoats are important too.
4. A water bottle and some protein bars would be good to carry as there are no shops on the way until the base camp.
5. Socks, gloves, neck warmer and extra pair of clothes for a change over are certainly required.
I shall come back to you shortly with yet another North-East beauty :) By the way, this was a 9 day trip altogether..
Frequent searches leading to this page:-
Splendid Assam and Meghalaya Tour, Assam Arunachal Meghalaya package tour - East Himalaya, Assam and Meghalaya Tour Package 09 nights 10 days, Assam Tour with Meghalaya