Uncharted Landscapes

Often reduced to myths and distance, Nagaland unfolds as a land of living cultures, wild landscapes and journeys that turn inward as much as they move forward

- VISSA VENKATA SUNDAR

Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. And sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.

For many Indian travellers, the North East still exists in the realm of half-knowledge and inherited myths. Nagaland, one of the eight sister states, often enters conversations wrapped in a single adjective—mysterious. Fierce warriors. Remote hills. Tribal lore. And little else. It is spoken of as though it were a place frozen in time, distant both geographically and culturally.

Then you arrive.

And the stereotypes quietly fall apart.

The hills glisten under a generous winter sun. Forests appear gloriously unspoilt, unapologetically green. The air—clean, sharp, almost celebratory—forces you to breathe deeper, slower. Nagaland reveals itself gradually, through colour, culture, silence and warmth of people who seem entirely comfortable with who they are.

Drive through the state, and you will discover terrains that feel uncharted, landscapes that reward patience, and roads that off-roaders would find purpose-built for adventure. This is a land where maps often surrender, and instinct takes over. Where journeys matter as much as destinations.

If Nagaland has a heartbeat, it pulses strongest in the first week of December at the Hornbill Festival—aptly titled the Festival of Festivals. Held at the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, just outside Kohima, this ten-day cultural spectacle is both a celebration and a statement.

It is pomp, colour and confidence rolled into one.

What began as a regional cultural showcase has now secured its place firmly on the global cultural calendar.

Foreign tourists arrive in droves, cameras ready, expectations high—and leave visibly transformed. What unfolds before them is an electrifying display of art, attire, music, dance and indigenous expression, not just from Nagaland but from the wider North Eastern region.