Nagaland festivals draw crowds

Over the course of the next two years, the state of Nagaland aims to aggressively promote its natural wonders and festivals, including the Hornbill Festival that received as many as 13,000 tourists last year. It may also add more adventure and tourist sites that hadn’t been promoted earlier.

TT Bureau

Nagaland is the land of festivals, claims H Khehovi Yepthomi, Advisor – Tourism, Art & Culture, Nagaland, adding that it is the different festivals celebrated by the different tribes in the state that usually attract tourists.

“We have 16 major tribes; if you include the sub-tribes, the total comes to 40. Every tribe has a different culture and celebrates different festivals, because of which we are used to celebrating festivals throughout the year. The Hornbill Festival is the most popular one, celebrated from December 1-10. Last year, almost 3000 international visitors and 10,000 domestic visitors came to this festival. This year, we hope to go beyond those numbers. We have also introduced a Mini Hornbill Festival, which goes on for three days. Apart from that, every district celebrates these festivals as per the ways of their tribe and their history. This has also been a major focus for us for the promotion of tourism.”

Nagaland has been given a natural gift; there are a lot of caves and mountains, and people can even try ropeways and paragliding

Other than festivals, Yepthomi insists that Nagaland possesses a lot of natural resources. “Nagaland has been given a natural gift. We have good vegetation, beautiful valleys, rivers, hills, and forests. There are a lot of adventure spots and heritage sites as well. There are a lot of caves and mountains, and people can even try ropeways and paragliding. Visitors to Nagaland have a plethora of activities to indulge in,” he says.

That said, the advisor adds that one issue that the state faces is that it could not create many tourism destinations earlier. “We are now trying to promote all this and explore opportunities. I am encouraged by the tourism boards of other states and we will improve ourselves by making use of the gift of land that has been given to us,” he claims.

Nagaland has a dedicated department for tourism and through its tour operators, connects with the travel trade within the country and even outside it. “We have a common website, where one can get all the information about Nagaland and the famous Hornbill Festival,” he shares.