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Travelling Solo and Without Money, to the Northeast by Mahima Nanda

Published by Shweta Rao

Remember the last time you found yourself at an airport? Imagine yourself finding your way through a railway station’s busy footfalls, sweaty and tired and worried about the debt you’re racking up by spending thousands of rupees to go to yet another dream getaway. And while you’re at it, occasionally your eyes catch a glimpse of someone like Mahima Nanda. This female solo traveller, who is also an Arts student from JNU at New Delhi, is one of those incredibly put-together people who never seem fazed by train delays, flight cancellations or other hassles that inevitably come with travel. And there’s a reason she looks so sanguine: her latest trip to the beautiful Kashmir and Ladakh has cost her ZERO rupees. Mahima Nanda is in her second year towards pursuing a BA (Hons) in French degree from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She was born in Guwahati but spent most of her childhood in Dehradun, New Delhi, and Mumbai. Mahima is an ardent nature lover and likes to spend time walking or biking in …

Top 5 Things to Do if You are Travelling to Nagaland

Published by Kumti

So how much do you know about Nagaland? Well, let’s assume that you’ve heard just enough to be interested in planning a trip soon! That’s a good start. Here is a brief guide on some of the local hot spots to give you a flavor of what to expect. 1. ROAD TRIPPING If you are travelling to the northeast of India, allocate ample time to each state if you wish to explore them fully. Because the best way to soak in the beauty of this part of the country is through a road trip – where you can get a good view of the natural scenic beauty. The roads may be challenging at some spots, but definitely worth the ride. Advisable to take the aid of the locals or tour experts like IndiaTrail, who can custom design your trip, based on your preferences. 2. SPEND SOME TIME IN A VILLAGE To truly experience and understand the local life, we strongly recommend a stay in one of the villages. Pangti Village in Wokha might be a good choice. The …

Visiting Nagaland | People, Sunsets and More

Published by Roots & Leisure

“We are visiting Nagaland for a friend’s wedding. We’re on our way to Noune resort* and had to stop for a shot of the sunset. So beautiful . . . just like the people here – so calm, warm . . . and in a quiet beautiful world of their own” *Check out details about Noune resort here. Chilling in the Longchen Homestay (which is like super homely and everything there is made with bamboo and wood) – before heading out to explore Nagaland 🙂

My Experience at Nagaland Hornbill Festival 2014

Published by Roots & Leisure

Our reader Priyanka Mhatre from Mumbai, shares her Hornbill festival with Roots and Leisure. In December 2014, one of my friends Radhika asked me to join her on a trip to Nagaland. It was a random plan with a fleeting mention about a festival called Hornbill. I always loved impromptu plans, so I agreed to go with this one as well. Luckily, we had a friend from Nagaland, who helped us book our tickets to reach the festival through a convenient route. With just a week left for the trip, I thought of looking up the web to learn more about Nagaland and the Hornbill festival. My Google search results threw up pictures that looked amazing. Apparently, the festival was organized in a hilly area where the local tribes participated to showcase their culture and lifestyle. I also came to know that our Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi was scheduled to grace the festival with his presence. This wasn’t some obscure festival after all. I was going to be a part of something big! I …

Come, Be a Part of Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival 2016

Published by Roots & Leisure

Hello there! It’s time to set sail on a journey to discover the undiscovered. The “festival of festivals”, Hornbill Festival 2016 is set to enthrall visitors from across the globe in the mystical North Eastern state of Nagaland. About the festival The Hornbill festival is named after the Hornbill bird, one of the state’s most venerated bird species that finds mention in a number of tribal cultural expressions. As one of the largest celebrations of indigenous warrior tribes of Nagaland, it is only fitting that the festival draws its name from Hornbill. The Hornbill Festival is held at Naga Heritage Village at Kisama near Nagaland’s capital city, Kohima. The Nagaland state government organizes the Hornbill festival every year from December 1 – 10. The first festival was held in the year 2000. This year, three other districts in the state : Dimapur, Mokokchung, Phek– will be given the opportunity to host the mega festival this year – so the festival will be spread across multiple districts this time. The aim of the festival is to revive and protect …

Photos and Video | Ziro Festival of Music 2016

Published by Roots & Leisure

Some of our readers have shared some lovely photos for those of us who couldn’t make it to the festival. The location is beautiful and it definitely looks like a lot of fun out there! Check out the photos and a video. Hope you enjoy it 🙂 Waiting for the shows to begin! And there’s food as well! Oh just in case it’s not obvious, our friend (Sukesh) is trying to eat a grasshopper. Slurp! Members SOFYIUM and Koloma bands warming up before the show. Italian band Gramlines playing at the fest Photo courtesy : Naren Jamatia, Rohan Abraham

Folks! Ziro Festival of Music 2016 is Happening!

Published by Shweta Rao

What’s Ziro you ask? Only the most fun outdoor music festival in India! The Ziro Festival of Music is set up at Ziro Valley in Arunachal Pradesh and is scheduled to enthrall Indian music fans from 22 – 25 September 2016. For the uninitiated, Ziro sums up as a place to experience a brilliant mashup of Indian indie music scene in the heart of India’s most underrated travel destinations of all time! The Ziro Festival of Music is India’s youngest music festival featuring independent artists compared to the likes of NH7 Weekender Series and Chasing Storm Festival. But its founding fathers Bobby Hano, who manages independent alternative rock band Yesterdrive, and Menwhopause guitarist, Anup Kutty are on to a good thing here. Because if it weren’t, Ziro Festival wouldn’t have been as magical and enchanting as it was. See it for yourself [recap of Ziro 2015] And this year, IndiaTrail’s founder and chief traveller Rohan Abraham is heading out with his fellow travellers to be a part of this musical experience. Driving up from Tezpur (Assam), it looks …

This Awesome Canadian Couple Visited Nagaland – and Loved It!

Published by Roots & Leisure

Oh no, it’s Monday again. Not looking forward to go to work? Tired of waiting for your vacation plans to work out? On most bad days, most of us can’t deny the thought of quitting our jobs to go travel the world – you know . . . to live a little 🙂 Well, we bumped into a beautiful, adventurous couple in Nagaland who are doing just that and loving every bit of it! Wanna know how they do it? Read on. Meet Nathan and Danica Reid, a Canadian couple who run the YouTube channel The Ticket to Travel. The Reids are currently based out of Nepal and have lived there since 2014. This is their story. What’s ‘The Ticket to Travel’ all about? As young, enthusiastic people we both had experience in different kinds of jobs before we decided to move to Nepal. We could have taken up jobs here too, but because we had experienced travel quite extensively in our past, we thought, “Why don’t we share our adventures with rest of the world …

Meet The Man from Nagaland Travelling the World on a Bamboo Bike

Published by David Sangma

If an analogy of taking your roots around the world would have to be written, we can simply write about Yakuza’s story and be done with it. Kudos to this trailblazer for setting the stage – hopefully, we will have many more such stories to share. Say hi to Yakuza Solo (Sievituo Chevy) from Nagaland, who’s going around the world on a bicycle made out of bamboo! His mission is to tell the world about the Nagas and Nagaland. In Nagaland, bamboo plays a huge part in the lives of the people – from being consumed as a food item to a spice, and a material used for building furniture and lovely houses. It is, therefore, very fitting that Yakuza chose to ride a bamboo bicycle to embark on his adventure, and to tell the world about the rich cultural land of the Nagas. Yakuza will be travelling to Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and the United States of America. Here …

Kohima – My Home for Now | Rohan Abraham, Founder of India Trail

Published by Rohan Abraham

About three years ago, my life took an interesting twist that landed me in Kohima – with really not much other than some clothes, a computer, a camera, and a huge smile. Ever since then, I have traveled a fair bit across the state of Nagaland and met some really interesting people – both from this state as well as from other Indian states. I was not unfamiliar with Nagaland or Nagas when I arrived here. Way back in my college days was when I met my first set of Naga friends and I am still in touch and close friends with all of them. My first trip to Nagaland was around 6 years ago and was to attend the much awaited wedding of my favourite Naga couple. I now live and work in Kohima. How long I will be here, is a question the answer to which I don’t have at the moment. I will be here till my next calling is loud and clear. In August of 2015, we started a ‘walking initiative’ …