Kisama Heritage Village

Where

Kisama, Southern Angami area, on the Kohima–Imphal road

Altitude

About 1,500–1,700 m

Distance

About 12 km from Kohima; about 75 km from Dimapur airport

Timings

Hornbill: about 9am–5pm daily, 1–10 December; access at other times varies

Entry fee

Hornbill gate ticket (rates set each year); small fee reported at other times

Permit

Nagaland ILP for Indians from outside the state; Protected Area Permit for foreigners

Best time

1–10 December for the Hornbill Festival

Time needed

Half a day; a full day at Hornbill

Kisama is the Naga Heritage Village, built by the Nagaland government on a hillside about 12 km from Kohima. Each of the state's major tribes has a morung there, a traditional community house built in its own style, so in one walk you can see the architecture of the whole state. Every December it becomes the venue for the Hornbill Festival, the "festival of festivals".

The Hornbill Festival

• When: 1 to 10 December every year. The first festival was held in December 2000.
• Who: all of Nagaland's tribes, organised by the state's tourism and art and culture departments.
• What: dances, songs, traditional games, crafts and food, with each tribe's morung serving its own cooking. Evenings bring music, including a rock contest, and a night bazaar in Kohima.
• The name: the great hornbill appears in the folklore of most Naga tribes.

See our full Hornbill Festival guide for tickets, ILP and where to stay.

The morungs

A morung was the heart of a traditional Naga village: a dormitory for young men, a place of learning, and the village's guard post. At Kisama each tribe's morung is built with its own materials and carvings, from log drums and carved posts to roofs hung with hornbill motifs. Walk the whole circuit; no two are alike.

How to reach Kisama

Kisama is about 12 km from Kohima on the road towards Imphal. During Hornbill, shared taxis run from Kohima, and one stand is on NH-2 in the Lerie area; the short drive can take an hour in festival traffic. Kohima is about three hours from Dimapur airport. See Dimapur to Kohima.

Road distances from OpenStreetMap routing. Drive times are what we see on these mountain roads, not map estimates.

Tickets and timings

• During Hornbill: the arena usually opens around 9am, with performances from about 10am to 4pm. Tickets are sold at the gate; rates are set each year and have ranged from about ₹20 to ₹150.
• Outside Hornbill: the village hosts occasional events, and access for casual visitors varies. Ask in Kohima before you go.
• Permits: Indian visitors from outside Nagaland need an Inner Line Permit. Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit.

Weather in December

Hornbill falls in Kohima's dry season, with clear days and cold nights. The ten-year record shows December highs around 16°C and lows near 5°C at Kisama.

Monthly averages for 2015–2024 from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, at the site's elevation (about 1686 m). Rain and snow are rated relative to this location's own year.

Things most guides don't tell you

• Book early. Kohima's hotels and homestays fill months ahead of Hornbill; staying in Khonoma or Jakhama is a good alternative.
• The first three days are the busiest. Days 4 to 7 are calmer, with the same programme.
• Carry cash. Morung food stalls rarely take cards.
• Ask before photographing people in traditional dress.

Nearby

• Kohima War Cemetery.
• Nagaland tourist places guide.