Mokokchung is a urban municipality in the northern Nagaland with the rich cultural presence . It is called the cultural heart in the state . Nearby this city Ungama village is the birthplace of the Ao tribes . This tribes are most advanced among all the 16 tribes live in Nagaland .
Mokokchung tourism spot
- Ungama Village : This is the village where Ao people first make the settlement . This is also the cultural centre of the Ao people .
- Longkhum : It is sitiated around 14 km from the city center . It is inhebited by the Ao tribes . Height of the Hill top i s1846 m . It is the heighest hill where this Ao tribes lived . It is belived in the older times that when dead bodies sprit goes for the heaven then It rests here .It is also called the Vegetable capital of the Nagaland . Here ample amount of Tomatto , small potato , chilli and cabbage are cultivated . Major things to see are Mata Kimong (It is the heighest place in this area), Longlangba (It is one of the tourist spot here ) , achen dang (Here all the village marriages happens ).
3 .Mopungchuket village : It is one of the oldest village in Mokokchung District . This village is famous for the love story of two Ao man and woman Etiben and Jina . For their memory two towers are made in this village . There lots to see like tea garden , wooden sculpture , park , natural scenary , traditional morung and also the village life
4 .Molung village
5 .Chuchuyilang village
6 .Mokokchung Park
7 .Mokokchung District Museum
How to reach to Mokokchung ?
Air:
The city does not have any airport . Nearest airport to the city are as follows
- Jorhat (Assam) – It is 112 km apart to the city .
- Dimapur (Nagaland) – It is also 212 km from the city of Mokokchung.
- Guwahati (Assam) : It is the nearest intenational airport from the Mokokchung.
Train :
Nearest rail station to the Mokokchung is Mariani (Assam) which is 86 km from the town
Road :
Buses and sumos are available to the city Dimapur and kohima and also for the Guwahati. . Road condition here is not good .
The sumo leaves for the kohima only in the morning at 6 and then 9 in the morning .
For Dimapur they have a morning sumo services and night luxary bus services in the 5 in the evening .
From the Mokokchung area NH2 NH 202 and NH 702D passes .
they don’t have too much public transport . On specific time only cars left for the other city .
How to book Hotels ?
There is some hotels in the mokokchung city . so in the on season you should book it advance . Online booking is not recomented here also for the backpackers as in this place online platform shows only the expensive Hotels . I have come here and book by going to the property . Here you can get decent single room in a hotel with the price between 600 – 1000 but in online it goes to 1500 or more . Rooms are neat and clean here .
What to eat ?
Getting the veg food here is little difficult . For the locals favorite food are rice and meat . Here people eat pork most and then chicken and cow and other animals . Here they drink tea and rice beer . Cakes and cookies are very famoung the locals . You can see in the every bakery shops there was too much crowd waiting for their items . People came by car to buy bakery items .
There is some north Indian people reside in the city . In their place only you can find veg foods . Here you can find rasgulla , gulabjamun ,puri sabji and the samosa. Here taste is also authentic NI (North Indian ) style.
Key Points
- It is tribal area so respect their culture
- Here sunday is total Holiday . You can’t get taxi and most of the shops are closed today.
- For better information about the MOkokchung may visit https://mokokchung.nic.in/places-of-interest/ ….. even in wikipedia there is very less information present about this place
Story :
Day 10 24 th April 2021 :
Here In the sunday everything is closed . so today in the evening I started my journey toward Mokokchung . Most of the seats are free from passengers. The bus was normal . It left Dimapr at around 5 in the evening . THe busdriver and the conductor were very fine . After sometime there comes the border checkpost . Now for the covid there is rule that only percel of the food can be done . Hotel dining can not be done . Afther the bus left the checkpost it now enter the Assam . There is person who is a tribal person also going to his village to perticipate in the Moatsu festival This festival is done after the sowing of the rice plant . The man knows littlibit hindi so I gain knowledge about his tribes . He is not from the Ao Tribe still they also organize this Moatsu festival , It is done in the first week of the May .
After sometime the driver brought the food from a roadside Dhaba . I ordered only the veg food – Rice and Dal . Today dinner was the memorable dinner almost in a jungle and under the night sky with beautiful moon light . They distributed the packet of food to us . Now the bus runs . They said in the Dinner time the bus will stop and we will eat .
Almost after one hour our bus stops nearer to a bridge . The driver said now you can eat . In this place there was no house . It is like inside the middle of the jungle . The only light was the light of moon and in our bus it switch on the side inticator like light . Here in this situation we all start our dinner . Somebody sit in the grass and start eating somebody inside the bus . Beside the road there there was concrete post to define the road , I put my packet above it and start eating . It was really a awesome experience . I never eat under the roof of the sky in the night with moon light . After finishing our dinner I was talking to some locals .
He is telling the culture of the people here . I asked him ” In the Dimapur I saw lots of Gun shop … Why ?”. He said here every young boy goes into the jungle and hunt bird . For that reason there is such Gun Shops . Also talked bout the ILP , How it is destroying the tourism industry …. He said here it is required as it has international borders and some insurgency group fighting for the independence from india . I also give my opinion that there is very less facility for the tourist …… He said that here politician just come for earning they don’t think about the development about the state . That are the reason that development is less .
After might be 30 minutes later Our Bus left for the next journey . Now we are going through the national highway so road was good after might be 10 it starts with smaller mountain road . Here the road coondition was really bad . The road is very narrow …. turning the bus in the becomes difficult . In this place I can’t sleep . It was very bumpy ride in the bus in this section . Slowly slowly the bus reaches Mokokchung . Around 4 in the morning our bus reaches to mokokchung. Other bus also reaches there at the same time .
Day 11 25th April 2021
After reaching there first I take a tea and a puri . Here in the city centre there was some hawkers who sell tea with puri , samosa from morning to night . This food items are fresh . Today i ssunday and here in nagaland all are closed . Every public transport will be closed . In the corona time , people are reluctant to give rooms to outsiders . Now I talked to a maruti driver and he show me hotels . After 2-3 hotels we come to this Hotel “Marvel Guest House “. There in the main door there was lock . So we call to the no given outside . After that the young lady come and open the door . Then I talked and she said they have a single room it costs 800 . Then I go to my room . The Hotel was nice . My room was in the 3 rd floor . They have good facility . In the room there was table and water jug and two empty glass . In this room there is phone a wordobe and a bed . The bed is also wider in size . There is long window . You can see the marvelous view of the city . All total I say – value for the money.
Now I freshens in the bathroom and then take a cake , I have in my bag . After that I sleep as today all shops are closed . Only few food shops are some private cars are in the road . I wake up around 9 in the Morining . I must say today I totally make rest . Local people say today they go to the church and enjoy the family time . Around 12 in the afternoon I went outside for lunch and planning to reach to the Ungama village . I afte going a but distance I find a bakery and buy one cake some cookies . This cookies are very tastey . Then after I walked towards the Ungama Village . In the mid way I find some Bihari shops selling Puri . I made my lunch there . After finishing my lunch I asked them how to reach to the Ungama village . They said it is 7 km . I am really tiered as in the last two nights I have been In a Bus . I don’t find any car so Today I come back to my hotel . After that also I do for sleep . In the evening I went to the roof of our Hotel . Here wind are runnning very fast . From my hotel in the both side there is a charch.
Today also I planned how to travel in the next few days of my leave . Now also One time I go for sleep . In the evening only I go for a walk nearby . It was very calm place . You find very few people walking in the road and also less no of vehicle . I travelled around nearby places for an hour . Here Night sky is very beautiful and the moon was glooming . Then after I requested my hotel staff for the dinner . They served me in my room . They put all the foods in a big hotpot gave me in my room. Aroung 8 take the breakfast and in 9 I sleep .
Day 12: 26 th April 2021
Today I woke up very early in the Morning around 4 . Here the morning comes after 4:30 . Then just gazed outside to see the beautiful morning scenary . Today I planned for the Longhum and Ungama village . Ungama village is very traditional village . It is the place where first Ao people make settlement . Then after they scattered aroung the different parts of the Mokokchung district . Ao are one of the major teibes in this whole nagaland . They are educated by the western edication . They are leaading the ngaland in every front in the ngaland .
Around 8 in the morning I went to see those places . Today I first go to Longthum . The cars left besides the RT office . It takes 30 – 40 mins to reach there . The car driver is going for the vaccination . So I just go inside the village . There is a big football ground besides the school. I was just trying to enter the village but some villagers says now in this corona times outside people are not allowed . so I don’t get chance to visit thsi village . After that I travelled to the jungles beside I stayed there for sometime and comeback to the maruti van stop . From there I got another van toward Mokokchung . I don’t get down at Ungana village as it might be closed for outsiders . In the evening I take bus for the Dimapur city from where I am planning for Manipur.
