How to reach Hornbill Festival 2026

Every route into Hornbill runs through two names: Dimapur and Kohima. Get those two right and the festival takes care of itself.

By air: fly to Dimapur

Dimapur (DMU) is Nagaland’s only airport and the gateway for the festival. Flights connect through Kolkata and Guwahati, so most travellers route through one of those two cities. From Dimapur it is 74km to Kohima — about 3 hours by road as the road climbs into the hills.

Book Dimapur flights early for festival week. This is a small airport with limited seats, and December 1–10 is the one week everyone wants them.

By train: Dimapur railhead

Dimapur is also the region’s railhead, with overnight trains from Guwahati connecting onward to Kolkata and the rest of the network. The station is functional, the journey is slow and honest, and arriving by train leaves the biggest mountain roads for the taxi.

By road: from Guwahati

Coming from Guwahati, Kohima is roughly 340km — a full day on mountain roads. It is a beautiful drive and a long one. If your trip starts in Guwahati, plan the arrival day as a travel day, not a sightseeing day.

Festival week: what changes

Three things change between December 1 and 10:

• Traffic to Kisama builds by mid-morning. The 12km between Kohima and the festival ground carries a whole state’s festival traffic. Leave early; the morning arena programme is worth it anyway.
• Kohima stays fill up. Stays book out and rates peak. Book before you travel — see our where-to-stay guide.
• Shared taxis get creative. They still run, but seats are fought over. This is the week a booked transfer earns its keep.

The easy version

Every Hornbill package we run includes Dimapur transfers and festival-day transport timed to the programme. You land, we drive, you walk into Kisama before the first drum.

Questions about a specific route? Message us on WhatsApp with your starting point and we will tell you the honest answer — including when you are better off with a different plan.