Manipur travel guide, the honest status-first guide for 2026

Quick answer, status first: Manipur has been through serious civil unrest since May 2023, and travel conditions are not business-as-usual. Some periods and corridors have been calmer than others; the situation is genuinely local and changeable. The honest advice: check the current advisory the week you plan to travel, and go only with operators working on the ground. This page will tell you what’s waiting when it’s fully open, because it will be.

Why the state matters to travellers

Manipur is one of the Northeast’s most beautiful and culturally distinct states: the Imphal Valley ringed by hills, Loktak Lake, the famous “floating lake” of phumdis (circular floating islands of vegetation) with fisher-dotted sunrise water, the Ima Keithel (Mother’s Market), run entirely by thousands of women traders, and Keibul Lamjao, the world’s only floating national park, home of the dancing Sangai deer.

The circuit (for when conditions allow)

• Imphal (2 days): Ima Keithel mornings, Kangla Fort, the INA memorial, Shree Govindajee temple.
• Loktak + Keibul Lamjao (day trip): Sendra viewpoint over the phumdis, boat into the floating park at dawn for the Sangai.
• Ukhrul / Dzuko valley side (2 days, season-gated): the Shirui hills and the Shirui Lily (May–June bloom), Tangkhul villages.
• Moreh (border town): only with current status verified.

Practicalities, when open

• ILP applies for Indian nationals (state-issued; rules have shifted, verify). Foreign nationals need RAP for some areas.
• Reach: Imphal airport connects Delhi/Kolkata/Guwahati.
• Cash economy, thin networks outside Imphal, extraordinary food (chakhao kheer, eromba, smoked fish).

Our honest position

We don’t sell Manipur trips while conditions are unstable, selling an advisory-flagged state would be wrong. When the state’s tourism reopens properly, we’ll build this circuit with local partners the right way. For now: track advisories, ask us anything on WhatsApp, and consider the rest of the Northeast, including the Nagaland side of the Imphal road, while Manipur settles.