Experience

Kisama Heritage Village

The Hornbill ground, morungs of every tribe.

Festival performance on the Kisama arena ground — Kisama Heritage Village, Nagaland

From Kohima: About 12km · 30–40 min
Festival: Dec 1–10 every year
Entry: Festival-week tickets at the gate
Best time: December for Hornbill

Kisama, the name joins Kigwema and Phesama, the two villages it sits between, is a permanent heritage village about 12km from Kohima. Every tribe in Nagaland keeps a morung here: a traditional communal house, built in its own style, with its own carvings.

During the Hornbill Festival (December 1–10) Kisama becomes the stage for the whole state, arena programmes each morning and afternoon, food and craft stalls, and the morungs open to visitors. Outside festival week it is quiet, and you can walk the grounds almost alone.

Practicals

Permits & season

ILP required for Indian nationals outside the Hornbill window (waived Dec 1–10 with photo ID), online at ilp.nagaland.gov.in; foreign nationals pay a fee.

October to March is the clean window; December adds the Hornbill Festival, and the monsoon makes eastern roads slow.

Things to do

What you're here for

The morungs

Each tribe’s house, built and maintained in its own style.

The arena

Morning and afternoon programmes during the festival.

Food stalls

Tribal kitchens cooking on wood fires, the fastest education in Naga food.

Craft stalls

Weaves, beads, wood and metal work from across the state.

Getting there

Taxis run between Kohima and Kisama throughout festival week; the road gets busy by mid-morning.

Our Hornbill packages include festival-day transfers so you arrive before the arena programmes begin.

Best time: December 1–10 for the festival. The grounds are open to walk around at other times too.

Tours

Trips that come here

Naga warrior dance at the Hornbill Festival, Kisama

The classic

3D / 2N · Festival focus

Hornbill Festival

Two festival days at Kisama with campsite stays, transfers, meals, permits and a guide included. The direct Hornbill plan.

₹4,999 /person Details →

The hike to Kapamodzü Peak in Phek district, photo courtesy Tourism Nagaland

2D / 1N · Peak trek

Kapamodzü + Mosen + Kisama

The southern circuit in one push: camp on the Kapamodzü tabletop, sunrise above the clouds, then Mosen View Point and Kisama Heritage Village on the descent. September to December, groups of 4 and up; January onward to be confirmed.

from ₹4,499 /person Details →

Journal