Drum into
Zunheboto
The Sümi heartland and its great church.
- People
- Sümi
- Festival
- Tuluni (July 8 window)
- Sight
- Sümi Baptist Church, hilltop
- Circuit
- Wokha-Zunheboto-Mokokchung
Zunheboto is the Sümi Naga headquarters on a high ridge: the enormous Sümi Baptist Church above town (among the largest in Asia by capacity), villages of log drums and feasts of merit history, and Tuluni, the Sümi festival, in the July 8 window.
It sits on the classic Dimapur-Kohima-Wokha-Zunheboto-Mokokchung interior circuit.
Quick answers
Zunheboto at a glance
When is Tuluni?
The July 8 window each year, announced by the Sümi community.
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.
When to go
Plan around these months
Festivals
Time your trip
Nearby
Close enough to combine
Things to do
What you're here for
The great church
The massive hilltop cathedral of the Sümi.
Log drums
Feast-of-merit drums in village morungs.
Journal
Read before you go
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More guides in the journal (127 total).
Explore Zunheboto
Facts checked against the official Nagaland tourism portal · Last verified 2026-09-26