Things to do in Kohima — the war cemetery, the museum, Kisama, Khonoma and Dzükou
Things to do in Kohima: the war cemetery, the Nagaland State Museum, Kohima Village, Kisama and the Hornbill Festival, Khonoma, Japfü and the Dzükou Valley.
ArticleVerified 2026-10-23
Hornbill Festival 2026, Kohima — dates (1–10 December), the Kisama venue, what you see, and how to plan it
Hornbill Festival 2026 runs 1–10 December at Kisama near Kohima, Nagaland Tourism says: the dances, morungs, crafts, food, games, music and how to plan.
The Hornbill Festival is Nagaland's great gathering: ten days in December when every Naga people comes together at one village of morungs outside Kohima. Here is what is known and published about it, and how to plan.
Photos: Ganesh Mohan T (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Dates
Hornbill Festival 2026: 1 to 10 December, as the official Nagaland Tourism site lists its next event (checked 23 October 2026). The dates are the same every year. The Government of Nagaland began it in December 2000 to bring the state's peoples together and to show their heritage, and its departments of tourism and of art and culture organise it.
The venue
The main venue is the Kisama Heritage Village, on a hillside between Kigwema and Phesama, about 10.8 km and 22 minutes south of the city centre on our routing. The heritage village has a morung, a traditional youth dormitory, for each of Nagaland's 17 ethnic groups. Evening concerts of the Hornbill International Rock Festival are held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima.
What you see
By Wikipedia's account there are dances and folk songs by Naga troupes, the morungs exhibition, and crafts and handloom for sale. There are paintings, wood carvings and sculpture, food and herbal medicine stalls, and flower shows. Traditional archery, Naga wrestling and indigenous games, a fashion show, the Miss Nagaland contest and music into the night complete it. The name honours the hornbill, the forest bird found in the folklore of most Naga peoples.
The state's own event page adds the rest of the programme: the Hornbill International Naga Wrestling, the Naga King Chilli and pineapple eating contests, a World War II rally, mountain biking, day hikes into the Dzukou Valley, and the bamboo and night carnivals.
Planning it
- Permit: Indian citizens from outside Nagaland need the Inner Line Permit; the tourist permit is valid for 15 days and is applied for online at ilp.nagaland.gov.in.
- Getting there: fly or take the train to Dimapur, about 66 km and 105 minutes below Kohima on our routing; see how to reach Kohima.
- Weather: December is dry at Kohima, with days of about 17.0°C and nights of about 5.2°C by IMD normals; take warm layers for the evenings.
- Beds: the city fills in festival week. We have no verified lodging or prices; book early.
The rest of the trip
Copy the three-day Hornbill plan, which adds the Kohima War Cemetery and Khonoma, and read things to do in Kohima.
Places around Kohima
The Kohima guide →More stories to read
All stories →
Best time to visit Kohima — dry winter and Hornbill, the long monsoon, the Dzükou lily
When to visit Kohima: dry winter days of 16.1–19.0°C and the Hornbill Festival (1–10 December), clear October–November, the rainy May–September. IMD normals.
How to reach Kohima — Dimapur by air or rail, the road up, and the Inner Line Permit
How to reach Kohima: Dimapur airport 66 km and Dimapur station 69 km by road, Guwahati 335 km, and the Inner Line Permit (tourist ILP, 15 days, online).
How to reach Tehri and Tehri Lake — from Delhi, Rishikesh, Dehradun and Mussoorie
How to reach New Tehri and Tehri Lake: 314 km from Delhi, Rishikesh station 68 km, Dehradun airport 77 km, the high road via Dhanaulti, measured times.
Loktak Lake and Keibul Lamjao — the national park that floats
Keibul Lamjao on Loktak Lake, Manipur, is called the only floating national park: phumdi mats of grass and soil, 80% underwater, home of the sangai deer.
Best time to visit Katra and Vaishno Devi — month by month, from the IMD normals
When to go to Katra and Vaishno Devi: IMD 1991–2020 highs, lows and rain for every month, the mild spring and autumn, hot May–June and the wet monsoon.
Nearby destinations
All destinations →
Today on HimLocal
Been here?Help the next traveller — our team checks every contribution.
Questions people ask
What are the dates of the Hornbill Festival?
In 2026 it runs from 1 to 10 December, as Nagaland Tourism's official site lists it; those are its dates every year, and it has been held since December 2000. The state government organises it. Since the dates are fixed, plan the trip, the permit and your bed in Kohima well ahead of the first week of December.
Where does the Hornbill Festival take place?
At the Kisama Heritage Village, between the villages of Kigwema and Phesama south of Kohima, about 10.8 km and 22 minutes from the city centre on our routing. Wikipedia gives 12 km. Concerts of the festival's rock contest are held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima.
Why is it called the Hornbill Festival?
It is named after the hornbill, the large, colourful forest bird that appears in the folklore of most of Nagaland's peoples. Because it brings all of them to one place, people call it the Festival of Festivals, and each has its own morung at Kisama.
Do I need a permit for the Hornbill Festival?
Yes, if you are an Indian citizen from outside Nagaland: the Inner Line Permit, applied for online at ilp.nagaland.gov.in, with the tourist permit valid for 15 days. Foreign nationals should check the current Protected Area rules with the state and the Ministry of Home Affairs before planning.