Kohima War Cemetery — the tennis court where the 1944 battle turned
The Kohima War Cemetery on Garrison Hill: 1,420 Commonwealth burials, a memorial to 917 soldiers who were cremated, and the tennis court of the 1944 battle.
Nagaland⛰ 1,261 m3 itineraries
Kohima
Kohima, capital of Nagaland: the Kohima War Cemetery, Kisama and the Hornbill Festival (1–10 December), Khonoma, the Dzükou Valley walk, the Inner Line Permit.
Kohima, Kewhira in the Tenyidie language, is the capital of Nagaland, a hill city at about 1,261 m on the foothills of the Japfü range. It grew from an old village of the Angami Nagas, became the headquarters of the British Naga Hills district in 1878, and in April 1944 was the scene of the Battle of Kohima, when the Japanese advance into India was stopped here. The Kohima War Cemetery now lies where the fighting was fiercest, on the old Deputy Commissioner's tennis court.
Most visitors come in the first ten days of December for the Hornbill Festival, when every Naga people gathers at the Kisama Heritage Village, about 22 minutes south of the city on our routing. Around Kohima are Khonoma, the Angami village that fought the British and now protects its forests, and the high meadows of the Dzükou Valley, reached on foot from Viswema or Jakhama.
Kohima has no railway or working airport of its own: fly or take the train to Dimapur, about 66 km and 105 minutes away. Indian visitors from outside Nagaland need an Inner Line Permit; the tourist permit is valid for 15 days and is applied for online on the state's portal. Read how to reach Kohima, the best time to go and things to do in Kohima, and copy the one-day plan or two days with Khonoma.
Photos: Shyamal (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Ganesh Mohan T (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Ly.n0m (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Original: Samudra Bikash Hazarika Derivative work: UnpetitproleX (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Plans that include this
All Kohima itineraries →
One day in Kohima — the war cemetery, the state museum and the Kisama Heritage Village
Day plan · First visit · Temples & heritage
A one-day Kohima plan: the war cemetery on Garrison Hill, the Nagaland State Museum, and the Kisama Heritage Village of the Hornbill Festival. Free to copy.
Best Jan–Feb · Oct–Dec
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Kohima in two days — the city and its battle, then a day in Khonoma
1 night · 2 days · culture · Temples & heritage
A two-day plan for Kohima: the war cemetery, the state museum and Kohima Village on day one, and Khonoma, the green Angami village, on day two. Free to copy.
Best Jan–Mar · Oct–Dec
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The Hornbill Festival in three days — Kisama, the battle ground, and Khonoma
2 nights · 3 days · culture · festival
A three-day Hornbill Festival plan: a full day at Kisama, Kohima's war cemetery and cathedral, and the Angami village of Khonoma, with the permit and dates.
Best Dec
See the plan →Going together
No one has started a group going to Kohima yet. Start one and other travellers can ask to come along.
Places worth the drive
Kisama Heritage Village — the Naga village of morungs and home of the Hornbill Festival
Kisama Heritage Village, the Naga Heritage Village south of Kohima: a morung of each of Nagaland's 17 ethnic groups and the venue of the Hornbill Festival.
Khonoma — the Angami village that fought the British and now guards its forest
Khonoma, a Western Angami village 37 minutes from Kohima: the fight against the British in 1879–80, morungs, and the forest and Blyth's tragopan it protects.
On the map
Open the Kohima map →The places a Kohima day reaches, with the road time from town. Each opens on the map with its plans and pages beside it.
Before you go
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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.
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).
Hornbill Festival, Kohima — dates, the Kisama venue, what you see, and how to plan it
The Hornbill Festival, Nagaland: every year 1–10 December at the Kisama Heritage Village near Kohima, with dances, morungs, crafts, food, games and music.
Dzükou Valley from Kohima — what is published about the walk, and what is not
The Dzükou Valley near Kohima: high meadows at about 2,438–2,452 m behind Mount Japfü, walked from Viswema or Jakhama, with flowers from May to September.
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.
Nearby destinations
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Questions people ask
Do I need a permit to visit Kohima?
Yes, if you are an Indian citizen from outside Nagaland: you need an Inner Line Permit. The Commissioner, Nagaland's page says the tourist ILP is valid for 15 days and is applied for online at ilp.nagaland.gov.in. Foreign nationals should check the current Protected Area rules before planning, as press reports say they changed in December 2024.
How do I reach Kohima?
Fly or take the train to Dimapur, then go up by road: Dimapur airport is about 66 km and 105 minutes from Kohima on our routing, and Dimapur station about 69 km and 107 minutes. Wikipedia gives 74 km to the airport. Kohima has no railway of its own, and its airport at Chiethu is still being built.
When is the Hornbill Festival?
Every year from 1 to 10 December, at the Kisama Heritage Village about 22 minutes south of Kohima on our routing; Wikipedia gives 12 km. The state's tourism and art and culture departments organise it, every Naga people takes part, and it began in December 2000.
What is the best time to visit Kohima?
October to February, by the IMD normals for Kohima: the rains thin out in October and November, and December to February are dry, with days of about 16.1 to 19.0°C. December brings the Hornbill Festival. June to September are the wettest months, though the Dzükou lily flowers in May and June.
Photographs by Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), resized; each picture is credited on its own page.