Festival · NAGALAND
Feb 25 (Angami calendar) · Kohima
Angami Naga purification festival — ritual bathing in the village spring, community feast of rice and meat, war dances, and the symbolic cleansing of the year's sins.
Why it mattersNagaland's most intimate tribal festival — purification, feast, and renewal.
February brings the Sekrenyi Festival — the Angami Naga tribe's purification festival with traditional rituals.
Live in Kohima
Modern boutique hotel — easily the best stay in Kohima. Clean rooms with Naga-inspired decor, a restaurant serving authentic Naga cuisine (smoked pork, axone chutney, raja mircha), and a rooftop bar. Walking distance to the WWII cemetery and local market.
Small boutique hotel above a popular café. Just 8 rooms, each tastefully done with local textiles. The café downstairs is Kohima's social hub — great coffee, Naga snacks, and the best carrot cake in the Northeast. Book the top-floor room for church-and-mountain views.
Mid-range hotel with character — Naga tribal art on the walls, warm staff, and a restaurant that takes Naga food seriously. The smoked pork with bamboo shoot here rivals any home kitchen. Good base for Hornbill Festival visits (book 3 months ahead in December).
SignatureNaga thali
Naga thali is the headline order — at government rates, this is the cheapest sit-down Naga thali in town. The hotel itself is dated, but the kitchen is dependable. Wide vegetarian options.
SignatureLotha-style pork with bamboo shoot
Open Mon-Sat 10am-7pm only — closed Sundays, and the kitchen runs out by mid-afternoon. Ask for whatever's been smoked that week; if anishi (yam-leaf cake) is on, order it — most pan-Naga places skip it.
SignatureNaga single-origin filter coffee
Ask which Nagaland district the day's pour-over is from — the Mon and Wokha lots taste very different from the Kohima beans. Billy Graham Road itself is a piece of trivia: built in 1972 for the only crusade Billy Graham held in Northeast India, this is the only road in the world named after him.
Signaturetandoori chicken with butter naan
Menu is on paper (per Tripadvisor) — staff bring it to the table, no QR codes. The tandoori section is what to order; their dal-and-naan plate fixes any mountain-stomach situation.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery. Marks the site of the Battle of Kohima (1944) — turning point of WWII in Asia.
One of the largest cathedrals in Asia. Center of Nagaland's predominantly Christian community.
Venue of the famous Hornbill Festival (Dec 1-10). Naga tribal morungs, bamboo architecture, and cultural showcases.
Artifacts, weapons, textiles, and ceremonial objects of all 16 Naga tribes. Tribal heritage showcase.
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