🇮🇳 GROUP TRIP  ·  NAGALAND

HORNBILL FESTIVAL

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📅
Nov 28–Dec 4 · Dec 5–11
2026 · 2 Batches
🌙
7 Days · 6 Nights
Duration
👥
14 Pax
Group Size
🏨
3★ Hotels · Mountain Huts
Stays
🍳
6 Breakfasts + Trek Meals
Meals
✈️
Dimapur DMU
Fly Into
🎭
Hornbill Festival
Headline
⛰️
Dzouku Valley Trek
Signature
What You'll Do

10 Unreal Nagaland Moments

Hornbill is India's most intense week of tribal culture, 16 tribes, a valley that blooms pink, and battlefields that shaped WW2. We've built the access, the route, and the local crew so you just show up and soak it in.

01
Walk through 16 tribal morungs at Kisama Heritage Village during the Hornbill Festival 🎭 Day 2
02
Trek the Vishwema trail into Dzouku Valley, 4+ hours ridge walk to the "valley of flowers of the east" ⛰️ Day 3
03
Sleep in mountain huts at 2,452 m below 5°C, Dzouku's cold, silent, star-filled nights 🏕️ Day 3
04
Catch the closing concert of Hornbill Festival, tribal bands, headliner acts, thousands in the field 🎸 Day 4
05
Walk the Kohima Night Carnival, food stalls, tribal street performers, art installations 🎪 Day 4
06
Pay respects at Kohima WW2 War Cemetery on Garrison Hill, site of the decisive 1944 battle 🎖️ Day 5
07
Crawl through untouched Japanese war caves in Pfutsero, WW2 tunnels dug into the hills 🕳️ Day 6
08
Sunrise at Glory Peak (3,048 m), the highest motorable viewpoint in Nagaland 🌄 Day 6
09
Eat real Naga food, smoked pork with axone, king chilli chutney, bamboo shoot stews 🌶️ Daily
10
Watch log-drum calls, stone-pulling rituals and traditional wrestling at Kisama 🥁 Day 2
Day by Day

The Itinerary

7 days. 6 nights. One state where 16 tribes pour into a single field, a valley goes pink in the right light, and the Second World War's forgotten frontline quietly rests on a hilltop.

Day 1

🛬 ARRIVE IN DIMAPUR

✈️ DMU by 2 PM🚐 Drive to Kohima🏨 Kohima Hotel
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Hornbill Festival Nagaland

Arrive at Dimapur airport before 2 pm and move towards Kohima hotel in our vehicle. Its a wonderful drive though the valleys and hills. You will need your ILPs done to enter the state. Your Nagaland hornbill festival group trip 2026 starts today.

🤓 Did You Know? Nagaland is one of the few Indian states that still requires an Inner Line Permit for Indian citizens, a rule carried over from British-era regulations to protect tribal heritage.
Day 2

🎭 HEAD TO HORNBILL FESTIVAL GROUND

🏘️ Kisama Village🥁 16 Tribes🎨 Cultural Displays
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Hornbill Festival ground Kisama tribal arena

See the 16 different tribes, their huts, Shoot an air gun, dance with the tribes, have some rice beer, some Naga chilli and a lot of fun. Today is your introduction to hornbill festival.

🤓 Did You Know? The Hornbill Festival has run since 2000, named after the great Indian hornbill, a bird deeply woven into Naga folklore and featured in tribal headgear and ceremonial dress.
Day 3

⛰️ TREK TO DZOUKU VALLEY

🥾 4 Hrs Trek🏕️ Mountain Huts🌡️ Below 5°C
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Vishwema trail Dzouku Valley trek Dzouku Valley Mountain hut stay Dzouku Valley panorama

Hike towards valley via Vishwema trail . It would take 2 hours from hotel to reach the starting point and another 4Hrs of trekking to reach the valley. You will be staying in mountain huts today. The facilities here are basic as we will be staying in the middle of the valley.If you have never hiked before this might be a really good place to start. Get ready to spend an amazing night out in the outdoors and bone chilling cold. Temperature in the night will easily fall below 5 degree Celsius at night.

🤓 Did You Know? Dzouku Valley is often called "the Valley of Flowers of the East", between June and September the entire valley carpets with the endemic Dzouku Lily, found nowhere else on earth.
Day 4

🚶 TREK BACK FROM DZOUKU VALLEY

⬇️ Descent🎪 Night Carnival🎸 Closing Concert
▾
Kohima Night Carnival Night carnival stalls

Head back from the valley through a different route and head back to Kohima hotel. Today we head out to night carnival. The streets of Kohima lits up and so many families come and put up stalls of eateries, face painting, Juices and even local drinks. We can even get on Giant wheels and do some balloon shooting today if you are game 🙂

In the evening we will head out to the last concert of our trip . I am not hyping it up but it is a pretty kick ass one. Did you know the last time, it was A.R.Rahman who ended the show? So buckle up for a very good evening with a lot of variety if music in an outdoor setup.

🤓 Did You Know? Hornbill Festival's closing night concerts have featured acts from across the Northeast, plus international bands, the event has quietly become one of India's biggest live-music draws.
Day 5

🎖️ HEAD TO PFUTSERO

🪦 WW2 Memorial🗿 Stone Pulling🌄 Drive to Pfutsero
▾
Kohima WW2 memorial Garrison hill Hornbill festival event Pfutsero drive OJ group at Hornbill Tribal warriors Festival ground Stone pulling ceremony

How can a trip to Kohima not have a visit to the WW2 memorial. Today we will spend about an hour in Garisson hill learning the history of this city, about Japanese soldiers, British and the Indians who served under british during the war. If possible, we will try to see one event before we head to Pfutsero. The festival schedule will be out 2 weeks prior to the trip and we will see how we can find time to see this maximum number of events. We will attend Stone pulling, if our schedule allows.

🤓 Did You Know? The Battle of Kohima (April–June 1944) was voted "Britain's Greatest Battle" in a 2013 National Army Museum poll, often called "the Stalingrad of the East".
Day 6

🌄 WATCH SUNRISE FROM GLORY PEAK & ATTEND LAST FINISHING CEREMONY

🌅 Glory Peak🕳️ Japanese Caves🌸 Cherry Blossoms
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Glory Peak sunrise Pfutsero hike Japanese caves Cherry blossoms Pfutsero Kohima viewpoint Finishing ceremony Pfutsero landscape Morning light

A 10 mins hike from the Pfutsero will take us to glory peak where we will see one of the best sunrises in the trip and head back to kohima by afternoon. Today, we will also try to visit the Japanese caves in the outskirts of the town where the Japanese soldiers took refuge during the World War II . This is completely depending on how safe the cave approach route is. we also walk amongst pink cherry blossoms if we are lucky with blooming season.

🤓 Did You Know? Pfutsero is also the highest town in Nagaland and one of the few places in India where you can see frost most winter mornings, a rarity in the Northeast.
Day 7

✈️ DEPART FROM DIMAPUR

🚐 Drive to DMU✈️ Reach by 10 AM
▾

Today we start really early from Kohima and drive to airport so that reach at 10 AM to the airport. Our Nagaland hornbill festival group trip 2026 comes to an end today.

The Route

Dimapur → Kohima → Kisama → Dzouku Valley

A loop out of Dimapur, up to Kohima for the festival base, over to Kisama's tribal arena, a trek into Dzouku, then south to Pfutsero's Glory Peak and back.

Dimapur Day 1 · Arrive DMU Kohima Day 1–4 · Base camp Kisama Day 2 · Hornbill Festival Dzouku Valley Day 3–4 · Trek Pfutsero Day 5–6 · Glory Peak Route Arrive (DMU) Major Stop Trek Base Depart (DMU)
Dimapur DMU, Arrive Day 1
Kohima, Day 1–4 · Festival Base
Kisama Heritage Village, Day 2 · Hornbill
Dzouku Valley, Day 3–4 · Trek + Summit
WW2 Cemetery, Day 5 · Kohima
Pfutsero, Day 5–6 · Glory Peak
Japanese War Caves, Day 6
Dimapur, Day 7, Depart
Investment

Lock In Your Spot

Same trip, two batches. Eco or Deluxe stays, your call.

Batch 1 · Nov 28 – Dec 4, 2026
₹30,999
Eco stay · per person · excl. 5% GST
💳 EMI available

Eco: ₹30,999 (8 slots). Deluxe: ₹34,999 (6 slots). Both excluding 5% GST.

Batch 1 departs in
224
Days
:
08
Hrs
:
45
Min
:
22
Sec
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Batch 2 · Dec 5 – 11, 2026
₹30,999
Eco stay · per person · excl. 5% GST
💳 EMI available

Eco: ₹30,999 (8 slots). Deluxe: ₹34,999 (6 slots). Both excluding 5% GST.

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What's Covered

Inclusions & Exclusions

✅ What's Included
✓Homestay / Lodging
✓Accommodation on Twin Sharing Basis
✓All Transport within the trip
✓Entrance fees to all scenic spots listed in the itinerary
✓Government taxes and services charges except tips for tour guides and drivers
✓All Breakfast
✓Simple meals during the trek
✓Inner line Permits
✓A Trained Outdoor leader to keep you safe. I Promise 🙂
❌ What's Not Included
✕Mineral Water or any other room service
✕Cost of any Extra Day
✕Flight tickets
✕Lunch and dinner
✕Any expenses due to deviation from itinerary
✕Government tax (GST) and Payment gateway charges ( Credit card/ EMI option )
Social Proof

What Trippers Say

★★★★★ 4.8 Google Rating · 50+ Reviews
★★★★★

"It is so rare after a certain age to meet new people, vibe with them and then genuinely be their friends. Iykyk. And exactly this was what made my 'solo trip' with a group led by Laxman to the already incredible Hornbill Festival, Nagaland so so special. I met 14 absolutely amazing people, had a ball and came back home with not just beautiful memories & a fulfilled soul but also some wonderful friends who I am in touch with, Laxman being one of them. Of the many many treasured moments from the trip, I remember two that are very close to my heart - one was a really deep conversation in the freezing night by the bonfire where we endlessly discussed life in it's flesh & skin and the other was an early morning hike down & back from the top to the stunning & surreal valley at Dzuko which by far has been the shortest but the best hike of my life. A huge huge shoutout to OJ for the unbeatable skill of curating the best itineraries."

A
Ananya Sharma
Google Review · Hornbill Festival trip
★★★★★

"So, a trip with 'One in the orange jacket' is not just a trip with Vyshakh….it is a prospective changing experience with a group of people coming from all across the country. We as social beings, feel stuck at one point or need validation or just need a break from the routine at the very least. I think I have had the chance to meet some free spirited, no filter, really really fun people which made me realize that life is more than just wanting it to be perfect or worrying over not so important stuff. About the trip leader… Vyshakh is a no-nonsense guy who would want every person to enjoy the outdoors as much as he does. Just go with what he says, you would be glad to have done it!!! He is the happiest, if you are happy. Now I have friends from three different parts of the country. Looking forward to creating new memories with them."

H
Haritha Burugapalli
Google Review · Hornbill Festival trip
★★★★★

"The OJ team puts together trips that no one else does. Every detail is thought of, the stays, the food, the little moments they build into each day. You end up with stories you'll tell for years and a group of friends you didn't know you needed. They've cracked something special here."

Aishwarya Ramani
Aishwarya Ramani
Google Review · OJ Tripper
⭐ Click here to read what our trippers have to say →
Got Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the inclusions?

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Homestay / Lodging Accommodation on Twin Sharing Basis All Transport within the trip Entrance fees to all scenic spots listed in the itinerary Government taxes and services charges except tips for tour guides and drivers All Breakfast Simple meals during the trek Inner line Permits A Trained Outdoor leader to keep you safe. I Promise 🙂

What are the exclusions?

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  • Mineral Water or any other room service
  • Cost of any Extra Day
  • Flight tickets
  • Lunch and dinner
  • Any expenses due to deviation from itinerary
  • Government tax (GST) and Payment gateway charges ( Credit card/ EMI option )

Do you have a cancellation policy?

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If Plans Change, We've Got You We totally get it, life happens, and sometimes your plans have to take a rain check. That's why we've kept our cancellation policy simple, transparent, and as kind as possible.

• 45+ days before the trip: 10% cancellation charge
• 30–44 days before the trip: 25% cancellation charge
• 15–29 days before the trip: 50% cancellation charge
• Within 14 days of the trip: 100% cancellation charge

These are calculated on the total trip amount, not just the token amount.

Now, if you can find someone to take your spot, we'll happily refund your full amount. No questions asked. Because at the end of the day, we'd rather have someone travel than hold back your money.

To keep your spot confirmed, please clear the remaining balance by the due date, it helps us lock in stays, permits, and experiences for the group. If payments are delayed beyond that, we'll have to treat it as a cancellation (same policy applies).

How much cash should we carry?

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You can carry 12k to 15K for your personal expenses.

What should you bring?

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1. *Mandatory : Original ID Proof 2.⁠ ⁠Clothes : 1 Fleece jacket, 3 Synthetic / cotton pants,4 -5 Full sleeves tees/ Shirt, Sunhat. 3.⁠ ⁠Shoes & socks: High ankle shoes or comfortable shoes that will hold throughout multi-day hikes, 4 cotton/ wool mix socks, Sandals 4.⁠ ⁠Skin care essentials : Sunglasses,Lip balm, Cold cream, Sunscreen lotion 5.⁠ ⁠Other accessories : LED Torch/ headlamps (If already bought), umbrella / poncho Important Luggage Size considerations: Carry only a medium-sized suitcase or 50L backpack equivalent. Large suitcases aren’t allowed since we are moving several hotels on this trip. The daypack/handbag would be kept with you while travelling. So keep that super light too. . Ideally, a 10L bag. Please be very mindful about the bag size.

I am coming solo. Is that a problem?

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Most people come alone for my trips. About 25% of the people bring a friend or partner.Honestly It really doesn't matter. I have seen on all the batches I have lead. Most people really gel with everyone, even the ones who thought wouldn't gel up, surprise themselves always with the way they got comfortable with everyone.

Your itinerary looks difficult for me. Can I do it?

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Each trek/ trip is rated according to the number of days we spend outdoors . If you aren't sure where to start, go with an easy trip or trek. For trips, I dreamed of trips where we could go out hike, get exhausted, come back to hotel and have a great evening. This is exactly why some of my trips have Day hikes in it. It is a perfect chance for people who have never hiked in their entire life. Don't worry, We are there :). For treks, you can start with Sandhakphu or Chandrashila . You can also benchmark yourself for the treks.

If you can run for 30 mins and cover around 3-3.5 km, then you can go ahead with an easy trek.
If you can run for 30 mins and cover around 3.5-4 km, then you can go ahead with an moderate trek.
If you can run for 30 mins and cover around 4-5 km, then you can go ahead with an difficult trek.

If you have never done a high altitude trek, then start with a easy or Easy- moderate trek. That way you will understand how your body reacts to high altitude and you can check you cardio strength too.

What are trips like?

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Usually, most batch sizes are between 12-20 people who are aged between 16-38. Most people come alone or with a friend. The trip would feel like you are travelling more with college friends than strangers. We tend to do more outdoorsy things than regular trips . For example : If we find a very pretty waterfall/ a beautiful sunset / Rainbow on the way. We would stop the vehicle right away to catch the beauty of it. We usually sleep very late on these trips as we play a lot of group games and most people feel they will miss the precious time with the group members and decides to stay awake.

I haven't heard about this company before, where can I read more?

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Here are few places you can read more about the brand and trips, Testimonials, About me, Instagram page.
HORNBILL
One in the Orange Jacket · Hornbill 2026

The Festival Of Festivals
Is Calling

7 days. 16 tribes at Kisama, Dzouku Valley trek, Kohima WW2 Cemetery, Glory Peak sunrise, Japanese war caves.

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