Hornbill Festival
Hornbill: sixteen Naga tribes, ten days, one hillside
Kisama, Nagaland 1 — 10 December, every year Group of 4–10₹46,000 per guest
About this journey
The one week the whole of Nagaland is in one place.
Five days at the Hornbill Festival, where the Naga tribes gather at the heritage village at Kisama, each in its own morung — a built longhouse in that tribe's own architecture. It is the rarest kind of access: sixteen distinct cultures, with distinct languages, textiles, food and music, assembled within walking distance of one another. We also travel out to two villages beyond the festival ground, because a gathering is not the same as a home.
Why now
1 — 10 December, every year — and not the rest of the year
The festival runs the first ten days of December and not otherwise. To see these communities across the rest of the year would mean weeks of travel on difficult roads across a large and mountainous state, and even then you would not see them together. The textiles alone justify the timing: each tribe's weave is worn, not displayed, and worn by people who can tell you what every band in it means.
Your guide
Imlikumba Ao
Textile researcher, Ao Naga
Imlikumba has catalogued Naga weave patterns across tribes and clans, including which designs a person is entitled to wear and which they are not. He is candid about what the festival shows well and what it inevitably flattens.
Itinerary
Day by day, at the community’s unhurried pace.
What’s included
Included
- Five days guided
- Festival entry
- Village visit beyond Kisama
- Weaving and basketry sessions
- Breakfast daily and two Naga meals
Not included
- Flights and hotels
- Inner Line Permit fee
- Most meals
Good to know
- Group size
- 4–10 guests — kept small on purpose.
- Languages
- English, Nagamese, Hindi
- Physical level
- Moderate — hill walking, uneven ground, cold mornings at altitude.
- Accessibility
- The festival ground is terraced hillside with steps throughout. Some morungs cannot be reached without assistance, and we will say so plainly rather than promise otherwise.
- Meeting point
- Kohima, hotel pickup on day one at 7.30am.
- Cancellation
- Moderate — full refund up to 7 days before, 50% up to 48 hours before.
Etiquette & consent
Naga dress carries entitlements — a pattern can mark lineage or achievement. Do not wear ceremonial pieces for photographs, and ask before photographing people in full dress. An Inner Line Permit is required for Nagaland; we will guide you through it.
Where your fee goes
For a single guest at ₹46,000, this is exactly how the fee is shared.
- The host & makers₹27,600 (60%)
- The community fund₹13,800 (30%)
- Sanchaari (platform & support)₹4,600 (10%)
Book your seats
Join Hornbill: sixteen Naga tribes, ten days, one hillside
Pick a date, add your travellers, and confirm. Seats are limited and update live — you’ll get a printable confirmation the moment your booking clears.
- 1Date & guests
- 2Travellers
- 3Payment