Often referred to as the “festival of festivals”, the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland is a 10-day cultural extravaganza celebrating the age-old traditions of the 16 tribes of Nagaland through art, dance, music, and food. The festival aims to ensure the preservation of Naga culture and is held every year. After a 2-year gap, Nagaland is again gearing up to organise the festival this year. What started out as a cocktail of cultural exhibits is today one of the most celebrated festivals of the country.

Hornbill Festival 2021: 1st-10th December, 2021

Location: Heritage Village, Nagaland (10 km from Kohima)

Book the Hornbill Tour Package

 Assembly for a group picture before the performance 

Hornbill Festival Highlights

Let’s check out what adventure Hornbill bags for you. 

·         Before the festival begins spend some time on Morungs – a Morungs is a place where the young Naga boys learn to become Naga warriors.

·         Hornbill is a rare occasion where all the tribal communities gather on the same ground. This is the perfect time to converse with the tribal communities about their lifestyle, their attires, and of course about their headhunting days.

·         Enjoy the tribal performances and the biggest rock concert of the Northeast.

·         Get enthralled by the thrilling traditional sports activity such as horse riding, pony cart race, and traditional archery.

·         Enjoy the finest delicacies signifying the Naga culture at the stalls put up near the festival premises.

·         Challenge others and take part in traditional contests including Pork Fat Eating and King Chilly Eating contests.

·         Buy traditional handmade handicrafts and paintings.  

Souvenir shop at Hornbill Festival

How to Reach

The main festival takes place at Heritage village, which is just 10 km away from Kohima. To reach Kohima, you will have to either take a flight or train to Dimapur.

Air: The nearest airport to Kohima is in Dimapur, at a distance of 74 km. Taxies to Kohima are easily available outside the airport.

Rail: The nearest railway station to Kohima is in Dimapur, at a distance of 69 km. Taxis to Kohima from here are easily available.  

Where to Stay

There is a wide range of hotels and homestays available in Kohima. There are also special tents available near the ground.

Note that during festival, the prices are four times higher, so haggle!

Cultural performance at Hornbill festival 

Permit and Prices 

If you are not an inhabitant of Nagaland, you will be needing an Inner line permit (ILP) to enter the state. The fee for the permit ranges from INR 50-100. You can apply for it on www. ilp.nagaland.gov.in.

The entry fee to the Hornbill Festival is INR 20, INR 30 for DSLR camera, and INR 50 for video camera. The toilet charge is around INR 10-20.