Wokha

November 04, 2019

Wokha

Most tourists give sleepy town of Wokha in Nagaland a miss. But it makes an ideal place to visit Mount Tiyi and the nearby areas. The best place to stay in Wokha is the ‘Tourist lodge’. This ‘Tourist Lodge’ is government owned institution run by a private contractor. It is situated away from the main town centre and offers excellent views of Wokha. The semi-detached cottages consist of a day room and bed room. At Rs 1000/- a night, it’s excellent value for money. And the caretaker is very helpful. I am the only person here.

Path to Mount Tiy

Places to visit in Wokha

Mount Tiyi: The caretaker at the tourist lodge arranged a guide (Rs 800/-) to do the Jaffa peak trek. The trek makes for an easy/pleasant hike. Once the villages are left behind, the thick bamboo forest begins. The local bamboo variety has thorns; so be careful not to touch them. I strongly recommend trekking with a local guide. There are numerous trails in bamboo forest and even my guide got lost a few times.

Jaffa mountain has special significance in the ancient Naga mythology. The red rhododendrons that bloom here are believed to be the souls of the departed. I have reached at the tail end of the rhododendron season. There are only a few flowers. Plucking these flowers is prohibited by the village council.

It is said that there is a magical meadow in the Jaffa mountain. This meadow is near the lookout tower near the peak, but the exact location is a mystery. Legend has it that the fortunate people will get any fruit that he desires at this meadow.

Entrance to the Cave of Departed Souls

Cave of departed souls: There is cave in Mount Tiyi through which the souls of the departed are believed to travel after death. Unlike the dead souls, my guide got lost enroute to the cave. Thankfully we ran into some villagers collecting a particular variety of big leaf. The domesticated pigs are, apparently, very fond of this leaf! They were collecting the leaves in huge gunny bags to feed it to their pigs. They gave directions to my guide about the path to the cave. The entrance to the cave is impressive. As it had rained the past few days, water was dropping down the cave walls. There were a few bats flying inside the cave. The cave is not too long. At the end of the cave is an opening that can be entered only by crawling in. That’s as far as I went today. My soul will be back later for a closer look :) It took 35 minutes to walk back from the cave to the Tourist Lodge.

Riphyim: The trip to the village of Riphyim takes about 1 hour in an autorikshaw. The road to Riphym is reasonably good. The road passes through the beautiful village of Englan. I stopped the autorikshaw and got out to get some pictures. These parts of Nagaland get almost no tourists. I was taking pictures on the road at Englan and one of the residents came up and closed the door of their house. Kids playing on the street saw my camera and started running away. I’m hopeful that it’s camera that scared them off and not me.

Notice the aerial roots being passed through bamboo poles

Riphyim has a ‘Tourist Lodge’ but it was closed. Walk up and beyond tourist lodge to the Angananavadi (kindergarten) on the mountain top. There is a stone bench to sit on. There was nobody around; perhaps it was because the Sunday mass was in progress. Sitting in this sublimely peaceful place was transcendence. I noticed that the aerial roots of the tree nearby were being passed through a bamboo pole. I later learned that this was to make a bench!! After many years, the aerial roots would grow into the shape of the bamboo pole and become strong enough to take the weight of many people. Later, went for a walk in the beautiful village. The village was, as usual, impeccably clean.

Englan Village- Kids running away from the camera

Sree Wokeshwarnath Temple: This temple inside is situated inside an army barrack near Wokha town centre. The army personal do the upkeep of the temple. I was a bit surprised when I saw this arrangement. The army personal on duty are very friendly. They let anyone inside the barracks to visit temple. There is no body scanning or baggage check. All is not lost with humanity! I struck up a conversation with the armed army personal stationed outside. He told me many people come from afar just to pay homage to this revered temple deity.

Other Nagaland Blogs