Tour of Nagaland 2022 | Day 17 | Dzuko Valley- Viswema -Kohima | 35 kms

We woke up very early. The cold in the night was just unbearable. It was very difficult to sleep as I kept on rolling from one side to another. Just as I was enjoying the sleep, Rupam, our guide woke us up to show something magical outside. Half asleep, we marched outside to see a white carpet being laid on the flat hills. It resembled like a flowing river though it was the morning mist floating lightly over the hillocks.

The night temperature must have dropped quite low as we could see a thin layer of ice over the soft grass needles. It resembled like someone had accidentally dropped cooking flour on the grass. The sun was creeping behind us from the mountains as the mountains ahead started to glow in shades of orange. The floating mist too started to disappear. The time was close to 6:15 am and the area around the lodge was now flooded with ample sunlight. It was time to sunbathe after experiencing the terrible cold of the night. The stiff body from the cold was melting from the heat as the bones and joints started to move freely and easily.

My head was heavy with cold. The cold had got me bad. Yesterday’s early morning chilled water bath combined with a whole day trekking in the sun had taken a toll on my body. I had now a cough and a runny nose which didn’t seem to stop any time soon. I knew it was only going to get worse.

After the tea, we decided to explore around. We three hiked up to the helipad which came in an instant. From here, the view of the Dzuko Valley was amazing and the sun had come up the horizon which added to the beauty of the surroundings. We spent some time there soaking into the atmosphere. Some people were going further up ahead towards this white spec on the green velvet over the hillocks. It was the Dzuko Valley cross which I heard later is quite famous among the trekkers. It is the place where the Duzko Valley trail ends and the trek is incomplete without visiting this famous landmark. As per my rough estimate, the distance could have been in the range of 3-4 km.

The trail was soothing. It was like a meditation on the move. All you could see was the laid-out green carpet over the hillocks with the sun shining over you. The temperature was ‘just’ perfect. There were some people along with me and I could see some people returning. Rupam and Anakha had decided to not do this trek to the cross and instead wanted to stay at the lodge itself. The initial trail was down the mountain and it was all rocky. I had to carefully put my feet over the rocks to not twist them. After a while, the trail leveled the ground and it was like walking on a plain surfaced road.

The area was like raw beauty. Completely untouched by the outside. I was lucky to have witnessed this place in its true form, without much crowd and material pollution. This was the perfect example of being one with nature. I spotted 2-3 stream crossing along the way. Each place was like the ideal camping spot but wondered why hadn’t anyone camped out in this wild place. I guess, it must have been the temperatures and support in the case of emergency. The mobile network was not working.

I walked and walked and walked but the white spec just couldn’t get any bigger. I thought just how far I needed to walk more to reach my destination. My curiosity was growing as I became more impatient. I wanted to see what was at the cross which made it famous. I knew that the cross was located at the Nagaland-Manipur border.

Around 8:45 am, I finally reached my destination climbing the last few mtr of a small hill. I later came to know that the cross was erected by the Angami Youth Union of Nagaland. From here, I was not able to locate the lodge with my naked eyes. I spent some time at the place taking some photographs before retracing my steps back to the lodge. I had wanted to cover the return journey in less time than it had taken me to reach the cross.

We started our trek back to the base around 10:15 am after clicking some final photographs of the magnificent backdrop of Dzuko Valley. We hiked non-stop without pausing till we reached the base camp at the parking lot. It had taken upwards of 3 hrs for us to reach the base of the trekking point. We only took short breaks to hydrate ourselves and munch on some chocolate bars. The sun was shining bright so we had to do away with our winter wear.

Around 2 pm we hailed a cab which dropped us at the same location where my bike was stashed. All of us were hungry since we hadn’t eaten anything solid since the morning. Luckily, there was a hotel nearby, and was open for lunch. We rushed in to have our late lunch of rice, daal, and some fried chicken. Trust me, it was the best lunch I had to date in Nagaland and the food taste reminded me of my hometown. I told this to the lady owner and the chef and they were quite pleased with my compliments.

After lunch, Rupam guided me to a homestay which was not far from the place where he told me that I could spend the night. The 2 of them left for Kohima as per plan. I bid them adieu and wished them safe travels for their next journey and especially thanked Rupam for involving me in the trek of which I was not a part. Coming back to the lady who had melted my heart with her generosity. I was left short of words to describe this beautiful gesture. She invited me for tea inside before I left. We spent quite some time chatting with each other. The whole family was present. It was hard to say goodbye to such a lovely couple . They had blindly accepted to help a stranger and wondered whether the same would be reciprocated by my people in my hometown. I thanked her with some offerings of money before I said my final goodbye to her and headed towards the homestay which I had marked on my map.

The homestay was located easily. I hardly drove for more than 3 km. The rooms were available and I got one for 500 bucks. As I settled in for the evening resting on my bed, I wondered how the past 2 days had gone when strangers had met me and offered to help me. I felt nice too having met such wonderful people. Since I had a late lunch, dinner consisted mainly of snack items purchased from the homestay itself as I prepared myself for an early bed. The body deserved much-needed rest. My cold was still bad. I knew something had to be done about it the next day If I had to travel comfortably and not let the cold in my way.