Tour of Nagaland 2022 | Day 19 | Kisama – Wokha-Mokokchung-Tuensang | 248 kms

My friend, Thango, and I had decided to meet up around 6:30 am in Kohima where he was staying in a hotel. He was on his way to his hometown, Noklak, which is situated in the north. I left the hostel exactly at 6:30 am and found my friend waiting at the side of the road in Kohima. I decided to tail him as he knew the roads.

It was bright and sunny but the cold was still there in the air. Cruising along the single-carriage road with moderate traffic, we moved further. We were crossing from one mountain to another. Dense jungle trees along the way made the atmosphere even more cold and that was affecting my knuckles. It was getting difficult to ride. The sunshine wasn’t helping much and most of the time it was blocked by mountainsides or tall trees.

At one point we stopped to take photos as the morning mist was still landing low to the ground giving the impression of river flowing. It was the same scene that I had witnessed in Dzuko Valley. It was bright and sunny and we got wondering how come the morning mist was still there. We left the place after clicking some photos.

We passed through many small towns situated on mountaintops. The entrances of this town were beautifully done with a big entry facade and the name of the town written on it. Some traditional Naga symbols were also present. Thango showed me one district along the way which was newly inducted into the existing known districts of Nagaland.

We had to have some break as it was getting difficult to ride any further as both my hands had gone numb by now due to the wind chill factor. I was wondering whether Thango was feeling the same. Maybe, he was used to such cold whereas I wasn’t. After taking medicines the previous night, my cold and cough had improved.

We stopped at a hotel called Gracy Restaurant where we had a light breakfast of Tea and fried rice pancakes. It was a much-needed breather for my hands as I clutched the hot cup and tried to thaw my fingers. As soon as my hands started to show signs of normalcy, we left the place.

The roads started to deteriorate as we approached Wokha town. The roads were not paved and most of the stretches were wet and slushy. I had to be careful with my speed and handling and the bike was heavy with the luggage and the last thing I wanted was a slip or a fall.

Thango stopped at this hotel which looked like a house from the outside. It was painted in bright yellow colors which seemed inviting. Many tourist vehicles had stopped in front of the gate and we managed some space out of them to park our bikes. The hotel’s name was ‘Hotel Lotha Dish’. I guess Thango knew this place. Entering inside, all the menu was offered in a buffet form. I instantly knew that this was specifically done to cater to passing tourist vehicles.

The menu was great. We ordered Pork and Pork intestines while the rest of the items were taken from the Buffet menu. The lunch is taken pretty early since the day starts very early. This was relatively new to me adjusting to this lunch timing. Anyway, I was hungry and decided to get at it. The meat item was limited while the other items could be taken more than once. Leaving the meat part, the menu looked the same as what we generally have back in my hometown. Only the wheat roti part was missing.

Leaving the hotel, Thango and one more guy got talking and they both knew each other. The guy had just got his RE interceptor from Wokha town and was on his way towards his hometown in Mokukchung. We all decided to ride together, going the same way. We had one place to visit as I instructed to Thango before moving on toward Mokukchung. The place’s name was Longkhum. It was the place I had marked on my maps having taken the data from the tourist information guidebook. In the book, this place was mentioned as one of the places to visit in Nagaland. As it was on our way, we decided to go and check it out.

Along the way, we stopped at a roadside stall and I saw some products lined up for sale. They were making jaggery behind their stall when I took a close look. Intrigued the the presence of sugarcane and in turn Jaggery, I decided to purchase one for myself to take it back to my hometown. I purchased half a kg of slab for 200rs. Also, they had this unique way of storing and carrying oranges in baskets made out of bamboo stripes. I could not resist for a photo.

On the way we passed over a bridge and underneath it was the Doyang river. Thango stopped us all to take a look at the river. I later on came to know that the Doyang River is the largest and the longest in Nagaland and flows from South to North eventually joining Brahmaputra in Assam. After taking some photos of the place, we left from there.

We hit a section of a really bad road where the road was completely broken and the loose dust flying off the bike from the backside made matters worse. I wished the road to end soon but it didn’t and the mayhem continued for a long. The entire bike and my gear were covered in dust. Only the good thing was that there was not much traffic!

The roads became paved as we approached Longkhum village. It’s a nice village located on a mountaintop. The road cut through between the houses on both sides as we approached our destination of ‘Stone Bridge’. We parked our bikes near the memorial site of Imkongmeren and walked toward the Stone Bridge which is popularly known as the ‘Longlangpa’ in the local language.

“Your soul stays back on your first visit. You have to come back to retrieve your soul” – that is the bequest of the village of Longkhum which is an Ao Village located South West of Mokokchung at an altitude of 1846 meters. It is the highest altitude Village of the Ao Region popularly called as the ‘Ao- Funemro’ during the Head Hunting Era, meaning the Van-Guard Village of the Ao Country and strategically commands a view of the surrounding hills and valleys. Area-wise it is the largest village and shares boundaries with the Lotha Villages in the West and Sumi Villages on its South.The Ao’s believed that Longkhum is the resting place for the spirit of dead on their onward journey to paradise

https://mokokchung.nic.in/

Perhaps the most unique feature in the interest of tourists is the Longlangba or Stone Bridge which is a ridge of stones that passes through the Rhododendron woods. The forest has small holes in the rocks that were carved into the stones so that spears could be placed in them. These were like warning signs to attackers that they would be killed and their heads taken off. You can also see the footprints of Ediben and Jina, the adored love birds of the Ao tribe hailing from Mopungchuket Village popularly known as the Romeo & Juliet of the Aos. Below the stone bridge lies the huge ‘Tekulem Long’ or Worship Stones, where in the ancient days, people worshipped and gave sacrifices to the Stone God.

https://mokokchung.nic.in/

A lady from the village joined us to help us out as we were the only tourists there at the moment. Even Thango hadn’t visited this place before. So it was new for him too. The lady explained to us in the local language and our new friend kindly translated it for us. It was nice to hear the stories and folklore surrounding this touristy village which didn’t seem that touristy and for me, it was a small quiet village nestled on top of the mountain.

The lady then took us to show some other interesting places. We then went straight through the stone bridge and climbed down and further walked for like 500 mts where we again descended the mountainside only to arrive at this dried natural spring which as per the ancestors and the villagers has healing properties. It was quite strange and fascinating to hear about it. From the very same place, the lady showed us 3 big holes in the mountain up ahead where she told us that Eagles nest in them. It was a little far but could be easily seen through the naked eye. For the photo, I had to use the zoom function to get a good picture.

We thanked the lady for showing us the places and left from there. Mokukchung was not far from there. It was just 18 km.

We arrived within 30 minutes only to be greeted with a big overhead board saying ‘Welcome to Mokokchung’. It seemed to be a big town as the houses were spread across the mountain range in large numbers. This was the biggest town I had seen since leaving Dimapur. Soon, we arrived at our friend’s house. It too was large with an open courtyard. We were told to rest for a while as we were served coffee and some burgers while we talked with his dad.

His dad was quite a gentleman and inclined bikes and cars. He regaled us with his own stories which we listened to with interest. He said he had in possession a Honda 750 cc bike which was termed as the world’s first superbike having launched in the 1970’s. He cared for this bike and even told us that it was still in running condition. The bike was a masterpiece. He even had a Suzuki 100cc bike which too was in running condition. Later on, he even said that he had a car in his possession in which Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi had sat once. I forgot the brand name of the car but I guess, it must have been a Mercedez. We got ourselves engrossed so much in conversation that we didn’t bother to check the time.

The time was past 3 pm and we still had 80 km of riding left. The estimated arrival time was around 8 pm which was too late as per Nagland standards. We thanked our friend and his dad was hosting us and treating us with some snacks and coffee. We bid adieu and we moved towards Tuensang. Outside, the sun had cast a soft orange hue all around and it was an indication that dusk was approaching soon. The scenery was quite fantastic and we stopped to take a photo of the Mokukchung town with the sun as the backdrop. The view was lively and I knew a photo won’t do any justice to what we were seeing with our naked eyes. We clicked photos and left the town.

Everything was tolerable and manageable till Mokukchung. As we made our way towards Tuensang, the roads became hell. It was like a durability torture track made specifically to test the bikes. Thango told me this was the main road towards Tuensang which for me looked a little wider than a hiking trail through mountains. None of the body parts were stationary. Everything was moving with the bike, up and down and side to side, even twisting. It was a mental and physical test, the former for the rider and the latter for the bike. The road was so remote and we could hardly see anyone along with us or coming the opposite way. A breakdown here would prove fatal with no immediate assistance. Daytime is okay, but considering the dusk approaching it would be foolish to ride on this road in the night considering god knows what kind of wildlife would be lurking around the bushes.

Darkness soon fell and we still had 2 hrs of riding left. Mental patience was a key thing here as we slowly inched towards our destination and did not get frustrated. Moving slowly was the key to conserve energy and stamina.

Finally, we had achieved the impossible. We had conquered our destination. I gave a huge sigh of relief after knowing that Teunsang was just around the corner. It was like winning a battle. But first, we took a pitstop at his club member’s house to meet him where Thango introduced me to him. Thanks to his wife who offered us tea and allowed me to enter inside with my shoes on. That was a kind gesture from them even though my condition was worse as I was covered in dust from head to toe. We thanked him and bid him good night. At a nearby shop, we shopped for some provisions like eggs and bread and readymade Maggie packets which would be our breakfast in the morning.

Finally, we arrived at Thango’s uncle’s house which was in the police and his quarters were located here in Tuesang. The quarters were basic as the construction was done in bamboo and the outer walls were concrete slabs joined together. The kitchen was similar to what I had seen in the Morungs at the Hornbill festival. It was too late for the dinner as per the customary standards. We quickly got fresh. Uncle had already finished his dinner. We both ate our dinner of rice and meat. It was refreshing to have a hot dinner after battling with the cold elements outside.

I thanked his uncle for keeping patience and preparing such a tasty dinner for us. We retired to our beds almost immediately after that. I was so tired that it didn’t take time for me to fall asleep. The tired body after hitting the soft cushion of the bed was at rest finally. I was still shaking from the vibrations my body endured from the bad road conditions from Mokukchung to Tuensang.