In today’s blog, will take you to The Land of Naga’s, Dzukou Valley. If you love adventure, and planning for a trekking in the Northern East part of India, then this blog is for you. If you are not planning, then read this blog and make-up your mind. The Dzukou Valley keeps you away from the world, as there is No Network in the valley. Stay away from materialist thing and enjoy the journey.
Before exploring the terrain and surreal beauty of Dzukou Valley, let’s understand how you will reach this amazing place and what will be the cost.
How to Reach Dzukou Valley?
To explore other parts of Nagaland, you have to first reach Dimapur via, air or rail, because Nagaland’s Dimapur is only gateway to reach the Northern State of India, Nagaland. I will explain the budgeted Transportation Cost and the Trip Plan to Dzukou Valley.
Once you reach Dimapur, take a vehicle for Kohima which cost around Rs. 350/- per person. Kohima is capital of Nagaland, and the vehicles drop you at Nagaland State Transport – NST. From this point, you can either walk or take vehicle which cost 10/- to drop you BOC – Burmah Oil Company. The BOC is a locality at the heart of Kohima, which has a bustling market and is an intra district transport hub. The transportation cost from BOC to Viswema would be around Rs. 60/- per person.
The distance from Viswema to Dzukou Valley is around 18kms. The available transport from Viswema Village is Tata Sumo, Alto and Eeco and the charges are based on per seat basis which is around 350/- per seat.
Permit to Explore Dzukou Valley
To explore the beauty of Dzukou Valley, Inner Line Permit (ILP) is necessary. For getting the permit, you should have valid election document and other doc. as prescribed by the govt. from time to time. The cost varies as per the category, if you are student the charges would be different. In this blog post, I am sharing the Tourist Charges which is Rs. 50/- for 15 days and Rs. 100/- for 30 days.
Accommodation at Dzukou Valley
The stay in Dzukou Valley is the toughest part of the journey, the facility is not as you are expecting. There are two ways to stay at Dzukou Valley:
- A night in the Dzukou Valley.
- Stay in a village before you are heading at Dzuko Valley.
Let’s check the cost of the accommodation at Dzuko Valley:
- Dormitory: The cost of staying at dormitory is only 50/-. But the facilities are not up to the mark. There are no beds and people lay on the floor, which gives nostalgia feel too. The other facility where you lack is toilets, there are no toilet facility.
- VIP: The other stay option at Dzukou Valley is VIP accommodation, though it doesn’t look like VIP. Here you will stay with 4 people with washroom facility and cost would be Rs. 1500/-.
- Camping: The best option to stay is Camping. Here you can either you can pitch your own tent which cost Rs.100/- or you can lend a tent from Dzukou Valley Management which cost Rs. 500/-. The twist is you need to buy every equipment from Dzukou Management and each camping equipment cost Rs. 50/-, but the quality of the equipment is not good. I would advice to carry your own equipment (Sleeping Mat/Bag, Blanket and Pillow). You can hire porter for your luggage which cost around Rs. 1000/- to Rs. 1500/-.
Let’s check the cost of stay in Village (Before Dzukou Valley):
If you are planning to stay in a valley and not in Dzukou Valley, then the cost of homestay is around Rs.1000 – Rs.2000 per night.
Entry Fee at Dzukou Valley
There is entry fee for exploring the Dzukou which is implement by the government. The fare charges are:
- For Indian Tourist: Rs. 100/-.
- For Locals from the area: Rs. 20/-
- For Nagaland Residents: Rs. 50/-.
Trekking at Dzukou Valley
You guys are not aware of the trekking route of Dzukou Valley, so first thing to do is to hire a guide who can help you with the route, stay with you at night too and safely drop you back. The cost of the guide is approximately Rs. 1500/- to Rs. 2000/-.
Nagaland’s Dzukou Valley is “Plastic Free Valley”. If you are carrying plastic, you need to pay security, while return show plastics to get back your refund. I thought this action is needed in other parts of the country too.
Dzukou Valley trek is of 9kms, and it took 3 hours to reach valley and if we calculate both side it would be a 6-hour trek. The first part of the trek is steep, but the beauty is surreal. The lush green forest, and the sun ray’s sneaks from the tall forest. After crossing the forest, the Real Jungle, you suddenly administer clear sky, narrow lane and beautiful mountains. As you move forward, you will feel cold and the cool breeze. In am sharing some beautiful photos of the trek which inspire you to explore Nagaland’s beauty.
Do you know, some parts of Dzukou Valley lies in Nagaland and some in Manipur? So, when you reached at the top of Dzukou Valley, you encounter both Nagaland and Manipur people. Spend your evening, chit chatting, understanding the culture amid the magical valley until it went dark.
The accommodation details are already mentioned in the blog post. Next day, try to wake-up early in the morning and embrace the beauty of Dzukou Valley. Make reels, click photographs, and capture the memories of valley.
Food Charges at Dzukou Valley
The food is served by the Dzukou Management and the menu has both vegetarian and non-vegetarian item. If you want to have breakfast only then Maggie, Omlet, Eggs and Black tea are good options with reasonable price and around Rs. 70/-. The option of veg meal and non-veg meal is also there, you can have it, if you are leaving valley bit late which cost around Rs. 200/-.
On the contrary, if you are willing to cook food by your own, they you can rent cooking utensils which cost around Rs. 50/- to Rs. 100/- and the firewood cost Rs.10/-. You can try this option, if you love cooking and want to experience cooking at height amid the beautiful valley.
Best Time to Visit Dzukou Valley
You can explore Dzukou Valley throughout the year, but if you want to experience the flowering season of Dzukou Valley then April to September is best time. The peak flowering season in Dzukou Valley is first two weeks of July.
People usually visit Dzukou Valley for trekking, the best time for trekking at Dzukou Valley is April to May and November to March. The trekking trails are feasible for the trekkers and less muddy.
Tips to Explore Dzukou Valley
As you are going for trekking, so try to wear and carry below:
- Wear Trekking/Running Shoes
- Wear Loose Pants
- Carry Water Bottle
- Bring Travel Pouch which consists basic items
- Rope
- Equipment for Pitching Camp is already explained
If you are planning a travel through Travel Company, then check more about the company, what are reviews and the facilities they are providing. Once you reached Dzukou Valley, you can’t contact your travel agent, as there is No Network in the valley.
Final Thoughts
In this blog post, I tried to briefly describe you travelling routes & cost, permit detail, accommodation, food and the trekking experience at Dzukou Valley. The total Dzukou Valley Trip cost is approximately Rs. 9500/- per person. Dzukou Valley as No electricity, No Network and No Connectivity, and the weather is extremely cold irrespective which month you plan. The experience is definitely amazing, as you will be away from the city’s hustle bustle life.
Pack you bag and explore the unexplored places with Hema…..
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