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               KOHIMA TRAVEL GUIDE

Kohima is so called because "Kew Hi" is the name of a plant grown on the
mountainside. "Kew Hi Ma" means "the men of the land where the flower Kew Hi
grows". Earlier, Kohima was known as "Thigoma"

The British incursions into the Naga territory beginning in the 1840s met with stiff
resistance from the independence loving Nagas who had never been conquered by
any empire before. The stiffness of the resistance can be gauged by the fact that it
took nearly four decades for the British to conquer a territory that is less than 10,000
square kilometres( the eastern region was left free). Kohima was the first seat of
modern administration as the Headquarter of Naga Hills District (then under Assam)
with the appointment of G.H. Damant as Political Officer in 1879. When Nagaland
became a full fledged state on 1st December 1963, Kohima was christened as the
state capital.

In 1944 during World War II the Battle of Kohima along with the simultaneous Battle
of Imphal was the turning point in the Burma Campaign. For the first time in
South-East Asia the Japanese lost the initiative to the Allies which they then retained
until the end of the war. This hand-to-hand battle and slaughter prevented the
Japanese from gaining a high base from which they might next roll across the
extensive flatlands of India like a juggernaut. [Source - Bert Sim, Mosstodloch,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland: Pipe Major of the Gordon Highlanders at Kohima: his
home is named "Kohima."



GENERAL INFORMATION


Time zone          IST (UTC+5:30)
Area                    20 kmē (8 sq mi)
Elevation            1,444 m (4,738 ft)
District(s)           Kohima
Population         78,000 (2001)
Density               3,900/kmē (10,101/sq mi)


PLACE TO VISIT


Kohima Zoo - You can see the rare Tragopan bird, which is alo the state bird of
Nagaland. And the Mithun, the state animal.

Catholic Church - on Aradhurah Hill, near the Little Flower School. This is the
biggest church of it's kind in the pre-dominantly Christian region north-eastern
region of India. The view of the town from this church is outstanding.

Naga Bazaar - You can find nearly anything that is living and moving here on
sale. Nagas have a wide-ranging cuisine encompassing the entire spectrum of
living things.

Bara Basti - Supposedly the second largest village in Asia. See the traditional
Angami way of life.

Dimapur Ao Baptist Church - the largest church in Asia.



HOW TO REACH



By plane -  Dimapur Airport. 74 km from Kohima and a 2 hour drive.

By train - Kohima is not connected by train. Dimapur, on the Guwahati-Dibrugarh
is the closest railway station with direct rail connections to Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati,
and Chennai.  

By car -  National Highway 39 connects Kohima to Dimapur. The drive to Dimapur
takes about 2 hours (74km).

By bus - By bus Kohima is connected to Imphal, Dimapur, Guwahati, Tinsukia
and other major cities of North Eastern India. The bus journey from Kohima to
Dimapur is 2.5 to 4 hours (depending on the bus).