Experience the best of Dimapur

Dimapur lies on the plain at the western edge of Nagaland, near the Assam border, and is the state's main commercial town and its rail and air gateway. Centuries ago it was a capital of the Dimasa Kachari kingdom, and the Kachari ruins on the town's edge hold rows of mushroom-shaped stone pillars and the remains of gateways.

Hoolock gibbons are among the wildlife of Intanki National Park, a forested reserve in the hills within reach of the town. Kohima, the state capital, is up a winding road to the south-east, with the war cemetery of the 1944 battle, and the Hornbill Festival, held in early December at Kisama near Kohima, gathers Naga tribes in traditional dress. Kaziranga National Park in Assam lies to the north-west.

Naga food centres on smoked pork, bamboo shoots, fermented soybean called akhuni and the fiery king chilli, with rice beer on festive days, and Dimapur's markets sell all of it. The lowland heat is humid in summer, and the monsoon is heavy, so winter is the easiest season.