Venturing Road Less Travelled

 (Trip to Yangkhullen)

Yangkhullen often referred as ‘Hanging Village of Manipur’ is in Senapati of Manipur state. The place could be reached from Jalukie - Peren, Nagaland or Maram (Kohima - Senapati Road). It is a challenge to visit this village, as the road conditions are not very friendly. There is no paved road available (as of October 2022) and the available path, or can be called road, is closed anytime due to landslides and other natural disasters. Currently massive road construction is going on between Jalukie – Peren, Nagaland State to Maram, Manipur State that makes life harder for travellers. The roads are manageable for four wheelers; it is a challenge for two wheelers. There are no shops, no signboards and practically there are no vehicles or human beings on the road except at few villages here and there. Solo riders, therefore, should be very cautious about these conditions. 

Coming to our trip to Yangkhullen, four people travelled in three motorcycles. One Hero Xpulse 200CC (Mr. Toshi, Computer Department), one Royal Enfield Himalayan 411CC (Mr. Sarbanada, Maths Department & Mr. Omega, Computer Department) and one Benelli Imperiale 374CC (Prof. Janetius, Principal) were the vehicles. It was a planned trip during Deepali holidays, enquiring and checking google map etc. The itinerary was prepared based on the discussion and road condition. The itinerary was prepared in such a way that maximum places are visited with minimum strain.

The initial understanding from the conversation with people was – there is a highway passing from Peren – Maram towns, roadwork is going on. However, no one narrated the road condition for motorcycle rides. When the people say HIGHWAY it does not mean that there is a paved road, it means there is a way… that is all.  

The first day trip was uneventful. We started from Dimapur, visited the newly built Sukhovi Railway station, relaxed a little bit, took few photos and reached Jalukie via the ghat road within 2.30 hours. The original plan was to have lunch at Jalukie and we cancelled it (as it was early) and proceeded to Peren. 

The road condition of Jalukie-Peren was good except that it is under construction partially and slightly dusty here and there. Since there was no rain, the road was good for motorcycles. We enjoyed the trip, having stopover here and there for few photo shootings. The moment reached Peren excitement took us to different levels. Seeing the clouds, mist and chilly weather make us to sing and laugh. The lunch at Peren, in a small eatery was tasty and all of us enjoyed the food and the hospitality. Our stay was in a government Circuit House, thanks to some of our trip members and friends for getting such an accommodation in a small town. 

Peren town is not populated or having many facilities, which we expect in a town or in a district capital. It is in fact a small village of less than 10 thousand people. It has a chill climate all through the year, as it was 1445 m above sea level. Though there is a government college and few schools are there, it needs a lot of developments and improvements.

The unpolluted natural setting of the town was enjoyable as we walked through the main roads and drove through a few streets. In the evening before the sunset, we want to visit a viewpoint shown in the google map, only to find out that it is inside a military camp. Instead of the viewpoint, we relaxed outside the camp and enjoyed the cloud moving, mist falling and fog surrounding us. It was a pleasant, enjoyable day ONE.

On the second day, our intention was to visit Yangkhullen (65KM) nearly 3 hours ride and proceed to Willong Khullen (20 KM from Yangkhullen) 45 minutes ride. We planned our return journey at 1.30pm so that we can reach Peren comfortably before the sunset at 4.45pm. 

We started our travel in a good spirit at 7.15am. With road construction work progressing in the Nagaland side, we reached a beautiful iron bridge over Barak River that is the boundary of Nagaland and Manipur state around 8 am. We clicked as many photos as possible without realizing the hardship and pathetic road conditions ahead of us.

The road after the bridge between Nagaland and Manipur to the place we travelled, until 12pm, was in a deplorable condition for two wheelers. We were blocked at two three places while hard machinery moving earth and rocks. There was no signboard of Yangkhullen and we do not know where to enter the village from the main road, though Google Map shows the village. Instead of reaching around 10 to 1030am, it was around 1130 to 12pm and we were nowhere, simply riding on the Naga Hills, just enjoying the off-road experience, seeing the beauty if Naga Hills and the Manipur Hills. We were helpless to locate Yangkhullen. Nobody to ask, not one person to show directions; we saw only few Hindi speaking construction workers here and there who were not aware of anything beyond their machinery. 

We promptly rearranged our plan to visit the Willong Khullen and return to Peren before sunset. That plan also received a blow when we were blocked by a roadwork. Sensing that it would take more than 30 minutes to clear that road, and the possibility of not able to return to Peren in the day light, we were once again looking for Yangkhullen village. We enquired one supervisor of construction work Mr. Singh and finally found out the village. Meanwhile, we shared some snacks among us as our lunch.

Zeme tribe inhabits Yangkhullen village. The village has some stone structures, fort like constructions and notable carved wooden doorway with long stone steps. The protection of this ancient stone settlement is the attraction. The guarded entrances and the stone forts are meant to protect the village from whom, is not clear. The village also has most of the houses on steep cliffs, which is a common feature in the Naga Hills or Manipur Hills, adds attraction to the settlements. The place has a beautiful view of the forest in the Naga and Manipur hills. Lucky people...

 The village people are very reserved, and no one bothers about the visitors. The village folks are not ready to help anyone (no idea, any village decision is taken by the head of the village). We saw many heads peeping through the windows here and there (both men and women) but no one really cares about the visitors or answers any queries. One man whom we met at the entrance of the village informed us not to take videos and drone photography prohibited. While we were venturing into the village, one authoritarian male shouted at us, no visitors are allowed, go back… go back. He even instructed some peeping heads not to entertain us. It reminded me of the movie, ‘Seven years in Tibet’ in which Brad Pitt was graciously chased out of a Tibetan village saying “No foreigner... No foreigner... go away foreigner”.  People who admire different culture come to visit places and therefore let us be helpful to them - attitude is missing among local villagers. However, we visited the stone structures, took many photos, and returned to Peren before 5pm.

The third day, we expected some rains as per the weather report. However, we were not aware of the cyclone Sitrang’s arrival and the orange alert in Nagaland. Indian Meteorological Department informed that Northeast region encounter heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, with wind speeds up to 60kmph on October 24. The non-stop rains started in the midnight of October 23. We took the return journey in the rain via Sainik School, Punglwa in a beautifully paved road. After that we ventured again some patches of non-paved road to reach the newly build Dimapur - Medziphema highway for lunch. We reached home safely but completely soaked in rain. 

The trip gave us some important experiences. From Dimapur that is around 150meters sea-level we travelled up to 2100meters; Jalukie town is 330 to 350 meters whereas Peren is 1145meters elevated. The Naga-Manipur border bridge is less than 850meters. From there we climbed 1150, 1250, 1400 and went up to 2100meters. Yahngkhullen village is 1650 to 1800 meters elevated from Sealevel. Wandering in the Naga Hills is a new experience to all. It was a pleasure, thrill, pleasure and excitement and achievement satisfaction. It is a memory that can be cherished lifelong 

Shall we call our trip an adventure, excitement or relaxation...? It was total fun, fulfilment and satisfaction. 

As Sarbanada, our team guide often says... We have done it.