It has been few weeks since I have arrived in Zakhama. “It is beautiful” was the first thing that I said to myself as I entered the Zakhama Military Station. Jakhama is a small Naga village located approximately 18 km south of Kohima, the capital of Nagaland. Nagaland, just in case you aren’t aware is a state in North East India. Nagaland has piqued a lot of travelers and tourist’s interest in the recent times. This was my first time going to any North Eastern State for a long term stay. And the fact that it is a small and quaint village in Nagaland made me even more excited about my first rodeo with North East India.
Since there is no airport in Kohima, the other viable options were either Imphal or Dimapur. I picked Dimapur since husband had managed further logistics from Dimapur airport to Zakhama. Dimapur airport to Zakhama is approximately three hours drive. The terrain changed from plain roads to mountains in minutes. For the initial first hour, we were driving through mountains which were being cut to make the roads broader. For some reason, It felt like we were driving through Himachal, maybe the hilly roads gave that feeling.
We drove through Kohima and reached Zakhama within the stipulated time. The altitude changed exponentially and the nip in the air was hard to miss. Suddenly from hot and humid it was cool and breezy.
My Regular day in Zakhama
The day starts really early here for obvious geographical reasons. You can’t sleep past 8, even you wish for it. I go out for my morning walk by 8:30 in the morning, it sounds early but it gets quite sunny by that time. It feels like its going to be hot but the cool breeze will get you back to reality. You need to wear a layer no matter how sunny it looks. The days are bright, sunny and pleasant but the evenings and nights are cold. Even indoors husband and I are constantly donning woolen caps and socks during the nights.
My highlights while walking are the beautiful blooms all over the station. The temperature supports the growth of all kinds of flowers and you will find all varieties here. Trust me on that.
I also witnessed cherry blossoms for the first time.
It is more sublime that you must have ever imagined in your head. I saw two kinds of them, the white and the pink ones. Don’t really know the difference between both of them, but they are spectacular to say the least.
If flowers aren’t your thing, there are a lot of interesting fauna too.
The imposing Eucalyptus trees are on top of my list. I couldn’t help but remember the faux Eucalyptus branches being sold in IKEA. You can spot if from a distance, the leaves gleams of a striking grey/green color and it is definitely hard to miss.
The cherry trees are also hard to miss since they are practically everywhere. At this time of the year (March) all the trees are laden with Cherry fruits. It feels like red polka dots all over the green leaves of the tree.
Another interesting find was Chinar trees which we fondly call as “Mohabattein ke patte” (a Bollywood reference, not missing anything if you don’t get it). I have never seen a chinar tree in my life, I have only seen pictures of it and that too with brown leaves. Right now the Chinar trees are adorned with green leaves and I can’t wait for them to turn brown.
There are plethora of flora and fauna that I am yet to id and I am regaling the process to bits. It gives me so much pleasure to spot a new plant/flower and do a google lens on it. Never a dull moment if you love nature as much as I do.
Talking about highlights how can I miss the hilly roads.
Every time you head out, its either uphill or downhill. I haven’t seen a plain road longer than 100 meters here. Oh there are stairs too, a lot of them. So its either walking uphill and downhill or climbing up and down.
Another hard to miss thing in Zakhama is the uncanny presence of bamboo everywhere. Bamboo fences, bamboo gate, bamboo shed and so many other structures made of bamboo. I have spotted some unique and interesting bamboo gates which legit left me awestruck of the creativity with bamboo.
North East is famous for its interesting food, however I have not tried anything local yet. I am still eating from the mess which serves normal north Indian food. I am yet to go out of the Military station and explore this area like locals. There is a lot to explore in Zakhama, Kohima and nearby areas. I am looking forward to exploring all of it like a local. So far I am enjoying the slow and laid back life in Zakhama Military Station. I am also getting used to of the changing weather and temperature change as well.