Travel to Manipur

Manipur offers the tourist a blend of history, culture and natural beauty. Unknown even to most other Indians, this land boasts of a literature and per formative culture going back over 1200 years.

It enjoys pleasant weather except in May and June. There is one airport at the capital Imphal, with flights to and from Dimapur, Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Alternatively one can travel to Manipur by road by comfortable buses from Guwahati and Dimapur.

Some of the sights to see in and around Imphal are the Khwairamband Bazar or Ima (Mothers’) market with over 3000 stalls, all managed by women, selling a vast gamut of commodities from meats to cloth to household goods.

The tall Shaheed Minar in the heart of the city commemorates the Meitei and Tribal martyrs, who sacrificed their lives while fighting the British in 1891. Similarly the War Cemeteries, managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, commemorate British and Indian soldiers who died in World War II.

The Manipur State Museum has a fine display of the heritage of the Hill tribes of Manipur, as well as the portraits of the kings of the ancient kingdom, Khangleipak. The Central Orchidarium houses over 110 rare varieties of orchids, with almost a dozen endemic species. The peak blooming season is March-April.

Moirang is the center of Meitei folk culture, where every summer colourful “Lai Haraoba” dance is performed. Moirang too has a World War II memorial, this time to the soldiers of the Indian National Army, led by Subhash Chandra Bose who died fighting the British! An hour’s drive from Imphal is Loktak, the largest fresh-water lake in the Northeast.

Manipur Travel Guide

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From the tourist home set atop Sendra Island, visitors get a view of life on the small islands of thickly matted and intertwined floating weeds, inhabited by people in cottages who farm and fish for a living! Loktak also has the only floating national park in the world, the Keibul Lamjao, the last habitat of the Sangai, the “dancing”, brow-antlered deer. Apart from these sights, a traveler to Manipur must also witness the Pung Cholom dance. This is performed by a group of drummers clad in dhotis, sporting turbans, who dance around in circles while playing on long drums to an increasing tempo.

At the climax, they turn a succession of perfectly synchronized somersaults in the air, without breaking the circle or the drumming!A fitting takeaway memento from this state would be the Laichingfee, an intricately woven cotton quilt from a land where weaving raised to a fine art is practiced in almost every household by every one of the many ethnic groups.

Maps of Manipur

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Travel to Manipur is a little difficult because you require a restricted area permit, which is valid only for 10 days, but the attractions this state offers shouldn’t prove as a hurdle at all for anybody from visiting this state, it’s lush green and it’s dance called the Manipuri dance is very famous.

If you want to experience greenery at it’s best, travel to Manipur is a must. The ambience to enjoy this greenery is very positive and calm because the population of this state is not much and there is peace everywhere. Manipur is a small state and have got lot of tribal population, who offer diverse cuisines and various different clothes.