Best Places of Interest in Manipur

Naturally beautiful state with smoky blue hills and verdant forests, Manipur is charming with greenery, moderate climate, several faiths and religions. Hindi and English are slowly gaining ground as languages for communication, while Manipuri along with its dialects remains the official language of the state. This culturally rich state is also known for its wrestling, martial arts, and musical dance forms. However, this sensitive Indian border state requires Restricted Area Permit (RAP) for foreigners seeking to explore this region.

Heritage Sites: Some of the heritage sites in Manipur identified and recommended for recognition include, Konthoujam Lairembi, Langol Lairembi Greens, Sekmai, Imphal City, and Kangla.

Eco Tourism: Home to the unique Loktak Lake with ‘floating islands’, over 500 varieties of orchids and vast resources of bamboo forests, awareness towards preserving nature is fast-forwarding newer aspects of eco-tourism within the tourism industry of Manipur.

Wildlife Attractions: Providing shelter to several rare and endangered species of birds and animals, well known wildlife parks and sanctuaries in Manipur include the Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur Zoological Garden and the Siroy National Park.

Manipuri Dance: One of the major Indian classical dance form with specific aesthetics, values, conventions, ethics, devotion and grace around the cult of Radha and Krishna, showcasing movements of body and feet along with facial expressions.

Pilgrimage Centers: Some of the major sites in the Manipur pilgrimage circuit include the ancient structures of Shree Govindajee, Moirang and the Bishnupur temples.

Imphal – A tiny state capital with green-blue hills, lush fields, and low clouds offering relics of an old historical palace, temples and ceremonial houses. Lying at the center of Manipur Valley, Imphal is accessible by air and road transport.

Tamenglong – A land of exotic orchids in western Manipur; other attractions around this city include Barak River Waterfalls, Zeilad Lake, Tharon Cave, and Buning Meadows near the picturesque Tamei Town.

Ukhrul – Situated alongside the Myanmar border at a distance of 83-kilometers to the east of Imphal; it is the highest hill-station in the state well known for Shirui Kashung and the Khayang Peak, the Khangkhui Cave and other sights.

Churachandpur – This cosmopolitan hill-town is located in South-Manipur. An exceptional homeland of regional tribes, it is known for exquisite handicraft items and Tonglon Cave which is a major tourist attraction.

Excellent accommodation facilities are available in and around the city of Imphal, which is the most convenient access point with an airport having daily flight services to Guwahati, Agartala, Delhi and Kolkata. Imphal is very well connected by road with the rest of the region, and Dimapur in Nagaland is the closest railhead at a distance of 215-kilometers from here.