Nagaland - untainted tropical heaven

Nagaland is not a place in a Disney film or a country in Lord of the Rings. It's a real place in North East India, which borders on Myanmar. Its population appears to have come from China, around the time that the Great Wall of China was being built. Since that time and until Christianity took over from a worship of nature in the 20th century, the locals were headhunters. The last headhunters were still around in the 1950s. At the time of Indian independence, the Nagas declared independence, but the new Indian government took over. Since then, relations with the Indian government have been strained, although Keja, our local guide, says the situation is much better in the last 20 years. Nevertheless, there is still a heavy army presence, and the US government advises against travelling here.

When we arrived at the airport we had to register as foreigners. Of note was we were the 1st foreigners since May!!!

Today, we went out for two walks.

1st into the valley below the village where we stay where we learned how they grow rice, and we saw where a large variety of wild herbs and fruits grow. Nora even took a sniff at what the Jamaicans would call "[h]erb:

2nd, we went upwards to visit and walk alongside a huge area of natural tropical forest. ( We don't walk inside, as there are too many leeches )

All incredibly fresh and natural.Читать далее