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Dzükou valley is a bordering valley between Manipur and Nagaland and is frequented by tourists visiting Nagaland. Situated at an altitude of 2,452m above sea level, this is a trekkers paradise in December with loads of greenery and wonderful trek paths, while in summers, you would be greeted with flowers in the valley.

Read my journey to Hornbill Festival Here

About the Dzükou Valley Trek

Dzükou Valley trek can be planned over a couple of days and could complete the trek pretty comfortably if you start early.

Do note that the sunrise in North East India is early and you can start as early as 0600 or 0700 hours.

Would recommend starting early so you can be mesmerized with the morning sunrise and lovely picturesque surroundings before the sun gets warmer

Few facts about the Dzükou Valley Trek

Altitude:

8.045ft

Time to trek:

~6 – 7 hours (to the Dzükou Trekkers Hut

Where to start:

Take a shared cab / taxi to Jakhama from Kohima (or) you can head over to Vishwema to start your trek

You can look at starting your trek through one of the start points and complete the circuit by coming back in the other direction

We took the Vishwema route to trek (ascend) and came back via Jakhama and found this route very much doable and fun

Cost for Dzükou Valley Trek:

Now comes a very interesting discussion, do i need a trek guide? What would the cost of the trek be?

The trek does not cost much as you can trek this on your own should you be adventurous (which is obvious as you are reading this) and the route is pretty straight forward with a few sign-boards guiding you.

The costs that you would incur would be:

• Taxi: ~ ₹500/head (if you are in a group of 4-5)
• Trekkers Hut:  ₹100 / stay / person
• Mobile / DSLR:  ₹200 (if in group, they give you discounts)
• Dinner:  ₹ 100 (you get simple food with Dal, Rice and a curry)
• Tea:  ~₹30 per time
• Maggi (Cup Noodles):  ~₹50 (depending on if you opt for Veg / Non Veg)
• Blankets: ~ ₹50/blanket and you can also opt for sleeping bags should you need one and they have limited options which cost  ~₹300.00 and Foam Padding at around  ₹50

Our Experiences from the Dzükou Valley Trek

We were around four of us from Hyderabad who planned our trip to Hornbill Festival and also wanted to cover the Dzükou Valley as we happen to visit Nagaland.

Now as in any travel journeys, we bumped into fellow travelers at our Hornbill camp who were also planning a Dzükou Valley, we had a discussion one morning and decided to not go with a planned trek but go with this group and take the adventure.

We had a total of 8 trek enthusiasts and we had to ask for a bigger Sumo on the day of the trek and started at around 07:30 hours and after around 20 kms of travel by road, we reached the trek start point by 08:30 hours.

Full of energy, and some basic stuff (rest of our baggage, which we left back in Kohima at our horn-bill camp) and with full of enthusiasm started and knowing each other, we started our trek.

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With few pictures and finding our way, we happily headed over navigating our path and it was not much difficult navigating our path.

Taking around 6 hours, we reached Trekkers Hut at the valley, ordering maggi and some hot tea, we then set out around 1500 hours to explore the valley until around 1800 hours (the last few hours with help of torch and headlamps) before returning back to the Hut.

A few pictures of the Dzükou Valley Trek

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After a tiring day, and as the cold was picking up, we were in for a surprise as the trekkers hut had sigri on rent (coal on low heat which gives you warmth) and we took a few for ourselves for the next hour or so before dinner was served.

Pretty basic, you can manage a night with this for sure and we were too tired, hungry and the food was piping hot that we gulped a bit.

Around 2100 hours, we took a few pictures and called it a day, as now, the cold was too unbearable.

Sneaking into the sleeping bag, with a few blankets was not sufficient at all for us to beat the chill and god knows how we survived until morning.

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Trekkers Hut has two dorms, opt for the one which has wooden floor for better warmth

Seeing that the floor was a bit dirty, I ended up taking a leaf broom to sweep the entire Dorm that afternoon.. Help yourselves while staying at a Dorm 🙂

What do you need to carry for Dzükou Valley Trek

• Trek Pant / T-shirts (full sleeves as the sun is a bit ruthless)
• Thermals and a Multi-layered thick jacket depending on the season you are visiting
• Water bottle (2 liters)
• Biscuits / Chips to munch
• Sleeping bag, should you need some comfort
• Trek Shoes for added trek comfort
• Camera and sufficient battery power
• Mobiles are useless once you trek half way, so have them fully charged should you want to use them for capturing images
• Woolen Socks and Gloves
• Cash (~ ₹2,000 –  ₹3,000)

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Overall, a wonderful overnight trek that we enjoyed to the fullest before heading back to Kisama.

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