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.

Table of Contents
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.
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
Yay! We made it Mesmerized with the valley Exploring Dzükou Valley Early Morning view… at 0600 hours
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.
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)
Overall, a wonderful overnight trek that we enjoyed to the fullest before heading back to Kisama.
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23 responses to “Trek to Dzükou, Nagaland”
The pictures are so mesmerizing that I just want to head over this beautiful valley!! Lovely post.
Your pictures are always on point. I’ve always longed to go to the North-East & this just makes me more eager to get there!
Amazing pictures! Loved reading your travelogue. I am an adventure lover too. Thank you for sharing these details, I am bookmarking this page for future reference. Thanks for writing about this trek.
That’s great Neha…. Glad you liked it…
I am a huge trekking fan. I did a lot if it before kids. Your travelogues around Eastern India are really tempting.
Dzuko valley is in my bucket list since forever. Loved reading your post
Dzuko valley is in my bucket list since a long time. Loved reading your post
Your post actually took me to the trek! The pictures are stunning and I can totally relate to finding a sigri on a cold evening.
Thoroughly enjoyed visiting Nagaland through your experiences and images. Indeed it’s a place, possess serene beauty of Nature.
My God! Amazing pics of what really looks to be an amazing place. The north eastern regions have some real gems isnt it!!
Hopefully they stay unpolluted unlike other much explored places.
I haven’t been to that part of India yet. North and south is covered.. Still so much is left to travel to…
So beautiful the place is… A very informative article… India has so many picturesque places.. A lot to travel to..
Mesmerizing pics of beautiful Nagaland. thanks for travel tips.
Pictures looks spectacular. Indeed beautiful travel destination #dewreads
#MyFriendAlexa
A very detailed guide. The place looks lovely!
i have heard of the festival, but never been to this part of the world. your trip and the photographs both sound really nice – an adventure i hope to go on myself someday 🙂
This is a beautiful place. I love all the pictures. Thanks for giving a virtual tour of this gorgeous place. I am adding this to my bucket list for sure.
Never heard about this place, thanks for introducing us to it. All the pics are so lovely
Never been to northeast earlier. Loved the post
Nagaland in itself is a beautiful place to be. I really love trekking and have done many before kids. Loved reading about your experience from this trek in such beautiful details. It surely seems like a great place.
North east is the most underrated spot of tourism in India.. I have heard so good feedback of friends who visited north east..and your pictures say it all
Beautiful 🙂
Thanks buddy 🙏🏻