Imphal was once called the Switzerland of India for its scenic beauty with seven hills surrounding it. The weather is awesome and so is everything else. It is still very beautiful if you can ignore the kidnapping, extortion, killings, extremely dusty, bumpy roads and if you don't mind driving at less than 30kmph on the National highway, 6 hours of electricity or less which includes electricity at zero voltage that got my macbook pro burnt so badly I had to shell out Rs. 16,500 to repair it in Delhi.
Imphal, Manipur and the neighbouring villages could make a great tourist hot spot provided the endless talks between the Naga insurgents or to put it in more politically correct term, Naga freedom fighters with the Indian Government ends. The last time I caught up with the talks, it looks like it has already failed and the future looks bleak and complicated. Everyone wants to live peacefully and in harmony. The people are done with bandhs, strikes and economic blockades!! You will not believe but the petrol is sold at Rs 180 per litre and the gas cylinder at Rs 1800 in the black market since its extremely difficult to get in the open market. I'll be writing about this later.
Coming back to the topic describing Imphal, Manipur, we have over 40 different ethnic groups with different backgrounds, traditions and cultures. Each unique to its own. The landscape and the weather is one you will not see anywhere else in India. I know I'm just exaggerating but its definitely worth a visit. It sure is one place you won't want to miss.
I'm not really a flower person but if you would like to know, Siroi Lily is to be found only in Manipur and nowhere else in the world (i could be wrong but that's what they say). The Dzukou valley and the Buningvalley is unique in their own way. The Buning valley has a huge "rock" with human foot prints on it which are twice my present foot size! Legends and stories can't be verified. I was a kid when I last went there and have lost the photographs. I wonder if some giant once lived there during the formation of the huge rock and stepped on it when it was still soft.. Huh!!! I would also like to mention the Sangai (animal) which is found only in Manipur. Be my guess to look up on the internet for more info. They are of my least interest except the rock in the Buning Valley. The Buning valley is about 135km from Imphal. 130km on road and the rest on foot up the hill with a huge waterfall of Agaki River in between. The Agaki River starts from the Buning Valley. You will need to cross the river, Agaki on a bridge made of electric wires to reach the Buning valley. I'm more than sure there are lots of other interesting places to visit. I don't want to mention the Loktak lake but looks like I'll have to since its a lake that generates electricity to the whole ofManipur and some parts of Nagaland and Mizoram. Ironically, both the states have better electricity thanManipur. Its not worth driving out that far just to see a lake though!!
I hope this gives you a brief idea about Imphal, Manipur. Did I scare you off? I'm never gonna be into tourism, am I?
