The Dzüko Valley is a valley located at the borders of the states of

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

and

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. This valley is well known for its natural environment, seasonal flowers and flora & fauna. It is situated at an altitude of 2452 m above sea level. The valley is famous for its wide range of flowers in every season but the most famous one is the Dzüko Lily and it is found only in this valley.

Etymology

The word ''Dzüko'' is originally derived from the

Viswema Viswema (), is a Southern Angami Naga village located 22 km south of Kohima, the capital of Nagaland, India. With a resident population of 7417, it is the second biggest village in the state and is part of the contiguous built-up of the ...

dialect of the Angamis ''Dzüko'' which loosely translated means ''Soulless and Dull'' referring to when some ancestors of Viswema who moved out to establish a new village in ''Dzüko'', due to the unfavorable weather conditions they were unable to harvest crops which led them to say ''"the valley is very beautiful but is dull and soulless."'' A common misconception is that ''Dzüko'' derives its meaning from the Angami word which translates to ''Cold Water'' referring to the ice cold streams that flows through the valley.

Access

Trekking route

The main entry is from the foothills of

where one can travel to the rest house above

Teyozwü Hill Teyozwü Hill is a picturesque hill located in the western part of Viswema in the Indian state of Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to th ...

by a

Tata Sumo The Tata Sumo is a SUV produced by the Indian automobile manufacturer Tata Motors from 1994 to 2019. During production its name was changed to Sumo Victa and later to Sumo Gold. History The Sumo was launched in 1994 as a ten-seater rear-wheel- ...

taxi. From here one has to climb forty minutes to the top of the mountain ''(Khiyoke)''. This is where Dzüko starts but the main valley is still another two hours' walk away. One can exit the valley from the same route but if one is planning to come back by foot, the Jakhama route is shorter. Also it can be reached in five hours of trek from

Mount Tempü Mount Tempü is a peak of the Barail Range rising at the mountainous border of the Indian states of Manipur and Nagaland. With a height of 2994 m above sea level, Tempü is the highest peak in present day Indian state of Manipur and the second hig ...

of Senapati district of Manipur. The new five-hour trek route was opened by MMTA (Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association).

Transportation

The

Asian Highway 1 Asian Highway 1 (AH1) is the longest route of the Asian Highway Network, running from Tokyo, Japan via Korea, China, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran to the border between Turkey and Bulgaria west of Istanbul ...

and also the NH-2 passes through its foothills. The nearest airport is

Dimapur Airport Dimapur Airport is a domestic airport serving Chümoukedima–Dimapur and its neighbouring areas. It is located between the districts of Chümoukedima and Dimapur, from where National Highway 29 (formerly NH-39) passes just beside the airp ...

Chümoukedima Chümoukedima (), formerly spelled Chumukedima, is a municipality in the Chümoukedima District of the Indian state of Nagaland. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Nagaland after Dimapur and Kohima. Chümoukedima was designated as t ...

– Dimapur about 96 kilometres (60 miles) away from Viswema while the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport is located about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Viswema. There is a Helipad just next to the Guest house however no service is seen in the last few years.

Ecology

The valley borders a region of old-growth forest, and is home to several rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, including the Dzüko Lily (''Lilium mackliniae'') and the

Blyth's tragopan Blyth's tragopan (''Tragopan blythii'') or the grey-bellied tragopan, is a pheasant that is a vulnerable species. The common name commemorates Edward Blyth (1810–1873), English zoologist and Curator of the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Benga ...

, which is the state bird of Nagaland. A number of other rare species are also found here, including several

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

species, plants such as the ''aconita nagaram,'' and fauna including the

Asian golden cat The Asian golden cat (''Catopuma temminckii'') is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China. It has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2008, and is threatened by poac ...

, the Hollock Gibbon, the Dzuko Valley horned toad (''Megophrys dzukou''), several species of leopard including the

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a ...

, the

Asiatic black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sout ...

, the

capped langur The capped langur (''Trachypithecus pileatus'') is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Myanmar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat ...

, the

stump-tailed macaque The stump-tailed macaque (''Macaca arctoides''), also called the bear macaque, is a species of macaque native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India, it occurs south of the Brahmaputra River, in the northeastern part of the country. Its range ...

, and the

serow The serows ( or ) are four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were until recently also classified under ''Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Extant ...

. It has periodically been threatened by forest fires, which tend to spread quickly due to prevalent wind conditions and are difficult to fight because of the inaccessible terrain around the valley. In 2006, a forest fire destroyed 20 kilometers of forest in the valley before it was contained. The

2020–21 Dzüko Valley wildfires The 2020–21 Dzüko Valley wildfires occurred in the states of Nagaland and Manipur in North-east India, beginning on 29 December 2020. The wildfire resulted in widespread environmental damage in the ecologically sensitive region of the Dzüko Va ...

destroyed an estimated 200 acres of forest land, as well as significant flora in the valley itself.

Ownership

There has been disputes for years between Manipur and Nagaland regarding the ownership of Dzüko Valley. Historically, the valley is an extent of the territory of Viswema under present-day Nagaland but today it is jointly preserved with the

Southern Angami Public Organization The Southern Angami Public Organization is a public organization established in 1944. It is the apex public organization of the Southern Angami Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist a ...

which is also based in Nagaland. However, politically, the valley shares both Manipur and Nagaland state territories which the majority of the area falls under Manipur state boundary according to the map of the Survey of India.

Gallery

File:Dzukou Valley.jpg, View of hillocks near Dzüko Valley from the guest house File:Dzuko Valley Guest House.jpg, Dzüko Valley Guest House—a courtesy of

Government of Nagaland The Government of Nagaland also known as the State Government of Nagaland, or locally as State Government, is the governing authority of the India state of Nagaland and its 16 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Na ...

References

External links

* *
Dzukou Valley Trek

Hues of Dzukou
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzüko Valley Viswema Valleys of India Landforms of Nagaland Landforms of Manipur

Etymology

Access

Trekking route

Transportation

Ecology

Ownership

Gallery

See also

References

External links