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Hornbill 2018[/caption]
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Hornbill 2018 day 1[/caption]
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Nov. 30: All roads will lead to Nagaland next few days as the much-awaited Hornbill Festival 2018 will kick off today at the Naga Heritage Village in Kisama, which is located about 12 km away from the state capital Kohima. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will grace the opening ceremony of the 10-day festival.
The Hornbill Festival is an annual event celebrated from Dec. 1 to 10th, an occasion to showcase the vibrant and rich traditions of the state to the world.
Thousands of people from several parts of the country, and from abroad, visit the state during this festival to experience the unique culture of the Nagas. Nagaland government has launched tourist police to ensure security and friendly environment to those visiting the state during the festival, making it the 16th state in India, and the second in the Northeast, to have such facility.
Several events and competitions will keep the visitors enthralled till Dec. 10, the day Hornbill Festival concludes. Most of the events will take place in and around the main arena of the festival, Kisama, and the state capital Kohima, but some actions will take place in other parts of the state too, including the Hornbill International Music Festival which will be held in Dimapur.
For the adventurous, there will be events like horse riding, pony cart ride, boating, hiking, angling, go-cart, country ride, jungle ride, trekking and hiking, and downhill-mountain biking among others throughout the festival. Some interesting competitions to be held during the festival include Naga wrestling championship, Miss Nagaland contest, hottest and fittest man competition, and Naga king chilly eating contest. Night carnivals will also take in select areas of the state capital Kohima for those who love nightlife.