Jewel Of The Northeast

Earmarked by ubiquitous waterfalls, mountain treks, ancient caves, hidden jungle trails, gurgling streams and serene mountain villages, Mizoram in Northeast India should certainly be on your itinerary.

- Sugato Tripathy

There are places in this world that demand leisurely discovery, that require days of easy wandering and poking into nooks and cranies. Wee places like these, not much visited, hide within them a soul which can only be experienced by those willing to discover it.

Aizawl

As the twin-engine propeller aircraft starts its descent to Lengpui airport, lush green hilly terrain comes into view, with brown patches of agricultural land (jhum cultivation) scattered in a random pattern, as if to put on a spectacular show for those above. The airport started serving the state only 18 years ago, before which the nearest one was 205 km away at Silchar in Assam. An hour’s drive from Lengpui, Aizawl is an unpretentious and languid hill station, very different from the usual picture postcard-perfect scenery of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Instead of rows of deodars and pines with rhododendron blooms, you will find dense, impenetrable herbaceous undergrowth similar to tropical evergreen forests. Bamboo trees are ubiquitous here along with sub-tropical mixed forests of palms, bananas, ferns and orchids. Almost all the towns and villages in Mizoram are built on mountain ridges and Aizawl is no different. It’s easy to get lost in the labyrinthine roads of the city. Commercial establishments are limited to a specific area called Chanmari where all major shops, hotels, restaurants and bank branches operate. The rest of the town emanates a rustic feel and you hardly ever get a city vibe. A common grievance of tourists is that there is not much to see or do in Mizoram and dare we say that it is the most common misconception that anyone can have about this wonderful state.