Limalenden Longkumer
Mokokchung | October 13
One village, many worlds – this seems to be the recurrent thought that crosses one’s mind while on a visit to Changtongya. Situated on a hilltop at 955 meters above sea level, Changtongya is a village in the Langpangkong range of Mokokchung district, just 45 kilometers east of the district headquarters. Changtongya, adorned with a blend of striking greenery, arresting hills and peaceful ambiance, certainly has all that it takes to find a decent place in the tourism map of Nagaland.
On being invited over by the Changtongya Kaketshir Telongjem, the village’s students’ union, a team of media persons from Mokokchung visited the village on Saturday last, October 9. The villagers have been trying to promote tourism since the past few years, amply supported by the government of Nagaland, albeit lacking right publicity.
Being entrusted with the responsibility to manage tourism in the village by the elders, the students’ union led by their leaders and senior members are giving their all-out effort to promote industry in the village. They manage a rural tourism rest house in the village, a two-storied concrete building equipped with all basic amenities, rented at minimal prices. “We are running at a loss at the moment, but we are optimistic things will improve in the near future,” they said. A fair number of tourists have visited the village and stayed in the lodge, but their revenue at the moment is too meager to meet expenses such as paying the honorarium fee to the government for the building, electricity and telephone bills. Nonetheless, if hard labor pays, the villagers’ dream of visitors flocking to the village might soon come true.
What is even more promising is that individuals are coming forward to volunteer and contributing towards developing tourism infrastructure in the village. A family is said to be constructing a watch tower at a vantage point in the village, from where one can reportedly even see the boats sailing in the Brahmaputra!
The student leaders took the visiting journalists around the village after a brief interaction at their tourist lodge. The gushing Dikhu river, a 10x27 foot logdrum dragged in 1740, peculiar rock formations, pristine river systems, long wooded slopes, cool caressing breeze, warm and hospitable inhabitants, lovely weather and fabulous view of verdant green hills makes Changtongya an ideal retreat for a relaxed holiday. One can also do shopping at Changtongya Bazaar, a rural market providing the entire color and characteristic of a small town, which is mixed with the simple life style of the near by villages.
However, the best tourist attraction Changtongya promises is the 700 hectares Kanglatu reserve. Called the Kanglatu Community Biodiversity project, developed in collaboration with the department of Forests, government of Nagaland, since 2006, Kanglatu is emerging to be a popular tourist destination.
Every year, according to the villagers, “millions of birds” migrate to this place during the winter. This year, according to Toshi Longkumer, the birds are expected to migrate to Kanglatu by the second week of October. “The first batch of birds has already arrived,” he said.
The migratory birds normally leave the reserve by November end. The villagers informed that they had banned hunting in the reserve since 1991. Besides, a five kilometer river Kerabu within the reserve itself adds to the biodiversity. Watchtowers are perched at altitudes in Kanglangtu where the panoramic vista unfolds stunning viewpoints.
Situated on the NH 61, Changtongya is 45 kilometers from Mokokchung town, and Kanglangtu is just a little over a kilometer from the highway, a perfect destination for bird watchers and nature lovers. Kanglatu offers trekking routes, and the villagers claim that lucky adventurers may encounter some rare animals and birds.
