Manipur

Manipur, Republic of India

Manipur (Manipuri: ꯀꯪꯂꯩꯄꯥꯛ, Kangleipak) is a North-Eastern Indian state, rich in history, culture and natural beauty. Ancient Manipur was one of Asia's oldest human civilisations. It was known for the arts, language, philosophy, politics and sports. Besides its cultural heritage, the blue mountains and the bowl like central plain draw many tourists from far away. Loktak lake, home to the world's only floating national park, is known as the "Mirror of Manipur".

Manipur is also known as "Switzerland of the East", "Jewel of India" and "Maid of the Mountains". Besides these, it is also called "Gateway to South East Asia" for its strategic location in India connecting with the South East Asian countries. Other than Manipur, there is no well developed land route in India to connect with the ASEAN nations.

Manipur has been at the crossroads of Asian economic and cultural exchange for more than 2,500 years, connecting the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia to Southeast Asia, East Asia, Siberia, regions in the Arctic, Micronesia and Polynesia. This strategic geographical location enables the migration of people, cultures and religions, to and from all sides.

Regions

Manipur has mountainous and plain regions with countless islands spread over the Loktak lake in the middle of the central bowl like plain.

Manipur is broadly divided into plain districts (Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Jiribam, Kakching, Thoubal) and hill districts (Chandel, Churachandpur, Kamjong, Sadar Hills/Kangpokpi, Noney, Pherzawl, Senapati, Tamenglong, Tengnoupal, Ukhrul).

Imphal East (Andro, Porompat) It is the place where one of the earliest human settlement in Manipur emerged: Andro, where there's a sacred fireplace burning continuously for the last 2000 years, through the dedicated efforts of the natives.

Imphal West (Lamphelpat) Ima Market, the world's only women-run market, Imphal Polo Ground, the world's oldest pologround and Kangla, the ancient fortified capital city is in the middle of this district. Samban-Lei Sekpil, the world's tallest topiary plant, grows in this district. This district also has most of the administrative and official zones in Manipur.

Bishnupur (Moirang, Thanga, Loktak Lake) Loktak Lake spreads her major portion in this district. It houses Keibul Lamjao National Park, the only floating national park in the world, which is the last natural habitat for the Indian variety of the brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi), also known as the sangi or "dancing deer". Thanga is the largest island in the lake, hosting numerous tourist destinations.

Jiribam It is the meeting point of the Meitei culture and the rest of the Indian tradition. This district borders Assam in the west.

Kakching It is also known as the "Rice Bowl of Manipur" or "Granary of Manipur", for producing the highest level of grains, especially rice in Manipur. It has the highest literacy rate in Manipur.

Thoubal The Anglo-Manipuri War Memorial Complex (popularly known as Khongjom War Memorial Complex) is the resting place of many freedom fighters and martyrs of Manipur.

Ukhrul Sirohi National Park is the world's only habitat for the beautiful Shirui Lily flower (Lilium macklineae).

Cities

Major cities include:

• 1 Imphal (ꯏꯝꯐꯥꯜ) — the metropolis and the largest city of Manipur state, most of the archaeological and historical sites are concentrated here
• 2 Bishnupur (ꯕꯤꯁ꯭ꯅꯨꯄꯨꯔ) — housing the first Hindu temple built in Manipur - Bishnu Temple (Vishnu Temple)
• 3 Kakching (ꯀꯛꯆꯤꯡ) — declared the cleanest city in North East India by the Indian government, the region with the highest literacy rate in Manipur, the highest level of grain production in Manipur and thus, the sobriquets "Rice Bowl of Manipur" or "Granary of Manipur"
• 4 Lamphelpat (ꯂꯝꯐꯦꯜꯄꯥꯠ) — Capital city of the Western Imphal Division
• 5 Moirang (ꯃꯣꯢꯔꯥꯡ) — Known as the "Cradle of Manipuri culture", this region has a lion's share with the granary of the diverse Manipuri culture
• 6 Moreh (ꯃꯣꯔꯦꯍ) — India's only developed place to the Trilateral Highway aka Asian Superhighway towards Thailand and other ASEAN nations
• 7 Porompat (ꯄꯣꯔꯣꯝꯄꯥꯠ) — Capital city of the Eastern Imphal Division
• 8 Thoubal (ꯊꯧꯕꯥꯜ) — best known for the Anglo-Manipuri War Memorial Complex (aka, Khongjom War Memorial Complex), the largest in North East India

Other destinations

• 1 Keibul Lamjao National Park — the world's only floating national park, because of decomposed plant materials and part of the Loktak Lake ecosystem. It provides the natural habitat for the endangered Eld's deer or brow-antlered deer (Sangai deer). It is an annual destination place for many migratory birds, including the Siberian cranes, during winter. It is also home to a variety of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles.

• 2 Andro (ꯑꯟꯗ꯭ꯔꯣ) — housing a 2000-year-old fireplace still burning in a protected sacred site

• 3 Sirohi National Park — Also called Shirui National Park, this park near Ukhrul is the world's only wild habitat for the Shirui lily (Lilium macklineae), and also has tigers, leopards and a variety of rare bird species such as the Blyth's tragopan. The Shirui peak during monsoon season is covered with the blooms of the exotic lily.

• 4 Thanga (ꯊꯥꯡꯒꯥ) — the largest island in Manipur and one of the most common boating adventure zones in Manipur, the world's only floating national park, Keibul Lamjao National Park is also under its jurisdiction but outside the main island

• 5 Yangoupokpi-Lokchao Wildlife Sanctuary — This sanctuary hosts the unique and vibrant biodiversity of the Indo-Myanmar region because of its strategic location in the juncture of the two major geographical zones.

• 6 Ukhrul/Hunphun (ꯎꯈ꯭ꯔꯨꯜ) — a small town adjacent to Sirohi National Park. It's also the home of the Tangkhul Nagas and the administrative headquarters of the Ukhrul district.
• Nongmaiching Ching

Understand

Capital	Imphal
Population	2.8 million (2011)
Time zone	UTC+05:30
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Two gigantic statues dedicated to "Nongshaba", the Dragon Lion God, in front of the Inner Entrance Gate of the Kangla, an ancient royal fortress in Imphal

Manipur is bordered by Assam in the west, Nagaland in the north, Myanmar (Burma) in the east, and Mizoram in the south.

The state is a melting pot of different cultures and languages. In Manipur, people are legally classified as non-tribal groups and tribal groups. All the non-Meiteis are considered tribals, giving governmental privileges in every sectors. The Meitei people (popularly called Manipuri speaking people) comprise the vast majority of the population, although there is a sizeable population of the Nagas (the largest minority group) and other various tribal groups. Tribesmen communities are native to the hill districts while the Meiteis are mainly predominant in the central plain and other valleys, including Jiribam and Moreh. Hinduism and Christianity are the dominant religions in the state. Sanamahism is the only ancient religion indigenous to Manipur. After a long suppression of three consecutive centuries, it is reviving and is the fastest growing religion in Manipur.

Manipur has long connected the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia, enabling the migration of various cultures and languages to and from the two regions, and the state is credited for introducing the sport of polo to Europeans.

As with several states in North-Eastern India, Manipur has faced a violent, often brutal, insurgency. The parallel rise of the Naga insurgency in the hill districts and the fact that there are elements of ethnic and tribal nationalism in the insurgent movement have made the situation very complex.

Although the worst of the violence may have come to an end with many rebel groups having since surrendered peacefully to the Indian government, some issues caused by the insurgency still persist.

Talk

Meitei (popularly called Manipuri) is the official state language and is the native language of the vast majority of the population, although an English speaking visitor will not encounter significant language problems. English is the second most widely studied and understood language next to Meitei, followed by the local tribal languages. At least some basic knowledge of English can be expected from almost most of the population in the tourism industry and public transport services. However, learning a few Meitei terms, like "hello", "how are you" and "thank you" will be warmly welcomed.

Some people in Manipur can communicate in Hindi similar to its neighbouring states, but nearly everyone in Manipur is better in communicating in English over Hindi and locals too prefer communicating in English over Hindi.

Get in

If you are an Indian citizen but don't reside in Manipur, you need to apply for an "inner line permit" (ILP) upon arrival in Manipur. Foreign travellers also need to register with the police when they enter, but do not officially require any kind of permit. If entering by land along the main road from Nagaland, there's an obvious ILP counter next to the border gate at Mao. The place for foreigners to register is also well-marked, but is located just a bit farther down the road at the big police station in Mao village.

By plane

The terminal at Imphal Airport

Imphal Airport (IMF  ^IATA) is the largest in Manipur, second largest and the third busiest in North East India. Several airlines transport passengers from Manipur and other places. AirAsia India serves transportation from Delhi, Guwahati and Kolkata. Air India has flights to Aizawl, Delhi, Dimapur, Guwahati and Kolkata. Alliance Air serves transportation from Dimapur and Guwahati. IndiGo serves transportation from Agartala, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Shillong.

By road

"India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway" connects Moreh town of Manipur, India with Mae Sot of Thailand through Myanmar, thereby creating the "Imphal-Mandalay-Bangkok" Route of 1,813 km.

Manipur can be entered by roadways from any of its land neighbours. From Myanmar, Assam and Nagaland, there are international highways, national highways and inter-state highways to Manipur. From Myanmar, Manipur can be entered through Moreh, the Indo-Myanmar border commercial hub. From the eastern side (Myanmar), the most popular route to Manipur is the Indo-Myanmar Highways (Imphal-Moreh Highway). From the western side via Assam, the most popular route to Manipur is the Imphal-Jiribam Highway. From the northern side via Nagaland, the most popular route to Manipur is the Imphal-Dimapur highway, which crosses the state border at a place called Mao Gate.

By bus

There are daily bus departures from Kohima to Imphal, leaving only at 7:30AM. The bus sometimes fills up, and no advance bookings are accepted, so you should arrive half and hour to an hour early to get your ticket.

By sumo

Another way to get from Kohima to Imphal is to take a sumo from P.R. Hill neighborhood in Kohima to Khuzama village, near the Manipur border, then another sumo from Khuzama taxi stand to Mao Gate at the border, then another from the taxi stand inside Mao village (just past the police station, left at the fork in the road). This, of course, is both slower and more expensive than taking a bus, but is a workable backup plan if you aren't able to get the bus.

By train

Indian Railways connect Manipur with the rest of country's regions through Jiribam. As of 2022, the world's tallest railway bridge is under construction in Noney district of Manipur.

Get around

By bus

Inter district buses and inter city buses are good options for domestic travel across Manipur, both plain and hill districts. The Inter State Bus Terminus in Imphal is the meeting point of every bus services in Manipur.

By car

Exploring Manipur by car can be an awesome experience, allowing you to explore the incredibly scenic and varied terrains of the Manipur's central plain, surrounding hills and mountains, river valleys and lake islands, at your satisfaction. Most roads are well-marked and well-maintained due to the rapid expansion and the improvement of the international highways, national highways, inter-state highways and intra-state highways in Manipur. Road signs in Meitei (Manipuri) are usually repeated with the respective English language translations or Latin-Roman script transliterations.

By boat

Adventure lovers boating across the Loktak lake.

Getting around the islands (human inhabited as well as non-human inhabited) of the Loktak Lake in the central bowl like plain of Manipur, is usually done with boat rides. Boats of various types are available. Motor boats, canoes, fishing boats, kayaks, house boats, rowboats, sailing boats are some of the common types of boats travellers usually choose.

Picnic type of motor boat ride in the Loktak lake.

One of the most popular boatyards is in the shoreline foothills of the Sendra hillock in Thanga (outside the Thanga main island but under its geopolitical jurisdiction). Others are almost all the shoreline peripheral regions of the Loktak Lake, especially [hanga and Moirang.

A floating restaurant and hotel in the Loktak Lake

Hundreds of buoyant restaurants and hotels are floating around the Loktak Lake, giving services to the travellers. Staying one or two nights at these floating lodges is a unique experience for people who are fleeing from noisy city life.

See

Few Asian provinces can pride themselves on a heritage as important to oriental civilization as Manipur. A range of the classical historic landmarks remind one of the days when the great Meitei rulers and authors made their mark on the development of culture, literature and sports.

The Temple of Pakhangba of Sanamahism (ancient Meitei religion) inside the Kangla, an ancient fort in Imphal

Cultural heritage

Imphal Polo Ground in the heart of Imphal, the metropolis of Manipur

The world's oldest Polo Ground is the Imphal Polo Ground (Manipuri: Mapal Kangjeibung) in Imphal. Its earliest record of existence dates back to 15th century BC (3500 years ago).

Manipur was declared by the Guinness World Records in 1991 to be the birthplace of polo: "Polo can be traced to origins in Manipur state c. 3100 BC, when it was played as Sagol Kangjei."

Ima Keithel

, the world's only women run market, is in Imphal]]

Ima Keithel (literally, Mothers' Market) is the world's only market run exclusively by women. The Government of Manipur has announced that the male shopkeepers are illegal inside the market complex. The existence of this unique market dates back to medieval times. The market has 3 major complexes with altogether holding a capacity of around 5000-6000 vendors.

Manipuri Raasa Leela dance is one of the 8 classical dance forms of India

The Manipuri Raas Leela is one of the 8 classical dance forms of India. It draws the attention of numerous culture enthusiasts around the globe.

Natural beauty

An aerial view of the Loktak Lake

• Loktak Lake — known for its circular floating biomasses (Manipuri: phumdi), on top of which is Keibul Lamjao National Park, the world's only floating national park. This is the last and the only natural habitat for the Manipur variety of brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi), also known as the sangai or "dancing deer". It is in Thanga jurisdiction (not inside the Thanga main island).
• Sirohi National Park in Ukhrul — it is the world's only habitat for the Shirui lily (Lilium macklineae).
• Yangoupokpi-Lokchao Wildlife Sanctuary — this sanctuary hosts the unique and vibrant biodiversity of the Indo-Myanmar region because of its strategic location in the juncture of the two major geographical zones.

Do

• Backpacking, bikepacking, bushwalking, camping, fastpacking, hiking, hillwalking, mountaineering, rambling, tramping and trekking are some of the most common outdoor activities adventure lovers usually do in the mountains, hills, hillocks and woodlands of Manipur.
• Canoeing, fishing, house boating, kayaking, motor boat riding, pontoon boating, rowing are some of the most common activities adventure lovers usually do in the lakes and the rivers of Manipur.
• Plogging is becoming more common nowadays in Manipur. Many plogging events have attracted numerous participants. Besides normal regular ploggings, these are done at the massive levels on special days, like Earth Day (April 22), World Environment Day (June 5), etc.
• Loukoipat, Bishnupur (Moirang). 

Eat

Meetei Classical Pork Curry with mustard leaves

Manipuri cuisine is a blend of indigenous traditions and outside influences. Mainland India have left significant impacts on modern Manipuri cuisine. The traditional Meitei diet is very oriental, espousing fish, grains, herbs and vegetables native to the Asian biome. Rice is a staple food. Being highly dependent on the Loktak Lake, the Meiteis incorporate plenty of aquatic food into their diet, especially fish. Manipur is also a remarkable producer and consumer of fish, pork and chicken. Wines are legally allowed for tribes but not for the Meiteis (excluding Chakpa castes) since they are legally not tribes.

• Chamthong or Kangshoi is a stew preparation of any seasonal vegetables with coarsely chopped onions, maroi, ginger and salt, topped with ngari, fried fish pieces (optional) and water. It's soupy in nature and is eaten with rice.
• Eromba- Vegetables and potatoes boiled with a lot of red chillies or Umorok with ngari (fermented fish), dry fish and mashed together.
• Morok metpa is a coarse-paste prepared with green or dry red chillies. They should be boiled with ngari in a pan and then it should be mashed with salt; fried fish pieces can also be added to it. chopped onions and coriander leaves should be added to it and mixed. Other dishes are- kang-hou (various vegetables fried dry in oil with traditional spices), paknam (fish cake), nga-thongba (fish curry), ooti, pakora thongba, chagem pomba, keli chana, alu kangmet (boiled potato mashed with fried red chilli and salt and dressed with mustard oil), sana thongba which is prepared with paneer in Manipuri style, a-nganba (steam vegetables, such as pumpkin, sweet pea, carrots, and French beans).
• Singju is a salad prepared with finely chopped cabbage, onions, lotus stems, tree beans, coriander leaves, sinju pan, ginger, heibi mana and lots of seasonal vegetables mixed with ngari. Boiled kidney beans are optional and the dish is seasoned with red chilli flakes, salted to taste, with red roasted sesame powder and roasted chick peas powder.
• Umorok – literally ‘tree chilli’ u=tree; morok = chilli. It is garnished with maroi (maroi namakpi, maroi nakuppi, awa phadigom, mayang-ton, toning-khok tilhou, coriander leaves).

Drink

Tea and coffee

In Manipur, tea is more popularly consumed as compared to coffee. Tea is readily available in almost all the hotels but you can't expect the same thing for coffee. Both drinks are not native to Manipur. So, there are no Manipuri terms for these drinks. The common Indian term "Chaa" (not "Chai") is used to refer to tea and for coffee, it's the same pronunciation - "Kofee".

Alcoholic beverages

The Manipuri collective term for all liquors like alcohol, beer, wine, etc. is "Yu" ("Yoo"). It's common among the tribal people of the hills of Manipur. Among the majority Meitei tribal, it's not legally allowed. However, the Chakpa caste inside the Meitei ethnicity is an exception. The Chakpa dominated areas like Andro, Kakching, Khurkhul, Sekmai, etc. have some of the most famous breweries in Manipur. In some Chakpa villages, the term "wanglei" (/waang-lei/) is used instead of the general term "Yu" ("Yoo").

Pineapple and orange juices

Manipur is extremely famous for the production of pineapple and orange juices. These fruits are produced in bulk from the hill districts and the hilly areas of the plain districts. Notably, pineapple is the state fruit of Manipur. Pineapple and orange juices manufactured in Manipur are annually exported to foreign nations, including Japan. The Manipuri terms for pineapple and orange are "kihom" (/kee-hom/) and "komla" (/kom-laa/) respectively. Among the fruit festivals organised in Manipur, pineapple festivals and orange festivals are the most popular ones.

Stay safe

2/3 of the population of Manipur is concentrated in the central plains ("darkened portion")

Large-scale riots broke out throughout Manipur between the Meitei people and Kuki people in May 2023. The military was authorised to shoot and kill any rioters along with applying regular riot-control weapons. Stay away from protests, monitor local media, and follow instructions from local authorities. Christians and Hindus are also advised to keep a low profile, since rioters may associate those religious identities with their respective enemy groups.

Manipur has distinct valley people (plain people) and hill people (mountain people). The Meitei people (Manipuri-speaking people) are the predominant as well as the largest ethnicity and live in the central plain of Manipur. The non-Meiteis are regarded as the tribesmen communities (Nagas, Kukis, Zomi/Chin) that live in the surrounding hills. The Zomi/Chin would like to be united in an independent state with their tribespeople in Myanmar. There are multiple competing tribal militias that extort money from their countrymen, block roads, and occasionally erupt into warfare/killing.

The Imphal Valley (also called the Manipur Plain) is generally safe (see the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office website and similar sites), but hilly areas should be visited only on the basis of good local information, and the word 'disturbed' means no-go.