The Mon district of this northeastern state boasts neither creatures, most hunted to extinction, nor creature comforts. But if tattooed tribals, opium ceremonies, a king (angh) with a hundred wives and the possibility of lunching in India and bedding in Myanmar seem like interesting reasons to make this trip, this is where you should be headed.
Home to the Konyak tribals, the last to give up head-hunting and embrace Christianity, Lungwa village remains a place that time forgot — men leave with muzzle-loading guns to the forests to catch lunch, women work the fields, the community still practises slash-and burn cultivation and relics of the gory past are plainly visible. Lungwa’s distinction, though, remains the border it shares with Myanmar — and the fact that the imaginary line cleaves the Angh’s morung (longhut) in two.
The information
Getting there
There are buses to Mon from Sonari and Simulguri, Assam, and Kohima and Dimapur. Or you could use the help of Northeast specialist tour operators, such as News Travel Services (newstravelservices.com).
Where to stay
The only place to stay at in Lungwa is Helsa Cottage (from Rs 1,000; 9436433782)