Have you ever heard of Manipur? If not then I am sure, you must be familiar with these names BOBY ARAMBAM, MARRY KOM and so on. These famous icons are the proud children of Manipur, a small state in the North-Eastern corner of India. The state is connected to the rest of India by two motorable roads and flight services. Though the highways are under constant repair, they are in bad shape due to frequent landslides during rainy season. Recently railway services entered the state. The newly constructed railway station is situated at Jiribam a border town of Assam-Manipur border. From Jiribam a 111 kilometre railway track to connect the capital city Imphal, is under construction. The project is set to complete by 2022.
Scope of Tourism:
INA Memorial: Very
few people know about the relation of Manipur with the Indian independence
movement. People have heard about Netaji Subash Chandra Bose a freedom fighter
of India but never heard about his freedom movement in India. At the very
beginning, before gaining momentum his movement, his mission got aborted in the
midway.
He initiated the fight against the British from Manipur, even defeated them and unfurled the tricolor flag for the first time. All this happened in Manipur in a very beautiful place called Moirang. A hundred year old building which was considered to be then Headquarter of INA still stands at Moirang.
Loktak Lake: At Moirang one will not only get the chance of visiting INA memorial, but he/she will also get the opportunity to visit the largest fresh water lake in the entire North East India, the Loktak Lake. There is a small tourist resort or park built at a small hillock, situated at the bank of Loktak Lake. One can see the scenic beauty of Loktak Lake from this place. Evening, before sunset, is the best time to see the enchanting beauty of the lake. The breeze is so pleasant in the summer that one will forget to return home. These days new idea of experiencing the beauty of the lake has already come up. Boating facility is available in motorized boats. There is possibility even to have lunch on the boat for families who brought packed lunch. There are lots of small floating marshy grasslands locally called Phumdi, the only one in the whole world. The view of these phumdis is also breath taking and already adds to the enchanting beauty of the Lake. Visiting Moirang is thus a plus point to many tourists.
Kangla: One of the very important historical place of Manipur, very close to the culture, religion and kingdom of Manipur is the Kangla. Kangla was actually the palace or fort of the then Manipur kingdom. Today the palace has become an important religious place of Manipur. Tourists are allowed to visit the place which is situated in the heart of Imphal town.
Khongjom War Memorial: One more historical place where the Manipur Kingdom and the British fought the last war is the Kheba Ching or the Khongjom War Memorial Situated at Khongjom. The place is also recently constructed for tourist attraction.
Keibul Lamjao:
Next, one should not forget the flora and fauna of the state which are native
to the state and cannot exist elsewhere on earth except the
native place.
Sangai is an exotic animal, a brow-antlered deer which is native to the Phumdi, the floating biomass of the Loktak Lake. Its natural habitat is only the Keibul Lamjao National Park, the floating biomass. The park is especially reserved for this rare animal. There is a tower in the park specially constructed only to view the beautiful animal.
Shirui Lily: If we talk about flora of the state there is a very rare flower which blooms in the spring season. There is also a uniqueness of the flower. It grows only in the hilltop of the Shirui hill situated at Ukhrul district of Manipur. The flower is so unique that it cannot grow even in the foothill of the same Shirui Hill. The flower is none other than Shirui Lilly. The blooming season is May - June. One has to visit the place as expedition but it is not possible to complete the whole trip on a single day.One has to stay the first night at the place.
Andro Park:
There are many more places to visit other than the places cited above. Andro is
very lovely park constructed recently near along a foothill. This place allows
many visitors to have lunch parties. One can cook their lunch even in the
place. No kitchen is provided and no cooking requirement is provided. Only a
place if you arrange is provided, but all the requirements should be brought.
We can spend a whole day in this place.
The scenic view of the place is also beautiful. There is a very big pond in the middle with open spaces all around it. The open spaces are covered by small grass as carpet, and it extend along a hillside of a nearby hillock. There are also many small open huts constructed everywhere providing the provision to sit and rest while viewing the overall scenic view of the place.
There are many such gardens cum parks in Manipur. To be named, Langol Garden, Kakching Garden, Peace and Unity Park at Khangabok, Sangaithel Park at Imphal West, Siktui resort at Churchandpur etc. are prominent. Among these, Kakching Garden and Langol Garden are constructed on the hilltop of Uyok Ching and Langol Peak respectively.
Ima Keithel: After visiting all the major tourist spots, one can visit the women only market, The Ima Keithel which is the world’s largest women market. The market is especially reserved for the women sellers in the form of open market. No male seller is allowed inside this market. All sort of famous traditional clothing items are available here. But the market is not dealt only clothing items. Many more household items are also available in this market.
Moreh: Moreh is a border town at the Myanmar-Manipur border, a gateway to the south – eastern Asia. The town mainly deals with only trade activities. Namphalong market situated at the Myanmar side is a very important business market. Many products that came from many Asian countries are available here. People go there for shopping purpose. In the part of India there are various hotels providing food and lodging facility. So if one goes to the border town night stay is possible in these hotels. One can also enter Myanmar freely without any restriction. One can even visit a nearby town Tamu without possessing any Passport or Visit. Other than Tamu, Passport and Visa are required.
Visit to Manipur should not end here. Manipur is inhabited by
many different communities. All these communities have their own unique history,
language, custom etc. The tribal community is constituted by many
sub-communities having different languages, traditions and customs. Non-tribals
are chiefly constituted by Meiteis and Muslims. If you visit Manipur, don’t
forget to experience at least few of the various differences available. It can
be food or culture or the people or their custom.
Manipur is also very famous for the Black Rice cultivated
in the state. The black rice cultivated in the state is known to be very high
in nutritious value and medicinal value. It has very high content of
antioxidants that also helps in fighting cancer and beneficial for healthy
heart and inflammatory conditions.
Culture is also a very unique identity of the people here. It can be very easily differentiated from the rest of India. Even differences always exist among the various communities residing in the same small state.
North-east India is chiefly inhabited by the Mongoloids. Do
not forget to visit and experience the whole North-East if you get any opportunity.
