Hornbill Festival 2026: Nagaland seeks permit-free entry for foreign visitors

The Nagaland government is pressing the Centre to withdraw the Protected Area Permit (PAP) regime completely before the 27th Hornbill Festival, which runs from December 1 to 10, 2026, at Kisama Heritage Village near Kohima. According to reports on October 28, 2026, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi to seek the permit's permanent removal, and state Tourism Minister Temjen Imna Along said the Home Minister had assured that the issue would be examined. At the same time, the state's Tourism Directorate has asked the tribal bodies of Nagaland to finish renovating their traditional morungs at the festival site by the second week of November.

The Hornbill Festival is Nagaland's best-known window on its living traditions. The festival brings the state's tribes together at one site, where each tribe's morung, the traditional communal house, is used to display its dances, songs, crafts, food and customs. For many visitors, it is the one time in the year when the cultures of all the tribes can be seen side by side. That is why the work on the morungs, and the money for it, matters to the tribal bodies as much as to the tourism department.

The Protected Area Permit is the other side of the story. Foreign nationals need this permit to visit areas that the Centre has declared protected, and Nagaland has long argued that it discourages international visitors. The state's position, as stated by the Tourism Minister, is that the permit and border security are separate matters and that the restriction mainly holds back tourism. Last year the Centre eased the rules for foreign visitors only for the festival period. A complete withdrawal would be a larger change, and it is a decision for the Union Home Ministry, not the state.

For heritage, the question is practical. More visitors can mean more income for the artisans, performers and village communities whose traditions are on show, but it also puts pressure on the festival's organisers to keep the event true to its purpose. The state's early preparations, starting with the morungs, show where its priorities lie for this edition.

Short-term: Tribal bodies have a few weeks to finish renovating their morungs, and the state awaits the Centre's response on the permit before foreign visitors plan their December trips.

Long-term: If the Centre agrees to a full withdrawal, foreign tourists could visit Nagaland throughout the year without the permit, which the state says would help tourism and the communities that depend on it.

Who is affected: Naga tribal bodies and the artisans and performers who take part in the festival; foreign and domestic tourists; tour operators and hotels in Kohima and nearby; and the state and Union governments.

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