Manipur: The Jewel in India's Crown

Surrounded by nine hills that cradle a jewel-like central valley, Manipur is home to a civilisation over 2,000 years old. The Meitei and 33 recognised hill tribes share this land, creating a culture of extraordinary depth — birthplace of polo, home of one of India's eight classical dances, and custodian of the world's only floating national park.

Loktak Lake: The Floating World

Loktak is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India, stretching 287 sq km and shimmering like a sapphire set between green hills. What makes it extraordinary are the phumdis — floating islands of biomass, soil, and vegetation that drift across its surface like nature's own archipelago. The fishermen of Loktak build homes on these islands, living on the water in a way unchanged for generations.

At the southern end of the lake, the Keibul Lamjao National Park — the only floating national park in the world — shelters the critically endangered Sangai deer, Manipur's state animal, whose hooves barely seem to touch the swaying phumdis as they graze.

Manipuri Dance: A Living Classical Tradition

Recognised as one of India's eight classical dance forms, Manipuri dance is inseparable from the state's Vaishnavite devotional life. The Ras Leela — performed at Govindajee Temple in Imphal — depicts episodes from Krishna's divine play with exquisite grace, the dancers' cylindrical barrel skirts swaying in perfect arcs. Every movement carries cosmic meaning; even the smallest gesture of the wrist tells a story drawn from the Puranas.

Ima Keithel: The Mothers' Market

In the heart of Imphal stands Ima Keithel — the Mothers' Market — believed to be the world's largest all-women market, with over 3,000 women vendors trading across its stalls. For 500 years, the Meitei women known as Imas ("mothers") have run this market, selling handwoven textiles, fresh vegetables, smoked fish, and crafts. It is not merely a marketplace but a symbol of the remarkable economic and social power that Manipuri women have always commanded.

WWII Heritage & the INA

Manipur played a pivotal role in the Second World War's Pacific theatre. The Battle of Imphal in 1944 — one of the war's bloodiest campaigns — saw Allied forces repel the Japanese advance into India, a turning point that changed the course of the war in Asia. At Moirang, south of Imphal, the Indian National Army raised its flag on Indian soil for the first time in 1944; an INA Museum now preserves this moment. The Kangla Fort, seat of Meitei kings for centuries, stands in Imphal as a monument to the state's long history of sovereignty.

Planning Your Visit

Manipur is a place that stays with you — in the sway of a Ras Leela dancer's skirt, in the still blue mirror of Loktak at dawn, in the stories of the Ima market women who have kept commerce and community alive for half a millennium. Come with curiosity and leave with a piece of this jewel in your heart.