Manipur – the land of jewels - like all north eastern states, has been gifted with lush green forests, sylvan lakes and an abundant variety of flora and fauna. Located between 25 and 26.15 ° north latitude and 89.45 and 92.47 ° east longitude, Manipur is still relatively emote and undiscovered by tourists even though it has all the facilities that a tourist would want in a nature rich destination with a conducive climate.

Manipur lies south of Nagaland, bordered by Assam to its west, Mizoram to its south and Myanmar to its east. Inhabited by over 34 tribes, Manipur also claims to be the originating place for the game of Polo which is widely played here and the Manipur ponies are said to be the finest polo ponies in the world. Dance is another area in which the state excels. Manipur is well known the world over as the home of one of the foremost dance forms of India – the Manipuri.

This sylvan state is also famous for the indigenous Sangai – the dancing deer found in the reedy island floating on the Loktak lake. The hill sides also nurture a wide variety of wild orchid species. However one of the most enchanting sites in Manipur is the expansive sapphire blue Loktak lake with floating islands of weeds, 48 Kms from Imphal, the capital of Manipur. The best months to visit Manipur are from November to March. The Konghampat Orchidarium at a distance of 12 km from the city is home to almost 110 species of rare orchids.

Climate :
Manipur is a state with thick forests and a lot of green cover yet the climate can get a bit hot in the summers going up to a maximum of 32°C and minimum temperature in winter as low as 0° C. Annual rainfall is 1467.5mm on an average and the monsoons hit the state from May to October. Winter which is the best time to visit the state starts from November and continues till March.

Getting There :
Manipur's capital Imphal is well connected to all the north eastern states by Air and Road.Indian Airlines operates flights from Kolkata, Delhi , Aizawl, Guwahati and Silchar.

Air: Indian Airlines operates daily flights from Kolkata while from Delhi only two flights a week fly into Imphal. Jet Airways also has flights from Guwahati with connections from Mumbai and Delhi .

Rail: Dimapur 215 kms north in neighbouring Nagaland is the nearest rail head with the Brahmaputra Mail and the DBRT Rajdhani connecting it daily to Delhi and Guwahati.

Road: Regular buses ply between Dimapur and Imphal a journey of 9 hours. You can get taxis also for the same trip.