Liyai Khullen
Liyai
The 500-year-old Poumai village where the Barak river begins
About this place
Liyai Khullen is the largest and oldest Poumai Naga village, reckoned at over 500 years old. The name is glossed locally as 'people of the sea'. The village keeps stone monoliths, old water pools and ancient banyan trees, and the Barak — one of the longest rivers in the region, which eventually reaches the Bay of Bengal — rises here. Caves and waterfalls in the surrounding hills are still being opened up to visitors, including the Vaonuhro valley and a giant Himalayan lily garden.
How to reach
33 km east of Tadubi, which sits on NH-2 roughly 80 km north of Imphal.
Local tips
- The monoliths and sacred pools are living religious sites for the Poumai — ask before entering or photographing.
- Caves and the Vaonuhro valley need a village guide; there is no signage.
Gallery
On the map
Liyai Khullen, Paomata sub-division, Senapati district · 25.4648°N, 94.2707°E
Liyai Khullen
Liyai Khullen, Paomata sub-division, Senapati district
25.4648°N, 94.2707°E
Nearby places
Within an easy detour of Liyai Khullen.
Photo: Putukho (Panii) / Google Maps
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Phuba Thapham cave
Phuba Thapham, Paomata sub-division, Senapati district
A named cave in a Poumai village few outsiders reach
- Distance from Imphal
- 73 km from Imphal
- Time to allow
- 2 hrs
Entry: Entry details on page
Photo: DD Apao / Google Maps
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Purul
Purul, on NH-39 corridor, Senapati district
Where the old games — Toutou and hill wrestling — are still contested
- Distance from Imphal
- 69 km from Imphal
- Time to allow
- 2 hrs
Entry: Entry details on page
VillageSenapati
Mao Gate
Mao, NH-2, Senapati district
The cool Naga hill town on Manipur's northern doorstep
- Distance from Imphal
- 110 km from Imphal
- Time to allow
- 2 hrs
Entry: Free entry
VillageSenapati
Makhel
Makhel village, near Mao, Senapati district
The ancestral village from which the Naga tribes are said to have dispersed
- Distance from Imphal
- 105 km from Imphal
- Time to allow
- 2 hrs
Entry: Free entry