The Dzüko Valley (), also known as Dzükou Valley or Dziiko Valley, is a valley located in between

Senapati district Senapati district (Meitei language, Meitei pronunciation:/se.na.pə.ti/), is one of the 16 districts of Manipur, districts of the Indian state of Manipur. The present Senapati district was formed in December 2016, after spawning off the Sadar Hil ...

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

and Kohima district of

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

. This valley is well known for its natural environment, seasonal flowers and flora & fauna.

Etymology

The term "Dzukou" is originated from a word common to both Angami and Mao languages, which can be translated as "cold water", with reference to the cold stream flowing throughout the valley area.

Geography

It is situated at an altitude of above sea level. The valley is famous for its wide range of flowers in every season but the most famous one is the "Dzükou Lily" (''Lilium chitrangadae''), named after the mother of its discoverer, Hijam Bikramjit, a researcher of the Life Sciences Department, Manipur University, in the summer of 1991. This lily species is opined by some botanists to be similar to

Shirui lily ''Lilium mackliniae'', the Shirui lily or Shirui Kashong Timrawon, is a rare Indian species of plant found only in the upper reaches of the Shirui hill ranges in the Ukhrul district of Manipur, India, at an elevation of above sea level. It is l ...

(''

Lilium mackliniae ''Lilium mackliniae'', the Shirui lily or Shirui Kashong Timrawon, is a rare Indian species of plant found only in the upper reaches of the Shirui hill ranges in the Ukhrul district of Manipur, India, at an elevation of above sea level. It is l ...

''), with the only difference in being deeper in pink colour.

Ecology

The valley borders a region of old-growth forest, and is home to several rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, including the Dzükou Lily and the

Blyth's tragopan Blyth's tragopan (''Tragopan blythii'') or the grey-bellied tragopan, is a pheasant that is a vulnerable species. The common name commemorates Edward Blyth (1810–1873), English zoologist and Curator of the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Benga ...

, which is the state bird of Nagaland. A number of other rare species are also found here, including several

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

species, plants such as the ''aconita nagaram,'' and fauna including the

Asian golden cat The Asian golden cat (''Catopuma temminckii'') is a medium-sized wild cat native to the northeastern Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2025, and is threatened by poaching ...

, the Hollock Gibbon, the Dzukou Valley horned toad (''Megophrys dzukou''), several species of leopard including the clouded leopard, the Asiatic black bear, the

capped langur The capped langur (''Trachypithecus pileatus'') is a primate species in the family Cercopithecidae native to subtropical and tropical dry forests in northeast India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is arboreal and feeds on 43 plant species. ...

, the

stump-tailed macaque The stump-tailed macaque (''Macaca arctoides''), also called the bear macaque, is a species of macaque native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India, it occurs south of the Brahmaputra River, in the northeastern part of the country. Its range ...

, and the

serow The serow (, or ), is any of four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals in the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were, until recently, classified under ''Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Exta ...

. It has periodically been threatened by forest fires, which tend to spread quickly due to prevalent wind conditions and are difficult to fight because of the inaccessible terrain around the valley. In 2006, a forest fire destroyed 20 kilometers of forest in the valley before it was contained. The 2020–21 Dzükou Valley wildfires destroyed an estimated 200 acres of forest land, as well as significant flora in the valley itself.

Gallery

File:Dzukou Valley.jpg, View of hillocks near Dzükou Valley from the guest house File:Dzuko Valley Guest House.jpg, Dzükou Valley Guest House—a courtesy of Government of Nagaland

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Viswema Kohima district Senapati district Geography of Manipur Geography of Nagaland Valleys of India Landforms of Manipur Landforms of Nagaland Territorial disputes of India Tourist attractions in Manipur Tourist attractions in Nagaland