Home stay hotel, an emerging eco-tourism project in Ukhrul village
Talui on the go to attract tourists
Source: The Sangai Express / Mungchan Zimik

Ukhrul, November 16 2015: With the vision of promoting tourism, Talui village in Ukhrul district has taken up the process of setting up 'home stay model hotels' with at least two rooms attached with lavatory facilities.

Ukhrul district has huge tourism potential because of its scenic beauty and pleasant climatic conditions throughout the year, however tourism industry is still a cry.

It is to attract tourists that Talui village has started preserving forest areas, banning hunting, improving the trekking sites and identifying animal viewing sites.

Moreover constructing artificial lake in between two mountain creeks is in the pipeline.

Due to the favourable climatic condition, Talui village has vast potential for horticultural products.

Moreover Talui villagers are well known for their hospitality.

Most of the products at the village are organic.

It may be mentioned that agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the villagers.

Shoko waterfall

According to Dr Nelson, who is from Talui, 2000 hectares of forest land at Shoko have been donated to the village youth for promoting eco-tourism potential.

The land was donated in 2011.Shoko is well known for its scenic beauty and there is a scenic waterfall in the middle of the mountain.

The spot is roughly 4500 feet above mean sea level.

At one point of time, the forest was home to numerous wild animals and exotic fauna and flora.

However with the large scale deforestation and continuous hunting, there has been a rapid depletion of forest cover and wildlife.

The villagers woke up to the ugly facts after the water sources at Shoko dried up.

This meant that paddy land "Langkan" which is the rice bowl of the village was rendered barren.

Langkan river is also an important tributary, which flows into Thoubal river from the western side of Ukhrul.

In 2011 after intensive discussions and deliberations, Talui villagers resolved to promote and preserve Shoko forest.

With the forest becoming an attraction for visitors and tourists, the villagers initiated construction of additional rooms in every household for the guests/tourists to stay.

According to youth chairman C Zimik more than 100 households have completed the construction of additional rooms.

He is confident that Talui will be sanitized under total sanitation programme shortly.

Significantly the beautification process of Shoko has been taken up without any assistance from the Government .

On the other objective of promoting eco-tourism in the village, C Zimik said that it is also a measure to provide employment opportunities to the village youth.

Shoko is home to many wild animals like wild cat, deer, wild boar, wild goat, variety of monkeys and the rare and endangered bird Blyth Tragoban.

Talui village is 25 km away from district headquarters, Ukhrul, where one can sight Nillai tea farm on the way to the village.