This is the place that is not part of the traditional tour of Manipur. I had not even heard about it until I found this place accidently while searching for places in Manipur. It looked very interesting and I added this place to my plan. It was first time even for our driver in Manipur!!
What is Willong Khullen?
Willong Khullen is a small village in the remote corner of Manipur. It is known for its megalithic huge stone structures erected probably during stone age. There is absolutely no information about the historical aspect of this place. Even the villagers are completely oblivious of these structures. While a similar structure in England called Stonehenge receives international attention, there is absolutely no recognition for this place.
Our travel to Willong Khullen
It took us about 3.5 hours of drive from Imphal. We drove on Imphal – Kohima highway passing through the district headquarters of Senapati. The drive started on the plains of Manipur to climb to the hills of Senapati district. It was a wonderful journey with beautiful sceneries on both sides of the road. Most of the population was tribal (Mainly Nagas and Kukis). We stopped at a small and peaceful town of Maram to have a cup of tea.
We took the deviation from the highway at Maram to enter the interior roads. The next 75 minutes of drive was on curvy roads crisscrossing the hills. Hardly any soul was present on the road. The road was alternating between good and bad stretches.
The stone structures
The stone structures are present at the start of the village and next to the road. They are of different size and shapes. The tallest one should be above 7 meters. We were wondering how people in stone ages could have lifted it. We had many questions, but answers were not available.
The scenery around the village was breathtaking. In the meantime, Tanu did an exercise of counting the structures. She counted about 134 of them.
This is certainly a nice place to visit in Manipur if you like to visit off beaten tracks!!
Points to be noted
- It will be a long day trip from Imphal. The place is also equidistant from Kohima, capital of Nagaland.
- Carry enough food items. There are no eateries in Willong Khullen. Senapati has some very local restaurants.
enidhi
Useful information. Hearing about it first time
aravindgj
Thank you. I also heard about it when searching for the places to visit in Manipur.
Madhukar
Interesting. North east has huge potential for tourism
aravindgj
Thank you. That’s correct.
Teamgsquare
These are called standing stones or Menhirs. They are either associated with Burial or used as astronomical calendar to determine the seasons.
zayntrav
Wow ….. keep it up. I thought it was a sweet thing in India. But now I know it is a city in India. 🙂