An eighteen member team expedition organised by the Seven Sister Tourism Service and the Adventure Academy of Manipur, recently undertook an expedition to the beautiful Dzuko Valley. Situated on the border of Peren subdivision of Nagaland and Senapati District of Manipur, the valley is connected by motorable road to Nagaland. However, as yet, it does not have a road connecting it to Manipur. The Manipur government has already taken up a project to construct a road to the valley in order to provide easy access to the valley for the inhabitants of Manipur. However, at present, it is a bit of an adventure going on a trek to Dzuko Valley, and hence the expedition.

The trekkers, who had left Imphal the previous day, had to scale first a height of 2630 metres above sea level and then trek downhill to an altitude of 2450 metres to tread on the soil of Dzuko Valley, late in the afternoon. Imagine the trekkers’ amazement when, in the morning, they found that all the hillocks encircling the valley had turned white with frost. At 5 am in the morning the temperature had plummeted down to minus 20°C, and the water surface of the
streams that flowed through the valley had turned into a solid sheet of ice. The delighted group walked over the brilliant sheet of ice and felt as if they had made a conquest of one of the most beautiful valleys in the world.

The feeling of conquest and joy was alloyed with unhappiness at the sight of scattered leftovers that marred the beauty of the valley. The team volunteered to clean up the place of the litter of polythene bags, cans and bottles left by visitors and villagers, and buried them in the deep pit that they dug themselves. This was the first of such expeditions jointly organised by a tour operator and an adventure group, and the most pleasing aspect of the whole expedition was the keen environment consciousness shown by the members of the team.

Another pleasing aspect of the expedition was the unexpectedly warm welcome extended to the team by villagers and the chairman of Viswema, a Naga Village. The team was thrilled by the unprecedented hospitality and co-operation of the villagers who not only provide accommodation to them but also allowed them the privilege of using the chairman’s kitchen.

Dzuko is a much talk-about valley. The name comes from a Mao tribe word, Dzu meaning ‘water’ and ‘ko’meaning ‘cold’. The river that traverses the valley is called Dzuko and the valley takes its name from the river. The fork shaped
valley is surrounded by many hillocks and mountains with dense forests. As one stands in the valley, the view one gets is truly amazing – a sheet of colourful grass and flowers in the valley, then the greenish hillocks against a background of high, deep blue mountains with dark, dense forests. The valley is situated at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level, a difference of 180 meters from the highest point (2630 meters above sea level) on the way from Viswema village (1700 meters above sea level) on the National Highway No. 39.

Topographically, it is surrounded by Japfu Peak on the north-west, and the Isso Peak (Tenepu) on the south-east, forming an amphitheatre-like opening, a western window through which cold winds blow, and making the rivulets run
into a water fall. By virtue of its altitude, the valley and its overlooking slopes of encircling ridges represent the higher temperature and Alpine zones of the eastern Himalayas. Climate-wise, the temperature range from 6ºC to 8ºC and in the afternoon to 18ºC. At about 4 a.m. the temperature suddenly falls down to minus 20ºC and continues like that till about 6 a.m. This drop in temperature causes therivulets to freeze into solid sheet on which one can walk very comfortably.

The dominant surviving plant components of Dzuko Valley are grasses, dwarf bamboo (Tenwa), primula and new specimens of lily, buttercups, willows and barberry. Among these rare flora of the valley are visible several rare fauna,
the most notable being the meadow lark.

 

Environmentalists and nature lovers, while amaze at the beauty of the valley, are also worried that human interference will spoil this beauty. This amphitheatre, covered with silvery carpet of snow, looks like the abode of angels who repose and sleep here, only to wake up when the spring comes and dance through the valley.

 

But, the question uppermost in the minds of environmentalists is: ‘How long will this beauty continue to enchant us? The answer depends on the aptitude and attitude of dominant component of the ecosystem – Man!

Word Notes:

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expedition : organised journey for particular purpose.

access:  entrance

trekkers :[trek – to go on a long and difficult journey on foot].Trekkers – people who go on such a journey.

alloyed : mixed

accommodation : place for people to stay and live

traverses : travels across

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topographically : relative to the feature of the land

amphitheatre : a large circular building without a roof and wide rows of seats (e.g. open sports stadium)

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amphitheatre-like valley : the valley surrounded by the hills looks like an amphitheatre.

alpine-zones : of the characteristic of high mountain ranges

components : constituent parts; different parts with which something whole is made of.

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SOLUTIONS

(A) Based on your reading of the text, complete the following statements:

i. Dzuko Valley as yet does not have a road connecting it to Manipur.

ii. The trekkers had to reach Dzuko Valley on a trek.

iii. Walking over the brilliant sheet of ice, the trekkers felt as if they had made a conquest of one of the most beautiful valleys in the world.

iv. Having collected the litter of leftovers, the trekkers buried them in a deep pit that they dug themselves.

v. On the western side of Dzuko Valley, there is an opening through which cold winds blow, making the rivulets run into a waterfall.

vi. Till about 06:00 am the whole valley’s temperature drops down to - 20 C.

vii. Environmentalists are worried that human interference will spoil the beauty of Dzuko Valley.

(B) Answer the following questions in a word, phrase or sentence each:

i. Which state has a motorable road connected with Dzuko Valley?
Ans: Nagaland has a motorable road connected with Dzuko Valley.

ii. Why were the trekkers amazed in the morning?
Ans: In the morning, the trekkers were amazed to find that all the hillocks which encircled the valley had turned white with frost

 

.iii. What marred the joy of the trekkers?
Ans: The joy of the trekkers was marred with unhappiness at the sight of scattered leftovers which spoilt the beauty of the valley.

iv. How did the chairman of Viswema Naga Village welcome the trekkers?
Ans: The chairman of Viswema Naga Village welcomed the trekkers with unprecedented hospitality and even allowed them the privilege of using his kitchen.

v. What does ‘Dzu’ mean?
Ans: ‘Dzu’ means ‘water’ in the Mao tribe dialect.

vi. Towards which side is Japfu Peak situated?
Ans: Japfu Peak is situated on the North-West side of Dzuko Valley (located in the Southern Angami region of Kohima District in Nagaland).

vii. What happens to the temperature at around 4 a.m.?
Ans: At about 4 a.m., all of a sudden, the temperature drops down to minus 20 C and continues like that till 6 a.m.

viii. What is the most notable fauna visible in Dzuko Valley?
Ans: The most notable fauna visible in Dzuko Valley is the meadow lark.

C. Answer the following questions briefly:

i. Why is the trip to Dzuko Valley described as an adventure?
Ans: The trip to Dzuko Valley is described as an adventure because there is no motorable road connecting the valley with our state Manipur and hence the team members of the trip had to go on a trek of the surrounding hills to tread on the soil of the valley.

ii. Why did the trekkers feel that they had made a conquest of one of the most beautiful valleys in the world?
Ans: When the trekkers reached the valley, they found that all the hillocks encircling the valley had turned white with snow, the plummeting temperature had turned the water surface of the streams into a solid sheet of ice on which they could walk on. These amazed the trekkers and made them feel that they had made a conquest of one of the most beautiful valleys in the world.

iii. What did the trekkers do to improve the environment of the valley?
Ans: In order to improve the environment of the valley, the environment-conscious trekkers volunteered to clean up the place of the litter of polythene bags, cans and bottles left by visitors and villagers and buried them in the deep pit that they dug themselves.

iv. Why is Dzuko Valley so named?
Ans: The valley is so named because of the river Dzuko (coming from the Mao tribe words: Dzu meaning ‘water’ and ‘ko’ meaning ‘cold’) that traverses the valley.

v. ‘As one stands in the valley, the view that one gets is truly amazing.’ Give an idea of the amazing view of Dzuko Valley.
Ans: Dzuko Valley is a fork-shaped valley surrounded by many hillocks and mountains with dense forests. The view of Dzuko Valley is amazingly panoramic. As one looks on, one sees a sheet of colourful grass and flowers in the valley, then the greenish hillocks against a background of high, deep-blue mountains with dark dense forests.

vi. Give a description of the topography of Dzuko Valley.
Ans: Dzuko Valley is situated between Nagaland and Manipur at an altitude of 2450 metres above mean sea level on the National Highway No. 39. The valley is surrounded by Japfu Peak on the north-west and Isso Peak (Tenepu) on the southeast, forming an amphitheatre-like opening. The cold winds blowing through this opening make the rivulets run into a waterfall.

vii. What are the dominant surviving plant components of Dzuko Valley?
Ans: The dominant surviving plant components of Dzuko Valley are grasses, dwarf bamboo (Tenwa), primula and new specimens of lily, buttercups, willows and barberry.

viii. Why does the writer say that Dzuko Valley looks like ‘the abode of angels’?
Ans: By virtue of its altitude, the amphitheatre shaped valley has a temperature plummeting down to minus 20 C at times. So, the valley is covered with a silvery carpet of snow. That is why, the writer says that the valley looks like ‘the abode of angels’ where they repose and sleep only to wake up when the spring comes and dance through the valley

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ix. The writer says that the lasting beauty of Dzuko Valley depends on ‘Man’. Why does he say so?
Ans: The writer very correctly says that the lasting beauty of Dzuko Valley depends on ‘Man’. It is because man is the dominant component of the ecosystem. It is often man who ravishes the natural beauty around him. It is also man who can save nature by channelizing his aptitude and attitude correctly.