The people of the Imphal Valley, the Meitei, have a long, documented history. The heart of the civilization is within the Kangla Fort where Meitei rulers lived as long ago... read more as 33AD. This is where the game of polo was ‘invented’. More recently, the area has been heavily influenced by the British. We were so fortunate to have the company of Yai (Yaiphaba Kangjam), founder of Imphal Walks – an excellent guide. He specialises in the history of the 2nd World War: the battle of Imphal played a pivotal role in preventing the advance of Japanese forces.

  We had one of the most amazing experiences of our life with Yai. He is simply amazing, his knowledge on Imphal and the world wars, his grasp on the area... read more and his overall kind nature will just win you over. You can simply book your flight and leave everything else to him, because he will ensure that everything is just perfect. Imphal is beautiful, do the complete tour with him, and you will have memories to cherish for a lifetime.

  Imphalwalks is truly the answer to a complete experience of Imphal even on a short visit like mine.
Mr Yai is very well informed, truly passionate about history and his... read more love for his homestate simply shines through.

My trip to loktak was filled with intersting short visits to cemeteries and memorials, brought alive by my guide's explanations. I learned a lot about Manipur, its people and its customs.

Truly a memorable trip !

I most certainly recommend Imphalwalks to anyone visiting Imphal, if you want to make your visit meaningful!

  Well organised, flexible, in depth knowledge... what else would you expect from a local tour company when you are on tour with family.
Mr. Yahi, punctual in time, everyday... read more to guide in 'Jewel of India'
Fabulous week spent in Manipur.
Thambal Chumba, Nyngbi, Traditional dance programme, Myanmar Road, N number of war Memorials, Loktak lake ( spare me for some spellings) are the highlights.
A life time experience @ Manipur.
Must try the local rice wine, Moonlight dance.
Would certainly recommend Yahi & his team to take with you when you are in Manipur.
Cheers

  We are still in Manipur but couldn't resist myself to give feedback about our experience with Mr. Yai. A truly amazing experience of understanding history of Manipur in general and... read more specifically about the battle of Imphal. Mr. Yai is really knowledgeable and keeps you engaged through anecdotes during the tour. A well researched person and passionate about Manipur. Highly recommend exploring Manipur with him.

Thank you Yai for all the conversations and information.

  Reading all the great reviews here, I contacted this tour operator. Based on subsequent email exchanges he sent me a costing on Aug 11 with a message as follows (I... read more did not ask for a hotel quote, but had inquired if he had preferential rates from any hotels):
'Here are the cost options for the above 3 days of tour-
1) Just transport cost (Innova AC) : Rs. 15,500
2) Transport and hotel (2 standard non-ac double rooms X 3 nights at Classic Hotel, 3 star): Rs. 38,000
3) Transport, hotel and guide = Rs. 49,000'
Nowhere was it mentioned in any of the correspondence that this was a package which could not be un-bundled or that they had to be taken all together: otherwise the costing would change.On the contrary the individual line items suggested that they were separate services.

When I confirmed that we would like the guide + transport option that had been provided, and requested for a complimentary airport drop, the 'complimentary drop' was agreed, but the cost went up by Rs. 1500. When I asked why there was a change in cost, the initial (written) response on 24 Aug was: 'I don't understand on what basis you are saying that the cost has gone up by Rs. 1500 since I have not given you a cost option for Car+ Guide so far.' To my response that 'If I understood correctly your email of Aug 11 (and the explanation of how I had arrived at the figure), I received the following response: 'Thank you for your attempt. You broke down the cost in a simple way from your point of view. As a tour organizer, there are many ways of packaging and costing a tour. Well, in short, we will not organize the tour for you.'

Choosing not to do business with someone is fine. However, I personally found the tone adopted to be quite offensive. 'Attempt'? What attempt? Was I attempting to cheat this person? The basic issue was that there was no communication that either the so called package could not be unbundled or would incur a cost. This could have been set right in the subsequent correspondence, and I could have been told this politely when I had provided an opening with 'if I understood correctly'.

The entire episode has left a bad taste in the mouth with our first encounter with what is undoubtedly a beautiful land.

  Yai (Yaphaba Kangjam) and I spent some four days together airport pickup to airport drop. I had reached out to him mainly for the battlefield tours, but one thing led... read more to another and we covered a bunch more than sites related to WWII impact on Manipur.

There are other tour operator / guides in Manipur, but really doubt if there is anyone around who is even a scratch as far as WWII goes. The multi year, detailed and painstaking research exhibits itself in every piece of conversation and at every site. There is no way in hell one can locate these sites on one's own without pouring through material for years.

If you are not a WWII enthusiast, you might get a little bored in about a day. But, Yai does take you to other places as well if you want. His understanding of the history and culture is enough to keep you entertained as well.

Bottomline - if you are wanting to go to Manipur - go with Yai!

  Yaiphaba is one of the leading experts in Manipur on World War II and is immensely knowledgeable on all the battle sites in the state and also in neighbouring Nagaland... read more and Myanmar. It was a memorable guided tour down the Tiddim Road where Yai explained every heritage site and also shared lesser known interesting facts. Apart from the war history, Yai had also explained very well on various contemporary topics, social issues and local culture.
Imphal Walks is highly recommended for those interested in a cultural immersive tour of Manipur.