Current Time in Aizawl, India

Aizawl is the capital of Mizoram, a small state in the far north-east of India bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh. The city is built along a series of steep ridges more than a thousand metres above sea level, with houses clinging to the slopes on stilts and streets winding between them, while the valleys of the Tlawng and Tuirial rivers fall away on either side. Clouds often drift below the rooftops in the morning, and the climate is pleasantly cool, with heavy monsoon rain from May to September.

About three hundred thousand people live here, roughly a quarter of the state's population. Aizawl is the administrative, commercial and cultural heart of Mizoram, and almost everything in the state passes through it. The economy rests on government service, trade, horticulture, handloom weaving and bamboo, and the surrounding hills produce ginger, chillies, oranges and passion fruit.

The Mizo people, who belong to the Tibeto-Burman family and migrated into these hills over several centuries, lived in village communities ruled by chiefs until the late nineteenth century, when British expeditions established a fort on this ridge in 1890. Missionaries followed almost immediately, and their work transformed Mizo society, introducing a Roman script for the language, founding schools and converting nearly the whole population to Christianity. The town became the capital of the Lushai Hills district and later of Mizoram, which endured two decades of insurgency before an accord in 1986 brought peace and statehood, and the state has been notably calm and orderly ever since.

Aizawl's landmarks reflect that history. Solomon's Temple, an enormous white church built over many years by volunteers, stands above the city and is visible from far away. The Mizoram State Museum displays traditional costumes, weapons and household objects, and Bara Bazar, the crowded central market, is famous for the rows of women selling vegetables, herbs, river fish and hand-woven cloth. Viewpoints at Durtlang and the surrounding ridges give panoramas of endless blue hills, and Reiek and Hmuifang, with their forests, cliffs and reconstructed traditional villages, lie within an hour's drive.

The culture is unlike anywhere else in India. Sunday is quiet and church-centred, choirs and guitars are everywhere, and the city has produced many musicians. The Chapchar Kut spring festival fills the streets with dancers performing the cheraw, a bamboo pole dance of remarkable precision. Mizoram has one of the highest literacy rates in the country, and Aizawl is known for its unmanned roadside stalls where buyers leave money in a box, a much-quoted example of local trust.

A national highway descends to the plains at Silchar, Lengpui airport connects the city to Kolkata and Delhi, and a new railway line has recently reached the outskirts. Mizoram University, a national institute of technology and numerous colleges serve the state.

Aizawl is memorable for its spectacular hillside setting, its music and its distinctive, welcoming society.