Context: The Manipur government’s Department of Tourism organised the 5th State-level Shirui Lily Festival 2025 to promote both tourism and conservation. 

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• The Shirui Lily Festival is being held again after a two-year pause due to prolonged ethnic conflict in Manipur.
• This marks the first major tourism event hosted by the state since the conflict began in May 2023.

About the Shirui Lily Festival

• The festival was first held in 2017 as one of two major state-sponsored tourism festivals.
  The other is the Sangai Festival, named after the Manipur brow-antlered deer (state animal).
• The festival is named after the Shirui Lily (Lilium mackliniae), Manipur’s state flower.
• The Shirui Lily Festival honours the delicate and endangered Lilium Mackliniae, which blooms only in the Shirui Hills — a region that cannot support replanting elsewhere. 
• The festival coincides with the flower’s peak blooming season, highlighting its ecological significance. 
• This celebration provides a platform for diverse communities and tribes to unite, explore Ukhrul’s stunning landscapes, and gain insights into the indigenous Tangkhul Naga tribe. 
• The festival aimed at eco-tourism, promoting both tourism and conservation awareness.

Shirui Lily (Lilium mackliniae)  

• The Shirui Lily is endemic to the upper reaches of the Shirui Hill range in Ukhrul district at an elevation of 2,673 m above sea level.
• It is locally known as Kashong Timrawon, linked to the mythical goddess Philava.
• The Shirui Lily blooms from April to June. 
• It was first discovered in 1946 by Dr. Frank Kingdon Ward and named after his wife, Jean Macklin. 

Threats to the Shirui Lily

• This flower is already classified as endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.
• A 2015 study led by ICAR scientists cited multiple threats:
  Climate change
  Human encroachment
  Over-exploitation of natural resources
  Invasion by wild dwarf bamboo, which chokes the soil with its dense root system.
• Conservation Efforts:
  In 2015, 375 lab-grown lily plantlets were transplanted on Shirui Hill.
  Led by Dr. Manas Sahoo, the effort successfully validated genetic micropropagation techniques.

Other attraction in Ukhrul Manipur:

• Kangkhui Lime Caves: These prehistoric limestone caves are archaeological treasures, revealing evidence of Stone Age habitation.