The immaculately maintained war cemetery contains the graves of over 1400 British, Indian and other Allied soldiers, killed in or around Kohima in 1944 as they resisted a Japanese invasion of India from Burma in one of the fiercest battles of WWII. The cemetery is laid out on what were the terraced lawns of the British Deputy Commissioner's bungalow. Some of the most savage fighting took place across the tennis court near the top, where the white marker lines are still in place.
At the top of the cemetery is a memorial to more than 900 Hindu and Sikh soldiers who were cremated rather than buried. The Japanese failure to take Kohima was the turning point in the campaign. A disabled tank from the battle remains in situ among trees just above the Imphal road, 550m further up from the cemetery gate, with a sign explaining its dramatic story.