Meghalay- Cloud's own country

About the place

Meghalay means 'Abode of clouds'. It's among the seven sister north eastern state of India where human existence is known since Neolithic era. And that's why it's not just a place of traveller interest but also of archeological interest . It was part of assam province till 1972 after that khasi, garo and jaintia hills formed another state called 'meghalaya'. Southern part of the state shares boarder with other country bangladesh. It's the wettest place in India and many sources suggest even in the world! This state offers you many unexplored as well as regular majestic destinations.

It was hot summer of April'2016  when i decided to run Cherapunji marathon "A run in cloud". I enrolled for it and that's how Meghalay trip got planned. Shillong is the capital and if you are a party lover, it offers some great evenings for you! But the real natural beauty of the place starts when you leave Shillong.

                                                                  Uminam Lake, Shillong

Places must be in your itenary:
  •  Cherrapunjee - Wettest place!
  •  Nongriat - Double decker root bridge!
  •  Mawlynnong - Asia's Cleanest Village!
  •  Dawki - Transparent water!
I don't mean these are the only places to visit but yes, these are enough to fall in love with Meghalaya if you don't have plenty of time to roam around every nook and corner!


                                                          Beautiful falls in Cherrapunjee

How to reach Meghalaya

Capital of the state Shillong is very well connected by rail, road and air.

By train

Nearest railways station is Guwahati which is almost 100 Kms away from Shillong. From Guwahati taxi, bus or shared taxi services could be used to reach Shillong. Road to Shillong is so beautiful that driving enthusiasts could hire a car, bike or scooty to reach the valley!

By road

There are multiple buses of ASTC(Assam State Transport  Corporation) and MTC (Meghalaya Transport Corporation) run between Guwahati and Shillong. Bus stand is nearby Guwahati railway station. Luxury AC buses and Volvo are also available.

Many taxi services are also available in Guwahati. We hired taxi for the complete Meghalaya trip but Zoom car and bike hiring type options are also available there if you are driving enthusiast
 
Bike Rental Service in Guwahati
Car rental service in Guwahati 

By Air

Nearest airport is in Shillong itself. More frequent flights are in Guwahati so cheaper option would always be Guwahati flight and then take taxi or bus to Shillong.

Day 1: Guwahati -> Kamakhya Temple -> Shillong 

 


                                                Part of Guwahati city after rain

On the way to Shillong, we took a break at Kamakhya temple. It is considered to be very sacred place among Hindus and you might have to wait for many hours in que to get inside the temple. So, we decided to worship the goddess from the wall of the main temple and moved ahead. Animal sacrifice system in the temple still shows the brutality of human nature.  This tradition started because of misinterpretation and by the influence of foreign invaders. Hindu scriptures such as Gita and some Puranas forbid animal sacrifice. But, unfortunately its still in existence here! From Kamakhya temple it took almost three hours to reach Shillong!


                                                         Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati
                                                  
We stayed in orchid lake resort near uminame lake in Shillong for one day. Very serene place, just sit in the balcony in drizzling rain right in front of lake. Clouds will keep on touching your face gently! Apart from this, there are many budget hotels, home-stays and airbnb stays in Shillong which could be checked online.

Weather of Shillong

Weather in Shillong is pleasant all through year. In summer its around 20-25C and in winter its almost 5-10C. Monsoon arrives in June and it ends around end august or start of September.

SHILLONG WEATHER  

 

Where to stay in Shillong

Shillong is capital and it offers you all verieties of stay: from budget hotels to luxurious ones. Choice is yours! You can get a room even at 500 Rs. If you are traveling solo, look for homestays. They are really cheap and people are very cordial in nature.

 What to eat in Shillong

 If you are a foody, you will certainly love Shillong! Check out the following:











Nearby CAR_BIKE rent/mechanic/petrol pump


Following are the locations for each of the service:

Bike rental service in Shillong
Car rental service in Shillong
Fuel stations in Shillong


Car mechanic in shillong



Bike mechanic in Shillong

Day 2: Shillong -> Cherrapunjee -> 7 sister fall -> Mawsmai Cave





Our plan to visit Cherrapunjee was in rain because of two major reasons: 1st, I wanted to feel the rain density of the wettest place and 2nd was to run the Cherrapunjee marathon (give link to this blog)! As soon as you leave Shillong, you start floating in clouds. Cloud comes and kisses you gently on your face leaving tiny water droplets as a sign of love! You suddenly get into trans. When myst disappears for a moment, chain of water falls appear! You wont believe you are still on earth.

Take a deep breath, pause for a moment, get out of your car and get soaked in water! I am sure you will be internally cleansed.

There are plenty of stays in Sohra/Cherrapunjee but our biggest mistake was not booking hotel in advance! We thought its monsoon so will book after reaching there but due to marathon most of the hotels were full. Our cab driver was familiar with the place and thankfully booked one accommodation at fairly high price but never mind- 7 sister fall view was very near to the hotel. Would strongly recommend to check the season and if its peak, do book your accommodation in advance!

                                                            Mawsmai Cave Cherrapunjee

Weather of Cherrapunjee

What to say about this place! Below sign-board says it all:


CHERRAPUNJEE WEATHER

Day 3:  Tyrna ->Nongriat ->Double Decker root Bridge->Rainbow Waterfall   

Lord Indra is very particular about this place! He never likes to stop for a moment in July. Fed up with his attitude, my family decided to stay in hotel and allowed me to visit the root bridge! When I asked my cab driver lets go to Tyrna village, he was like sir are you mad! But when i insisted he came with me. Path to Tyrna from our stay was amazingly beautiful and full of clouds! Many a times green leaves hanging on the cliff, were pouring water drops on our car. I was looking outside in awe!

Tyrna is a village where trek to  double decker root bridge starts. Its parking area was totally empty because of rain when we reached there. After getting down in rain-coat, i got afraid to see the green forest soaked in rain ahead where trek was starting. I decided if i get a guide i will do the trek otherwise NO. Suddenly a dwarf appeared amidst the blue smog coming out of tea shop- "Do you need a guide sir?" "Yes certainly" and we became friends. Started the trek and reached Nongriat villlage within 45 minutes.

                                                            On the way to root Bridge

                                             Double Decker root bridge soaked in rain

I wont say guide is a must as the steps to root bridge is pretty well maintained but if you are visiting there in monsoon like me, pls get a guide because Jungle works in mysterious ways!

From Nongriat you can take a guide to visit rainbow waterfalls! 

                                                               Rainbow waterfall (Not clicked by me!)

All the trekking i completed in 3 hours and reached back to Tyrna parking area where my driver was waiting. My guide said we were so quick sir! I replied 'My wife is waiting in the hotel and she could not visit the root bridge' and he started laughing.

Day 4: Cherrapunjee-> Mawlynnong village -> Dawki -> Shnongpodeng



This part of the trip is bit tricky! There is no shared taxi from Cherrapunjee to Dawki. So, either you hire a cab or rent a bike in Cherrapunjee or go back to Shillong where you can get a shared taxi from Anjali Cinema bus stand.

If you want to visit Mawlynnong aka 'Asia's Cleanest Village', its on the way to Dawki from Cherrapunjee. Cleanliness here is not a daily chore like us but its totally inbuilt in nature of people residing here irrespective of the age group. You can easily locate bamboo dustbins on the road full of leaves. There are few tree houses which attracts every traveller.

                                                          Asia's Cleanest Village

If you could not visit double decker root bridge in Nongriat then this place offers a single living root bridge at 15-20 minutes walk!

After   visiting Mawlynnong, its time to directly reach small town of Dawki. This is a small town famous for transparent Umngot river. Water is so transparent that you could easily see river bed sitting on the boat at certain time of the year. This town is so close to Bangladesh boarder that unknowingly you could find yourself in Bangladesh taking a cup of tea!


                                          Dawki (I am not lucky enough to take this pic!)

If you are a water sports enthusiast then do travel further to Shnongpodeng. This is a quite place offering you zip lining, kayaking, snorkeling, cliff jumping etc.

Weather of Dawki

DAWKI WEATHER
Back to Shillong and it was ending of a cloudy trip but begining of a refreshed soul! Few more places I would recommend to visit if you have spare time:

  • Mawlyngbna
  • Nongkhnum River Island
  • Mawphlang Sacred Forest
  • Krang Suri Waterfalls
  • Kongthong
  • Umden
  • Ialong
Google these places and do visit if you have time! I am sure you wont regret.

Clothes required in Meghalaya

In winter temperature goes really low so its advised to carry woolen clothes. Before starting trip you check the temperature from this blog and act accordingly. Two recommendations from my side: Rain coat and crocs! You never know when it will rain!

Best time to visit Meghalaya

For me its monsoon 😂😂 but if you are not quite happy with monsoon then try any time from October to March.

Bank ATM/Network connectivity

You would easily get ATMs at all the places. No problem. If you are planning to stay in villages like Nongriat then carry cash there.

 Network is problematic only when you are trekking or you are in Jungle. Not a big problem in Meghalaya.

Medical Facility

Dont expect multispeciality hospital anywhere in Meghalaya other than Shillong. Basic medical facilities you can find at all the places.

Bye for now! Will visit again 😊




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ninh Binh Province-Vietnam: How to plan your trip - A travel guide

Image
About Vietnam What intrigued me to visit Vietnam was "To understand the cultural depth and pinnacle of human values in Vietnamese which forced USA to face domestic opposition in war ". But now, when the trip is over, i feel much more than that- An incredible country with unique landscape, great history, delicious cuisine and generous people with so much of bonding in whatsapp and instagram era! Vietnam is located in Indochinese peninsula and shares boarder with China, Laos and Cambodia. Historians suggest about human existence in this area since 500,000 BC based on fossils found in different caves. In 16th and 17th century Portuguese, Britishers (Through East India Company! India got colonized the very same way when they reached here in 1600.) and French came here and large portion of population was Christianized. When people and the kingdom realized the underneath agenda of French Government curtailed by trade, they started fighting against but all the revolutions w...
Read more

Pangot - How to plan your trip

Image
About the place If anybody comes to me asking for a short week-end trip from Delhi where he or she could rejuvenate his/her soul, i just suggest Pangot! A lush green place full of oak and devdaar trees, is carrying its own culture. After bypassing Nainital if your eyelids doesnt get closed because of the increasing density of forest, your ears start listening to sweet bird's chirp, your soul starts smelling those fresh air and the black road ahead is no more penetrable for sun- You are about to reach Pangot! A village full of bird species. Pangot is a tiny village only 13 kms away from Nainital in kumaon region but miles away from human destructive inventions. Drive to Pangot from Nainital passes through one important tourist destination Himalaya darshan or echo point where Nanda devi peak could be seen from. The only enemy here is cloud which most of the time comes between us and the Himalaya region! Apart from natural landscape and forest, main attraction of pangot...
Read more