Megh means clouds and alay, of course, translates to abode. Could there be a name more apt and literal than Meghalaya for a region that the clouds use as somewhat of a permanent address all throughout the year? Although a fair representation of its best feature, you don’t always have to look to the skies to find beauty in this pine-fresh mountain state. Its rugged outdoors are home to wonders natural and designed – both equally easy to be awed by. From natural wonders like a network of deep caves, the sacred forests, and the wettest places on earth to some man-made designs like the transparent waters of Dawki, the living roots bridges all across the state, to some of the most progressive societies you ever witnessed, Meghalaya gives you enough reasons to fall in love with it. Meghalaya, the abode of clouds, also has the finest collection of waterfalls. The mist from the falling water with the clouds almost in your hand’s reach and the green of the lush forests makes for a rare kind of beauty.
(Read, Tips to Travel to Northeast India)
While the tropical rainforests of the region are teeming with exotic wildlife, countless species of birds and an infinite kind of flora, the small villages tucked deep into these thick forests have found a perfect formula for sustained living. The tribes of Meghalaya are truly a symbol of a synchronous relationship with the land and may as well be called pioneers for harnessing natural energy and resources. They build rainwater harvesting into their architectural design, create organic manure by collecting waste into pits and basically let no natural resource go to waste. Some communities within the state are also matrilineal. The children take the mother’s last name and wealth gets passed on from the mother to the youngest of her daughters.
There is so much more than natural beauty to bring back from your visit to this intriguing state. As you keep reading you will find some essential information to plan your travel to Meghalaya.
How to Get There
Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is the best entry point into the state.
By Air
There are two functional airports closest to Shillong. Lokpriya Gopinath Bordolai International Airport of Guwahati is 115 kms away and the Umroi Airport of Shillong is at a distance of 30 kms from the main city. Umroi is connected best with Kolkata but not so well-connected with other states. The more reliable option for air travel is to fly to Guwahati. It has better connectivity with all major cities in India and also a wider choice of air carriers. Getting from Guwahati airport to Shillong is easy. You will get shared as well as private cabs to bring you to Shillong from right outside the airport in Guwahati. It is close to a 3 hour drive.
A helicopter service between Guwahati and Shillong exists as well. The ride gets you to Shillong in 20 minutes and Tura in 60 minutes. They operate only on specific days of the week, however. You can get more information on the days, cost and booking procedure from here.
By Rail
Meghalaya does not have direct rail connectivity. The closest station to Shillong is in Guwahati, Assam which is a 100 kms away. Shared and private cabs are easily available right outside the railway station in Guwahati, to bring you to Shillong.
By Road
The Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) connects the state well with the adjoining states. Regular buses ply between Guwahati and all major towns of Meghalaya.
(P.S: No special permits like the Inner Line Permit (ILP) are required to enter the boundary of Meghalaya.)
Travelling Within the State
The tourism department of Meghalaya runs tourist buses every day to visit tourist spots across the state. To book a seat on these buses, you need to visit the tourist center in Shillong, at least a day in advance since the buses leave early in the morning.
If you are looking for a little more freedom and customization of travel, it is best to hire a two wheeler or a private cab from Shillong. There are various shops in Police Bazaar in Shillong to get a hired vehicle. Shared cabs run between the popular places in the state as well. These might be cheaper but time consuming.
The three main markets in Shillong are:
1. Police Bazaar which is the main commercial hub of the city. You will find all kinds of facilities here starting from hotels, restaurants, and tour operators, to shops and vehicle hire options. This is one area of the city which is bustling with energy all throughout the day.
2. Bara Bazaar is a market for all things local. You will find vendors selling all kinds of products made with cane and bamboo and other local art of Meghalaya.
3. Village markets are a weekly affair. Held across the state in different areas, these markets are a goldmine of information when it comes to understanding the local way of life in the state.
Understanding the Map of Meghalaya
The state of Meghalaya is divided mainly into 3 major regions based on the three major tribes of the state: The Garo tribe is spread across Garo Hills, the Jaintia tribe across Jaintia Hills and the Khasi tribe across the many districts of Khasi Hills. These regions are further divided into 12 districts.
Garo Hills
The Garo Hills comprise 5 districts all of which are majorly inhabited by peoples of the Garo Tribe. Tura is the largest town in the region. It is built at the foot of the Tura Peak. Known for its abundance of wildlife and flora, the entire region is covered in subtropical forests.
Some places of interest in the region are Nokrek Peak which at 1,412M is the highest point in all five districts, Tura Peak, Balpakram National Park, Siju Caves, the canyons of Wari Chora and the waterfall of Imilchang Dare.
Khasi Hills
All 5 districts of Khasi Hills are inhabited by the Khasi tribe who are known to be quite the storytellers. The myths and legends created by the Khasi people are delightful stories that connect nature and the people of the region beautifully. The capital city of Shillong and the wettest places on earth, Cheerapunji and Mawsynram are all part of the Khasi Hills region. Some places of interest here are the many caves and waterfalls of Sohra, one of the largest river islands in Asia - Nongkhum island, the sacred forests of Mawphlang, Mawlynnong – the cleanest village of Asia amongst many others. The highest point of this region is the Lum Shyllong Peak at 1,968M.
Jaintia Hills
People of the Jaintia Tribe are dwellers of this region. Some places of interest in the region are the Nartiang Monoliths, Dawki River along the border with Bangladesh, Tyrishi and Bophill falls amongst many others.
Best Season to Travel to Meghalaya
Meghalaya is an all-season state with different highlights for each season. Decide your time of travel based on what you want to explore. October to March are the best months for any adventure activity like hiking and caving since there is no fear of excessive rains. It is also the time when you get to participate in the local festival of the Garo Tribe – the 100 Drums Wangala Festival. It is celebrated every year in November. The cold season is also the best time to visit the crystal clear waters of Umngot River at Dawki.
The state receives heavy rainfall between June and September. This is when Meghalaya is at its showiest best and fully lives up to its name ‘the abode of clouds’. The countless tall waterfalls of the state swell up and come thundering down with the rains. The magic of the milk white waterfalls placed against the lush green landscape of Meghalaya is very difficult to beat. Monsoons are when the natural beauty of the state truly shines.
As for April and May, these are relatively warmer months but are overall pleasant to explore the mountain towns and villages of Meghalaya.
Five Things you Absolutely Must do in Meghalaya
a. Visit the Cleanest village of Asia
Close to the border with Bangladesh in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya lies a village whose silent existence suddenly shot to fame in 2003 when the magazine Discover India named it the cleanest village in all of Asia. At the entrance of the village, the board reads Mawlynnong – God’s own garden. You walk in to clean roads, houses lined with flowers of all imaginable kinds and colours, bamboo dustbins at every step and not one shred of plastic for as far as the eye can see. Not even a stray leaf fallen off a tree dares to make it onto the roads of this village which sets impeccable standards for cleanliness and order. Fresh, green and quiet, 20 minutes in this village and your lungs feel as fresh as the fresh bloom of flowers that surround you. Inhabited mostly by people of the Khasi tribe, the shops here cater to the tourist population selling bamboo handicrafts and local cuisine. There is a pretty church in the heart of the village, the Church of the Epiphany, which stands tall as a symbol of faith of its people. Mawlynnong lies at a distance of 90 kms from Shillong.
With one of the highest literacy rates in the country (over 95%), this 1000 resident strong community is mostly agrarian with betel nut as their main crop. What is fascinating about this village is its matrilineal society which is a way of life of the Khasi people. The children take the mother’s last name and wealth gets passed on from the mother to the youngest of her daughters.
b. Borrow a tune or two from the people of Singing village
Kongthong Village in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya is known for more than its picturesque setting and living root bridges. It is known for something strangely extraordinary. Each native in the village is said to have a name which is a whistling lullaby. The locals are known to call out to each other by whistling this lullaby which is unique to every resident – just as names go! Humans are fascinating creatures, for sure!
c. Wash the city heat off you at the wettest place on the planet
Seventy kilometers from Shillong, in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya lies a village by the name of Mawsynram. At an elevation of 1,400M, the peculiar geographical setting of the village lends to it receiving an annual average rainfall of 467 inches, making it the wettest place on earth. The average precipitation averaged over the whole earth at 39 inches is about 12 times lower than the average rainfall received by this single village owing to its location. Although there’s only 15 kilometers between the villages, Mawsynram surpassed the previous record holder of the wettest place on planet earth, Cheerapunji, sometime in the recent past. According to sources, the village received THOUSAND inches of rainfall in the year 1985.
d. Walk on the many root bridges
The Khasi people are known as master storytellers. Their tales intricately connect all natural life and phenomenon to the life of people building one joint existence. One of the tales from their mythology described that heaven and earth were connected by a living roots ladder from which their ancestors descended. However, no one really knows when, why and how the people of the region began to design these natural marvels.
The living roots bridges are proof of the Khasi peoples intelligence in harnessing the power of nature to engineer a natural marvel for functional use without disturbing or causing harm to the ecosystem. Close to 75 living roots bridges are known about but the best known is the Double Decker Living Root Bridge which is a major tourist attraction in Cheerapunji.
It is believed that each bridge takes up to 40 long years to grow. Two rubber trees are planted on either side of the river. Since the roots are manipulated by hand – tied, twisted together and given direction manually, building of these bridges is a social affair – one that is rooted in extreme patience and promotes togetherness. The roots then strengthen over time to become strong enough to support the weight of humans. As long as the trees remain healthy, the roots grow stronger and thicker – which basically means that the bridge which can last hundreds of years, self-maintains!
e. Attend a festival and try some local cuisine
Festivals truly bring out the colour in Meghalaya. The Ranikhor River Beach Festival celebrates the outdoors with activities like boating, rafting, scuba diving and snorkeling. The Monolith festival celebrated in Khasi Heritage Village is a three day affair every March. The Weiking Dance Festival in Shillong sees men and women donning traditional clothes and dancing local dances to local tunes. Then there is the Cherry Blossom Festival, Wine Tasting Festival and Shillong Autumn Festival and the Wangala Festival all of which truly celebrate and bring out the spirit of the people of the region. There is also the Discover Jaintia Festival, Tura Winter Festival, Williamnagar Winter Festival and so many more that breathe a different life into this beautiful mountain state. Do not forget to visit all the local markets and try some local cuisine, which uses a lot of bamboo, while you are there.
8 Places in Meghalaya That Should be High on Your List
a. Balphakram National Park
Home to water buffalo, red panda, elephant and EIGHT species of cats, the Balphakram National Park in Meghalaya, is 220 square kilometers of paradise. Countless species of colourful butterflies, limitless kinds of birds each with their own sounds, and of course a rich collection of Himalayan flora makes it one to go to the top of your itinerary on your visit to Meghalaya.
b. The Umlawan Caves
Meghalaya boasts of having the some of the deepest and the longest natural caves. The Umlawan, Krem Kot Sati and Umskor together form a network of caves. The length of these caves runs up to 21 kms with its calculated depth at a 100 meters. The rock formations in these caves is the kind of lesson in topography even us geography haters would enjoy.
While we haven’t been there yet, we’ve heard that one needs to swim to enter the cave. If you happen to go there, we’d love to hear from you about the truth of this fact!
c. Krem Liat Prah
This is the longest natural cave in South Asia and it’s not even fully explored yet. The length to which it is explored is already 25 long kilometers and it is said that there’s scope to go much deeper! Here’s another interesting insight. Krem in Khasi language means cave so ideally the name of this cave system is Liat Prah.
d. Krem Puri
Another krem, the Krem Puri was first discovered in Meghalaya as recently as 2016. This sandstone cave which is known to run as deep as 24.5 kilometers, is also known to house dinosaur fossils from over 70 million years ago. That’s how we know the cave isn’t new, we only just found it a little too late!
e. Seven Sisters Waterfall
This is in Cherrapunji, a region known to receive crazy amounts of rain each year and once was known to be the wettest place on earth. The Seven Sisters waterfall is named as such because the water separates into seven different streams as it falls off the edge of the hills in to the lush green forests below. Each stream is so distinct, you could almost give each one its own name.
f. Nohkalikai Falls
This is the tallest plunge waterfall in India. It falls 340M from a plateau into a pool with water of an unusual shade of green. Its name also tells an interesting story about the ill fate of a certain woman named Likai – this story is an important tale in Khasi literature. (To know more about the story of this waterfall, read Myths and Legends from Northeast India)
g. Umiam Lake
It is a man-made reservoir made way back in the 1960s. It was originally built to store water for hydroelectric power generation but it has become one the most loved places in the state. Right by the border with Bangladesh, you definitely want to be here if you want to witness some of the best sunsets of your life.
h. Double Decker Bridge
This of course needs no introduction. The image of the bridge is literally the first to come to mind when you think of Meghalaya. The three kilometer trek that brings you to this natural engineering marvel offers the most awe-inspiring views during monsoons. The stream below the double layered bridge swells up with all the rainwater and is at its impressive best. And so are the surroundings forests which turn all shades of refreshing with the coming of the rains. The trek itself may get a little trickier since the rains make the mucky route very slippery.
Needless to say, this in no way is an exhaustive list of all there is to discover in the mountain state of Meghalaya. We do hope that this gives a fair idea on how to plan your travel within the state, however. When you do get yourself here, if you see something we should share with our community of outdoor lovers, do let us know. Until then, merry travels!
