Meghalaya - the land of blue waters (that's how I would like to describe this nature's wonder)

To start with, a picture would do justice to showcase the mesmerizing beauty of this place. 

This trip has rekindled my blog which was gathering dust on the cloud :) I kept thinking to myself about penning down this travelogue as soon as I return but never late than ever. Through this blog I would like to describe our itinerary, giving some essential tips from our experience so that it would help future travellers.

[Disclaimer: please verify latest status of places before you proceed to plan your trip or ping me personally, I will share my travel agent's number:)]

I am a bit lazy and have some trust issues with the pictures of hotels on the internet. So, I don't indulge in self-booking. I use a trusted travel expert for most of my trips. This trip was planned by a good friend Sumita, who is from Assam and has extensively travelled throughout North-East India. A woman entrepreneur who runs her travel agency "Threads of Travel" (will share a link soon). 

Time of travel: 3rd week of January 2023 (supposedly off season in Meghalaya). The weather was pleasant except for Shillong which was very cold. Waterfalls were not full. However, our guides mentioned that trekking during this time of the year is relatively easier because of the dry season.

Things we packed:

1. Thermals (may be needed in Shillong but we managed without it)
2. Fleece jackets
3. Good trekking shoes
   
4. Camping torches
5. Stretchable pants for trekking
6. Suncaps and sunglasses
7. Light backpack for camping & trekking
8. Swimwear, goggles
9. Power bank
10. Theplas for travel (you can skip this if you aren't wary of eating bread and omelette :))
11. Basic medicines for cold, fever, headache, travel sickness

Day 1: We flew by Akasa air from Bangalore to Guwahati. We were using this carrier for the first time, but the experience was decent. They had good in-flight meal options, good flight timing and the fare was way less than Indigo. On arrival at Guwahati airport, we were picked by our driver who was with us for the rest of the journey (Mandeep Das). We stopped for lunch at Hemalata Dhaba on the Guwahati-Shillong highway (https://maps.app.goo.gl/f8UAVqDKmVidy7yn9). We ate a full-blown Assamese meal for the first time. I loved the baby potato fry and the flat beans stir fry. We later stopped for tea at Jiva Veg. The best chai of this trip. 

     

It was almost dark by the time we reached Shillong, so we had to skip visiting Umiam lake. We checked into Aerodene Cottage. The caretaker at Aerodene cottage, Ms. Biba, had prepared a simple and delicious veg meal, including rotis, 2 sabzis, rice and dal. We had to use the room heater, since it was extremely cold that night. 

Day 2: Drove to Laitlum Canyon. This place truly described the essence of Meghalaya - an abode of clouds. People who like to trek can go down the hills. We did for a short distance and climbed back. Next, we visited the much sought after Krang Shuri falls. While we were walking down to the falls, we realised there was a zipline. So, we zipped through the valley to reach the falls. One aspect that stunned me the most about Meghalaya is the clear blue waters everywhere. TJ decided to test the waters. Life jackets are mandatory, so we hired one. The water was ice cold. 

After enjoying the beauty of the falls, we trekked back to the parking area. There was a nondescript hotel / shack that served lunch (the only one in the vicinity). Luckily found some veg option. We were served by Mylian, the waitress, who had a beautiful smile every time we asked her for extra dal (lol). After we paid our bill, TJ got curious to know why most Khasi people chewed betel leaves so he bought couple of leaves and nuts from the same hotel. He said he felt very warm after chewing them, so there goes the reason.

Laitlum Canyon

       

Krang Shuri falls

Phe Phe falls

Lunch at Krang Shuri

While on our way back, our driver suggested that we visit the Phe Phe falls. This was not on our scheduled itinerary. But since we had the time, we decided to explore this place. Glad we did. After crossing a canal by boat and walking for about 3 Km one way we reached another beautiful waterfall. The best aspect we observed about the Khasi people is their love for party, picnic and music. Even near these secluded places, there were a group of youngsters gathered with food, mats and music and enjoying their picnic. 

Rudraksh Seeds

Day 3: Visit to Sacred Grove forests at Mawphlang. We hired a guide and bought tickets for the half trek (which was the only option available - see details of tickets below) who explained to us about the significance of this grove (forest), the belief and tradition of the local people, about the rituals that were conducted by the villagers until the 1950s and how not even a leaf must be taken out of this forest. Though the rituals which were followed in yesteryears within the forest are now performed outside, the sacred grove still holds some typical mystic value. The memorable sight was the Rudraksh tree. We saw how a rudraksh fruit and seed look. 

Shivaling

Drive to Mawsynram village: On the way we visited the Mawjymbuin Cave. We were in awe to see a stalagmite formation in the form of a shiva linga and stalactite formation right above it with water dropping from its end, falling right on the linga. This was truly nature's divinity. We proceeded further towards our next destination passing via the Mawsynram village market. We reached the village around noon.

We met our guide here, Tambore Sing. There was something special about Tambore, about which I will talk about a little later. There was only one small hotel in the village. We hopped in to have fried rice and noodles (only veg option). If you are a pure vegetarian and would not eat in a place with a common kitchen, then you have no option there. 

Post lunch we visited Split rock / Crevice walk. This was an amazing work of nature. Due to a probable earthquake many centuries ago, a large hill has split, making a 3 feet crevice. One can climb down to a level of almost 4 storeys below the ground and climb back up. Our next site was the Mawpun cave.

A unique experience of this trip was the Mawpun cave exploration. You will not find this place even on Google maps, neither are there any boards for anyone to know there is a huge cave underneath some large hills. Our guide provided us helmets with head torch. We headed towards the opening of the cave which itself was a path full of large boulders. Once we were in, as expected the headlights came on and it was an exhilarating walk, manoeuvering through large boulders, rocks, and narrow streams of water here and there. Our guide literally set up a studio-like setting to click some very beautiful pictures inside the cave. After we reached the end point (not literally the end since beyond that point the cave is yet to be explored), we took a break. While we were relaxing after a 2km walk inside the cave, the guide asked us to switch off our head lights. Once we did, he said "do you realise now how a blind person feels?". That jolted us. It was literally pitch dark with no ray of light inside the cave. It was heart wrenching. We sat there in complete darkness contemplating on the lives we had and the blessings that we don't sometime pay attention to. We switched on the headlights and started our walk back. 

We reached Lawboh village to check into our homestay. This homestay is relatively new and did not have electricity connection yet. It was rather an adventurous evening, using the torches from our phones with almost dying battery, until the homestay owner managed to set up the generator. Sharing some pics of this homestay somewhere in the secluded outskirts of Mawsynram.

We had earlier ordered our dinner menu and asked the hotel to keep it ready. We drove back to the village, had dinner in the same hotel and returned to our homestay for the night. Would like to mention that the weather was moderately chilly here unlike Shillong which was very cold.

Day 4: Next day morning, the homestay owner served us some basic breakfast - bread, butter, maggi and eggs. We had the company of some very adorable puppies while we were having our breakfast. We will be camping by the Umngot river that night, so we had to re-pack our bags to carry one set of clothing, jacket, torches, power banks and swim wear. This we packed in two backpacks and the suitcases were to remain in the car itself during the night. 

We then started off for the Fossil trek. This was again a long walk, crossing a small river and grasslands to the spot where star fish fossils have been spotted and preserved by the locals. The picture below of TJ and I, shows sediment of volcanic lava on the surface, as told by our guide.

On our way back from the fossil trek we came across a small garden of pitcher plants. This is being maintained especially for tourists to see and experience this unique plant. Tambore picked up couple of these pitchers and asked us to drink the water collected in them. Apparently, they have some unique medicinal properties.

We walked back to the car and bid adieu to Tambore Sing. As I said earlier, there was something special about him which I will talk about now. Tambore is 19 years old. We had one big surprise when Tambore spoke to us in Kannada. We were excited at the same time stunned to hear our language spoken by someone thousands of kilometers away from our state. Tambore, apparently did his schooling in Sagar district of Karnataka through the RSS. He was so thrilled to know we were from Bangalore, and he was more than wanting to speak to us in Kannada. He was telling us how he was so well conversant in Kannada that he took some time to learn his own mother tongue when he had to return home during Covid. Sadly, he could not continue his education. However, we assured him that if he ever wishes to continue with his education, he could always reach out for any kind of support. 

Our next destination was the enticing Umngot river. We had a long distance to cover this day, and the driver warned us about the road conditions towards Dawki, the last village at the border between India and Bangladesh. On our way the driver, very annoyingly, told us about the extensive mining and export of limestone to Bangladesh that is almost bringing down Meghalaya's hills to dust. This mining, along with road expansion has damaged this entire stretch of nature. Sharing some pics from our drive that is witness to this destruction.

 

We stopped by KBR restaurant (https://maps.app.goo.gl/LkThWmbRmzwiUVgd8) for lunch which served very good multi cuisine menu, but moderately expensive. Probably the only vegetarian option on this route. After a slow and cumbersome drive, on pathetic road conditions, and crossing the Dawki bridge, we finally arrived at the boating point of Umngot river. This pic shows the border areas of the country. There were BSF Jawans posted. Hawkers from both the countries tried selling us photographs and chaat. We hired a boat with a boatman. This is the clearest river I have ever seen. This place is the brand image of Meghalaya tourism, and I was personally enthralled to witness this beauty. 

The sun was almost setting, but our driver asked us if we were keen to see the border check-post. We were positive, so he quickly drove us there which was about 1Km from Dawki. We walked up to the check post and clicked pics of the iconic gate (mahadwar) between the two countries. 

The driver then drove us to the river camping sight at Shnongpdeng, which was our destination for the night. Mr.Karbi and Vicky from Pioneer Adventures escorted us from the car parking to the tent, our home for the night, right beside the Umngot river. They set up a campfire which helped to keep us warm, while it was getting windy and chilly. We sat there enjoying our snack and drink, listening to the sounds of waters of the river gushing through the rocks. 

The camping site had common washrooms and bathrooms at the common area which was a 200m walk from our tent. We had some very noisy neighbours. So, after some haggling, Karbi helped to shift them away and we got to sleep for a few hours, while the wind was fiercely blowing against the walls of the tent. We made up our mind to wake up early the next morning so we could use the washroom without having to wait in queue !!

Day 5: We woke up by 5:30AM. As expected, we were probably the first ones to use the washroom. We brushed, had a cup of chai and decided to walk by the footbridge across the river. It was windy and the bridge was swaying as we walk to and fro. Clicked some pictures while the mist was just settling down. It was one of the best morning walks. As we came down to the camp, it was time for breakfast. 

After a quick breakfast (again bread and maggi), we changed and got ready for the water activities. These activities begin by 8:30-9AM in winters to avoid windy weather. We first kayaked for about 30 mins, by then it got a bit sunny, and the winds seemed to be settling down. Next was the cliff jump, first time for TJ and me. 

As usual TJ aced it and was ready for the next level. But on the next level, he was not too convinced to risk, firstly due to lack of emergency medical facilities nearby and secondly, he was reminded about his two kids back home :). I jumped into the water and probably felt my heart  froze for a second or two. The water was numbing cold. We kayaked back to the snorkelling spot. By now we were kind of acclimatized to the water.  Initially I was way too uncomfortable with the extremely cold water. I was getting breathless a few times. But after a while I felt better and managed to snorkel for about 20 minutes. Once we finished with the activities, the boatman took us back to our tent. We checked out from Shnongpdeng and proceeded to Cherrapunji, our destination for the next two days. 

Our driver suggested we do zipline in Cherrapunji, we didn't do the zipline at the river camp. We stopped by at the same K.B.R restaurant for a quick lunch and proceeded towards Cherrapunji. Around 4 pm we reached the zipline booking counter run by Pioneer Adventures again. We were just in time. One look at the line and we knew we had to do this. It's the longest and highest zipline we have experienced so far. It was thrilling, to say the least. It was a total of 4 rides, 2 beside the  mountain and two lines between two mountains getting us the view of the complete valley. You can check out the video on my insta.

It was a long drive again, but the scenic beauty of Cherrapunji made it less stressful. We visited the Mawsmai cave before heading to the resort. Mawsmai cave is more touristy and easily explorable by all. Like I said earlier, all the tourist attractions close early and we were almost the last ones to purchase the tickets. Compared to the Mawpun cave experience which was totally rugged, this one was more commercial with electricity and clear pathway to walk in and out. However, the stalactite and stalagmite formations inside the cave were mind-blowing. We did some local shopping here (fridge magnet, small gifts for kids) and headed to the Cherrapunji Holiday resort. This is one of the oldest resorts in Cherrapunji run by an old couple. The man hails from South India who apparently came to Meghalaya early in his banking career, fell in love with the lady who visited his branch often and settled down in Cherrapunji. (story narrated by our driver. I haven't checked the authenticity :))

The resort had organized a musical evening by a local band of boys, who sang old Hindi and English songs. It was a relaxing evening. After a sumptuous vegetarian buffet dinner at the resort, we had to repack our bags again. We were heading for the double decker root bridge the next morning. Our plan was to trek down to the root bridge and stay overnight at the Serene Homestay and trek back the following morning. We again packed into two backpacks a pair of clothes, jacket, some energy bars, water, basic medicines like painspray, painkillers, swim wear (there were supposed to be natural pools where we could swim). We had to carry light luggage since this was expected to be a difficult trek. We had requested the resort to pack some sandwiches for breakfast as we had to reach the parking area of Tyrna village at 7:30 am where the guide will meet us the next morning.

Day 6: We woke up by 6AM all excited for the most challenging day of the trip. The resort had packed cheese sandwiches and juice for breakfast. We checked out and left our suitcases in the resort's cloak room. Our driver was also ready, and we left the resort by 7:15 am. It is a 10 minutes' drive from the resort to Tyrna village. We met our guide Mr.Priang right on time. There were some men trying to sell us bamboo sticks. We were wondering if we needed them. By then Priang told us not to buy since he had already got us walking sticks from home. 

This pic was shot right before we started off with the trek. The trek to the double decker root bridge is not a regular rugged trek. It is basically climbing down narrow staircases of about 3000 steps in total. In the initial phase we will pass through the village leading to a rocky valley. This is where we stopped to have our packed breakfast. 

After this quick stop, we started to climb up. Some part of the trek had a continuous climb which was breath-taking in the literal sense (;)). Since it was a national holiday (Republic day) there were many local school and college goers trekking up to Rainbow falls for a picnic. We continued walking, huffing and puffing our way up and down, with Priang capturing some creative shots with our camera. 

Our Decathlon hiking shoes were a saviour. Priang explained to us how the root bridges came into existence and how with the help of supporting structures, there is a possibility of a 3rd decker being formed in few hundred years from now. We were eager to see this natural wonder. However, even on the way to the main double decker bridge, there were smaller such root bridges which we had to pass. There were many valleys enroute, which supposedly have water gushing through during the monsoon season. Priang showed us some videos from his phone, which he had captured while guiding his guests through this route during the rains. It was awesome even to watch those videos. TJ and I thought, if we ever get another chance, we must visit Meghalaya during the wettest months. 

Right before the root bridge, is where, the Serene homestay is located. We arrived here by 9:15 am. So, even before we went to the bridge, we first checked in. Had a quick tour of our room and the facilities (very basic one, but clean). We left some items in our room and re-packed just our swim clothes. We were going to trek further to the Rainbow falls. We wanted to be light since the weather was not cold and we will positively return before it gets chilly in the evening. 

After a short break for about 20 minutes, we resumed our trek. About 200m behind Serene homestay was the double decker root bridge. There were a few tourists who were already there clicking pics, so we decided to proceed towards Rainbow falls. The trek to the falls first takes us to the Blue Lagoon falls. We planned to get into the water pool over here on our way back. So, we continued our walk towards Rainbow falls, on the way refreshing ourselves with water from natural streams.

The walk was quite tough and tiring. It is a narrow path with stairs going up and down. After about an hour or so we finally reached, the spectacular Rainbow falls. We didn't climbdown to the water since our guide suggested not to. It is apparently quite deep and dangerous. We clicked a lot of pics, drank some juice to refresh ourselves (there are small shops that sell biscuits and bottled juices and water) and started to walk back to the Blue Lagoon falls. After an hour of walking, we reached the pool area. Here it was safe to get into the water pool with life jackets. We hired jackets for Rs.100 each and got into the ice-cold water. As I said earlier, it is totally jaw-dropping to see clear waters everywhere in Meghalaya. We spent about 30 mins swimming. There were changing areas for men and women separately (these are not washrooms but just a small enclosure covered by tarpaulin sheets). 

We were quite famished and started our trek back at 1:15 pm to head to Serene homestay. While walking back it struck us as to why not we climb back to the starting point the same day instead of spending the night at Serene homestay. We still had a lot of time to cover the distance and we would positively reach Tyrna village parking area by 6 pm. We quickly called our resort to check if there was accommodation available. Unfortunately, they were fully booked. However, they suggested a homestay which was very close to the resort where we could spend the night and check-in the next morning at the resort. So, we made up our mind to complete our trek the same day. Our guide was ok with this plan. We reached Serene homestay, ordered lunch, and spent time talking to other guests in the homestay. We got to know about their experience with Bamboo trek and Mawmluh cave exploration which were not part of our itinerary. By then lunch was served. We let Mr. Byron know about our change of plans. Post lunch we started our trek back. While climbing back, I kept doubting whether it was the right decision to return the same day, but I pushed my limits, probably filling my lungs to the maximum. I owe it to TJ for letting me know I could do this and pushing me by saying "we are almost there" :)

We took multiple breaks and one of them was to have a quick refreshing lemon juice served in bamboo glasses. It was so refreshing that I gulped down two glasses. It had a unique flavour. We continued walking up through the Tyrna village and finally reached the parking area by 6 pm. While I took my last step towards the parking lot, we hi-fied each other and said, "We did it". 

We had informed our driver about the change in plan. He arrived on time to pick us up. We bid adieu to Priang and left to the homestay with loads of memories and maximum heartbeats. We picked our luggage from Cherrapunji Hotel Resort and checked into Laitkynsew homestay which was a few yards away from the resort. We freshened up and went back to the resort for dinner, since the homestay had no kitchen/it was a no-food homestay. We returned to the homestay and slept like a log that night. 

Day 7: In the morning, the sun was bright, and I quickly made use of it. I put up our wet clothes (from previous day's swimming and water activities) to dry. I personally hate traveling with wet clothes. We went back to the resort for a nice buffet breakfast, returned and checked out of the homestay. This was the last day of the trip, and a relaxed one. We visited Arwah cave. This again was a touristy one with a proper laid out path leading to the opening of the cave and lighting inside the cave. It also had a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and valley. With my photography movements inside the cave, I lost my suncap here which I realised after walking back a good distance towards the parking lot. We came back all the way in the hopes of finding it back. Once we realised I had dropped it somewhere inside the cave we decided to let go. The walk was quite tiring. We had a quick cup of chai and left from Arwah. 

Our next destination was the popular Nohkalikai falls. This was supposed to be the most visited in Cherrapunji. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, it wasn't the right season. We clicked some photographs from the viewpoint. Our driver had recommended us this place for some local shopping. Meghalaya is famous for spices. We bought local natural honey, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, handmade miniature craft items made of bamboo. 

Nohkalikai falls

It was noon and we stopped for lunch at a popular pure vegetarian restaurant (probably one among a very few that exists in Meghalaya) called "Orange Roots". It is a sister concern of Cherrapunji Hotel Resort. We had a sumptuous meal and drove back to the resort and called it a day.

Day 8: This was our last day and we left Meghalaya with memories for a lifetime. We again requested the resort to pack us breakfast as it was a very long journey to Guwahati airport. Our flight was at 4:45 pm and the driver suggested we start by 6:30 am. As per plan we left Cherrapunji on time. By 9 am we hit Shillong and continued to drive towards Guwahati. We had a quick stopover at Umiam lake. We walked down to the view point, clicked some pics. Apparently there was a music concert beside the lake the previous night, so workers were dismantling the stage set up etc. We returned to the car and proceeded towards Guwahati. 

TJ bought a potli of betel leaves and nuts again to carry them back home, since he had already fallen in love with them in Meghalaya :)

Uniam Lake

We stopped at Jiva Veg again for a quick cup of chai. There was a lot of traffic again towards Guwahati due to G-20 meetings which were supposed to be held in couple of days. We reached Hemalata Dhaba again for a tasty Assamese meal. 

TJ wanted to shop for the typical handwoven Assamese towel (called Gamocha). The driver took us a to a Government of Assam handicraft shop. We bought couple of those towels and proceeded to the airport. The driver dropped us at 2 pm and we were well on time. We bid adieu to Mandeep for engaging us with fruitful conversations throughout the trip, took a selfie and promised to book him when we return to Assam.

To close this travelogue, I would like to share some good and not so good experiences from this trip

Good

1. The best thing about Meghalaya tourism is the availability of clean "pay & use" toilets.  
2. People are genuinely trustworthy, they don't fleece you with unreasonable charges for entry tickets, sports activities, etc.
3. Vegetarian food was available in most places (even in remote villages). We just had to explain what we were looking for. Rice is staple food. Rice, dal, sabzi, pickle and pappad was available. Vegetarian fried rice and noodles were other options.
4. Most places accept digital payments. There were good number of ATMs in Shillong, Cherrapunji, Dawki and Mawsynram market area. 
5. Chai was good almost in every place we had. We never attempted to have coffee :)

Not so good:

1. Pathetic (is an under-statement) condition of roads towards Dawki, Shnongpdeng due to heavy truck movement carrying limestone to Bangladesh
2. During winters it stars to get dark by 4:30-5PM. Therefore, you need to start the day early to visit these places. Most tourist places shut by 4pm. Even at Dawki boating ends by 4:30PM.

Tips for travel:

1. You don't need shoes for the river camping place. Wearing chappal or sandals will help. But carry socks for the night. 
2. Carry camping torches, preferably light-weight ones
3. We carried a thermal water bottle which was very handy to carry hot water. Because of the cold weather I had a sore throat. It was an easy remedy to mix samahan and hot water to sip through before going to bed. 

Ticket fares and other charges:

1. Boating at Dawki - Rs.800 per boat
2. Masmai cave entry - Rs.30 per adult (vehicle parking Rs.30)
3. Arwah cave entry - Rs.50 per adult
4. Nohkalikai falls entry - Rs. 50 per adult
5. Shnongpdeng parking (overnight)- Rs.100
6. Double decker root bridge - Rs. 50 per adult (plus camera Rs.50)
7. Laitkynsew Homestay - Rs.2,000 per night
8. Mawphlang sacred grove - Half trek -Rs.350, Full trek - Rs. 550, David Scott trail - Rs.1,550 Camera- Rs.100, Parking Rs.50
9. Sports activities - 
1. Kayaking - Rs. 500 per Kayak
2. Cliff Jump - Rs.300 per person
3. Snorkeling- Rs.500 per person
10. Zip line at Cherrapunji  - Rs.1,000 per person for 4 lines

HAPPY TRAVELS!!