MEGHALAYA- "Scotland of The East"

The word Meghalaya comprises two words-Megh means clouds and Alya means house. Therefore its literal meaning is "The House of Clouds". Britishers called Meghalaya as "The Scotland of The East". Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills combined to form Meghalaya. Thus this state is famous for its hills.

"Bird eye view"

Usually, maximum travelers plan a 4-5 days' Meghalaya tour.  This state has 3 main regions. Garo Hills, Khasi Hills, and Jaintia Hills! In this post, we will visit all three regions.

Each tribe area has its charm and uniqueness. This blog will tell you which tourist spots you must not miss at all and how you can plan 4-5 days of Meghalaya tour for yourself.

 We've divided this post into five parts.

◆How to reach Meghalaya.

◆ Must-visit tourist destinations! That is, itinerary! 

◆Best time to travel. 

◆The cost of travel. 

..So let's begin..

◆How to reach Meghalaya.

To travel into Meghalaya, you will need to start your journey from GUWAHATI. 

Guwahati is the Gateway to Northeast India! 

"Busy streets of Shillong"

If you want to travel economically, it would be better if you hire a shared taxi from Guwahati to Shillong at Rs. 400-500 per head basis and if you would hire an exclusive taxi- A non-AC taxi will cost you Rs. 2000 approximately. And Rs. 2500 will be the charge for an AC taxi. 

Just 15kms before Shillong, on your right-hand side, you will see Umiam Lake. It is a really beautiful lake!

"Umiam Lake"

 A lot of travelers like to stay near the Umiam Lake. 

◆ Must-visit tourist destinations!

On reaching Shillong, you can spend time visiting the Police Bazaar locality. 

 ‎There are many restaurants in the locality, where you can also have dinner.

 Delicious! On Day 1 of your journey, you can leave for Sohra in the morning. 

 ‎SOHRA is also known as CHERRAPUNJI! 

The right name is Sohra! If you drive non-stop, it will take you two hours to reach Sohra from Shillong. The sun rises and sets early here. If you leave for Sohra from Shillong at 5 or 6 am, you will get more time for sightseeing. The traffic starts building up in Shillong at around 7.30 am. Starting your day early would save your time for sightseeing and other things. On the outskirts of Sohra, you can visit WAH KABA WATERFALLS. 

 DAINTHLEN FALLS! 👇

"Dainthlen Falls"

Usually, when one visits a waterfall, it is falling from a height and one is standing below looking at it. But here at Dainthlen Falls, the experience is such that we are standing right from where the waterfall starts. We can watch closely how the water is flowing down from here. 

 ‎Another Waterfall is WEI SAWDONG NOKHALIKAI FALLS! 

"Sawdong  Nokhalikai Falls"

When you come to Sohra, you must visit this waterfall. And if you will bring a pair of binoculars with you, you will enjoy the view better. The water is flowing at high pressure. 

We visited the Seven Sisters Falls from a distance. Well, there is also an Eco Park right near the waterfalls, from where you will have a closer view of the Falls. In Sohra, you must not miss the cave visit at all.

 MAWSMAI CAVES AND ARWAH CAVE. 

When you will come to Sohra, don't even think of missing a visit to these caves and you must come here with enough time at hand. If you want to walk through the cave, you can enter and exit the cave within 7-8 minutes. 

Another attraction of Sohra is the "DOUBLE DECKER ROOT BRIDGE".

" To reach this bridge, you will need to walk 3500 steps down this mountain. The roots of many trees have come together to form this bridge! The roots, in fact, not one but multiple roots, have traveled from one end of the stream to another. And this bridge is called Double Decker because these are two bridges one above another. One can walk from one side of this bridge and return from the one, above it. If you can trek, then the amount of joy you will get from visiting the Double Decker Root Bridge, will be equal to the amount of joy you will experience from taking a bath in the waterfall here. If you will take a dip under the waterfall here, you will have a great deal of fun! 

There is another waterfall beyond this place. Its name is RAINBOW WATERFALL.

"🌈 Waterfall"

Walking from Double Decker Root Bridge to Rainbow Waterfall will take you about 1 to 1.5 hours.

 You will need to spend at least 2 days in Sohra.

 ‎

 Now let us talk about Day 3.

 From Sohra, you will travel for about 2.5 hours and reach DAWKI. 

"Dawki River"

 ‎There, you will get to see limpid river water. You can also enjoy boating there. 

 ‎So many stones on the river bed are visible. 

 ‎ If one comes here between December and February, this river water, which is so clean already, will be even clearer at that time.

After that, while enjoying waterfalls on your way back, you can go to JOWAI in JAINTIA HILLS REGION. 

"Jowai"

Spend the night there and the next day, enjoy the local food. From there, you can return to Shillong. 

 ‎

 On day 4 of your journey, you can do local sightseeing in Shillong. Some spots, which you should not miss at all, are -

•  Laitlum Grand Canyon! 

On reaching here, you will feel as if you are standing right in the middle of clouds!

 

"Laitlum Grand Canyon"

 ‎You can explore native food in Shillong. 

 ‎‎And pay the night of Day four of your journey in Shillong.

 ‎On Day 5, if your return flight or train is booked from Guwahati in the evening, you can leave Shillong in the morning and reach Guwahati by 11 am. 

 ‎Visit MA KAMAKHYA Temple!

"Temple's dome"

•  Explore native cuisine! 

  So, this was the 4 Nights and 5 days of Meghalaya itinerary! 

 

"Tura"

From Guwahati, you can travel directly for 200kms and reach Tura. 

 Unlike Khasi Hills, the tourism sector is under-developed in Garo Hills, as of now. But if you come here, you will get to witness an unexplored region of Meghalaya.

 ‎ It is the perfect destination for adventure seekers. 

 ‎In West Garo Hills, you will see PELGA Falls. 

 ‎To reach there, you have to walk over a cane & bamboo bridge.

  In Meghalaya, river bridges are very charming! If you walk over this cane and bamboo bridge holding on to the side rails carefully you can feel the bridge moving under your feet. But the bridge is sturdy and during the day, lots of people cross it from one side to another.

"Garo"

 If you are traveling with kids they would also enjoy the RONGMERAM Falls.

 ‎To enjoy waterfalls in their glory, you need to come here during the rainy period, i.e., between June & September. You can meet Hoolock Gibbons at the Hoolock Gibbon Center. These gibbons are very special! They are like apes and they are also like humans! They are an endangered species so we need to protect them. 

 ‎You can come back to Tura after visiting Daribokgre. And you can spend the night there if you want. This place is really beautiful!

Are there any homestays in this area?

 Yes, there are home-stays, located down. This place is ultimate!

 ‎ While touring this region, we also spent a day with Songsarek Community.

"A Typical House"

Their lifestyle and cooking procedures are completely traditional. 

This kind of tribe, with a unique lifestyle, and as we noticed here, they don't use the clock in fact, they look up at the sky and judge the time and leave for their fields at 4.30 am. And they go to sleep at 7 pm. 

 ‎So all these features differentiate this community from the rest of the world.

  You can hire a shared jeep for Baghmara from Tura. But there is no fixed timetable for that. So, it would be better if you hire a private taxi to go there. You will get to see Pitcher Plant in Baghmara. 

"Pitcher plant"

 ‎To your knowledge, these plants eat insects. 

If you have 8-10 days, spend 4 days in Khasi hills. From Dawki, you can follow your itinerary via Nongstoin and reach Tura. You can visit Mawphanlur on your way. This is a really beautiful place!

The travelers are not aware of this place yet. It is a completely unexplored location in the West Khasi Hills area!  You must go there.  From Dawki or Shillong, if you go via Nongstoin to Tura you will get such scenic views on the way, that you will be left amazed. Just take care of one thing, leave early in the morning, at 5 or 6 am so that you can reach Tura before it gets dark, and also get a chance to enjoy every scenic view on the way. 

◆Best time to travel.

Speaking of the best time to travel, if you love waterfalls, you must come here during the monsoon season. You will get to enjoy the rains here as well as the beautiful waterfalls in full flow. 

Meghalaya is also known as the "ABODE OF CLOUDS." If you want to see the crystal clear river water in Dawki, you should come here between November and February. 

If you want to club your Meghalaya tour with a trip to Assam's Kaziranga National Park, avoid the monsoon season because the Park remains closed at that time. At Kaziranga, you will be glad to see elephants at such a close distance. 

"Kaziranga"

Both winter & monsoon seasons are good times to travel, you can decide based on your personal preference. But speaking overall, any time is a good time to travel to Meghalaya!

◆The cost of travel. 

If your family has two adults and two kids your daily cost of travel would be approximately Rs. 10,000. This will include your taxi cost, stay, food and sightseeing. If you will go during the monsoon season, the tariff will be Rs. 3000 or it may depend on your preferences. During November and December, you will get the same type of accommodation for Rs. 2200-2300. If you travel to Meghalaya during the monsoon season, keep in mind that you have pre-booked a hotel for yourself because most travelers love to go there during the monsoon. Second thing, if you are a solo traveler, you will easily get accommodation within the range of Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 but, not in the main Shillong town.

The picture credit goes to UNSPLASH and other sources.