Meghalaya, one of the smaller states of India, is located in the northeastern part of the country, just beyond the border with Bangladesh. It is the place with the most rainfall in India, and despite that, it might just have been my favorite place in the whole country. You’ll see why.
How to get to Meghalaya from Darjeeling
First you have to get back from Darjeeling to Siliguri. Again the options are the same: either 3 hours in a shared cab or 7 hours in the himalayan train.
From Siliguri you can catch a night train towards Guwahait, the capital of Assam (leaving at 7 pm and arriving the next morning at 5 am). This was the only time I saw a train being delayed, it only arrived at midnight. Logically I only made it to Guwahati at 10 am. During the 5 hour wait time I was chatted up by potentially the most polite indian (“excuse me I don’t want to bother you, but may I ask you where you’re from?” was a very welcome alternation of the usual “where from? selfie?”) I met during my whole trip. We ended up talking the full 5 hours we had to wait and playing chess together!
From Guwahati you’ll have to take another shared cab (500 INR) down to Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, and from there another private cab (1500 INR; there might be shared cabs but I didn’t come across one) down to Cherrapunj, which is the place to be to explore Meghalaya. I stopped for one night in Shillong, but in pure travel time this whole trip from Darjeeling to Cherrapunji took about 24 hours. There is a much faster alternative involving taking a flight from Siliguri to Shillong.
Shillong
Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya, and like the state, it is rather small. I expected to find a town consisting of barracks in the jungle and visible poverty, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. What I did find was a surprisingly clean and developed city, the only city in fact where there were consistently sidewalks along the streets, in many places even fenced. There were a lot of colleges and only cars on the streets – not a single tuk-tuk around here. That being said, the city does not have all too much to offer for tourists; it should merely be used as a stopover on the way further south. There are a few waterfalls around Shillong, the most prominent one being “the Elephant Falls”. I did visit it, but of all the sights in Meghalaya, this was the most unimpressive one. Visit it if you have time to spare in Shillong, but don’t waste time on it if you don’t have to.
Cherrapunji
Cherrapunji doesn’t have much to offer except for a bunch of guesthouses and one single ATM. Its “skyline” is dominated by the ruins of an old cement factory, which is a very ugly contrast to the otherwise stunningly beautiful landscapes of Meghalaya. However, it is centrally located between all the hotspots, making it a good place to be your base. There are taxi drivers around who will drive you to see the sights; the prices they ask are quite high compared to the rest of India and can hardly be negotiated. I paid 2000 INR on the first day and 3500 INR (including return to Shillong) on the second day.
The highlights of Meghalaya
The main highlights to be seen in Meghalaya:
- Living root bridges – they are formed from the roots of rubber fig trees, which have been shaped by the Khasi people over years into bridges. As time goes on, the roots grow thicker, and the bridges become stronger. There are about 75 of these bridges in Meghalaya.
- The Tyrna Village Trek – a rather challenging trek that includes a gorgeous single root bridge, a double-lane bridge, a blue lagoon where you can take a dip, and the Rainbow Fall. You can hire a guide for 1000 INR, but the path is quite straightforward and can easily be done alone. First, you have to walk some 2000 steps downhill (spoiler alert: you have to return the same way). On your way down, you come across the single root bridge. There are no signs indicating that you have to make a U-turn after the single root bridge. So, to avoid scrambling through the jungle for half an hour until you conclude that this really can’t be right – like I did – just remember to visit the single root bridge first and then make a U-turn to do the rest of the trek. There are many little shops along the trek where you can buy snacks and drinks, and the shop owners can always point you in the right direction in case of doubt.
- Arwah Cave – along the short 10-minute trek towards the cave, you can see one of the most breahtaking views in Meghalaya.
The cave itself is quite interesting. It takes about 15 minutes to walk the official part in which you can spot some fossils on the walls. They are quite hard to find if you don’t know where to look, so ask one of the guards outside the cave, they happily joined me inside and pointed all the fossils out for me.
Beyond the official part of the cave lies a network of dark corridors with shallow water streams. If you come alone, nobody will stop you to explore these. After 5 minutes and so many forks in the path, it got a little too spooky, so I decided to return to the main cave. Without mentioning my little exploration to the guards, they later told me that they sometimes have to retrieve people which venture to far into this dark labyrith. - Seven Sisters Falls – another amazing view of a series of waterfalls over a dramatic cliff and a gorgeous valley. It is along one of the main roads, so you can easily incorporate it into your itinerary.
- Mawryngkhang Trek – a trek made of bamboo along daring cliffs. This trek is less challenging than the Tyrna Village trek but equally rewarding. It takes about 3 hours to complete the trek and return to the starting point. As it is about 1,5 hours’ drive from Cherrapunji, it is best to include this trek in your onward journey.
- Bangladesh Views – from many of the cliffs in south Meghalaya, you have an excellent view of the Bangladeshi flatlands, which stretch down below.
Enjoy the stunning beauty of Meghalaya, which might have won the spot as my personal favourite place in In
Since I believe that pictures don’t do justice to Meghalaya’s beauty, I added a few videos down below, don’t miss them!
Watch some videos of Meghalaya here: