Meghalaya Travel Guide: Places to Visit, Living Root Bridges and Cherrapunji

Meghalaya's three hill regions are home to the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo peoples, and most routes run through the Khasi Hills, with Shillong as the base. The sights below follow that order: Shillong and its day trips, Sohra and the root bridges, the border villages and the river at Dawki, then the Jaintia and Garo hills.

Shillong

Meghalaya Tourism says the British founded Shillong in the second half of the 19th century, and that it has had a cosmopolitan core ever since, which shows in its festivals and its food. The Don Bosco Museum is a good first stop: seven levels and 17 themed galleries on the lives and traditions of north-east India's indigenous peoples, with rare photographs and a skywalk terrace. Shillong is also the usual base, because the road to most Khasi Hills sights starts here.

Shillong Peak and Laitlum Canyons

Shillong Peak, about 10 km south of the city, is the highest point in Meghalaya at roughly 1,965 m, and sacred to the Khasi people. Its viewpoint is inside an Indian Air Force radar station, so Meghalaya Tourism says visitors must show valid photo ID and hand over cameras at the gate. Laitlum Canyons, about 25 km from Shillong, give wide views of deep valleys and cliffs; there are no direct buses, so hire a taxi or book a day tour. Meghalaya Tourism gives September or October to March for the peak and October to May for Laitlum.

Umiam Lake and Elephant Falls

Umiam Lake, 15 km from Shillong on the Guwahati route, is a reservoir formed when the Umiam River was dammed in the early 1960s, with boating and water sports. Elephant Falls, about 12 km from the city, drops over three levels, and railed walkways run from the top to the pool at the bottom. Meghalaya Tourism gives June to September as the best months for the falls, when the monsoon swells them.

Mawphlang Sacred Grove

About 25 km south-west of Shillong, the sacred grove is one of the best known of the Khasi forests called law kyntang. Visitors may take nothing from it, not even a pebble or a twig. Meghalaya Tourism says the forest is guarded, in Khasi belief, by spirits, and advises a local guide. The Mawphlang Heritage Museum, with Khasi huts and tools, stands at the grove's edge, and the David Scott Trail starts here. October to April is the best period.

Sohra (Cherrapunji)

Sohra is about 55 km from Shillong, and Meghalaya Tourism calls it the "Land of Oranges" as well as a waterfall country. Nohkalikai Falls, which it calls India's tallest plunge waterfall, drops more than 340 m into a green pool. Nohsngithiang, the Seven Sisters Falls, falls more than 300 m in seven streams and glows at sunset. For caves, Mawsmai needs no caving experience, while Mawmluh, 58 km from Shillong, is a longer trip: Meghalaya Tourism says the drive takes 2.5 to 3 hours.

Nongriat and the Double Decker Root Bridge

The living root bridges are made by guiding the roots of the rubber fig, Ficus elastica, across streams over generations, and Nongriat's double-decker bridge is the most famous. From Cherrapunji, a taxi runs to Tyrna village in 30 to 45 minutes, and from there the path drops by roughly 3,000 to 3,500 stone steps, which you climb again on the way back. Rainbow Falls is another hour beyond. Meghalaya Tourism advises a local guide, and gives October to March as the best trekking months.

Mawlynnong

About 75 km from Shillong, close to the Bangladesh border, Mawlynnong is known for its cleanliness; Meghalaya Tourism says Discover India named it the cleanest village in Asia in 2003. Its single-decker root bridge is a short walk from the village. There is also a bamboo viewing tower with views over the Bangladesh plains, and a church more than a century old. The village is reached by shared taxi to Pynursla and then a local vehicle.

Dawki and Shnongpdeng

Dawki is a border town on the Umngot River, about 80 km from Shillong along NH206, known for the clear water that reflects the sky. Meghalaya Tourism lists boat rides at Dawki, a suspension bridge over the river, and kayaking, snorkelling, cliff-jumping and zip-lining at nearby Shnongpdeng. It gives visiting hours as 6 am to 6 pm, and October to May as the best months. Dawki is near the border, and Meghalaya Tourism asks all visitors to carry government-issued ID.

Mawsynram and Krem Puri

Mawsynram, 61 km from Shillong, is the village Meghalaya Tourism calls the world's wettest place. It has Krem Puri, which the same source calls the world's longest sandstone cave, along with Mawjymbuin cave, Split Rock and the fossil-rich Mawlyngbna area. Caving and fossil hikes there need local guides and proper equipment. The Twahlongwar Open Air Museum conserves an 18th-century settlement with monoliths and burial sites. Homestays and community lodges serve visitors.

Kongthong, the whistling village

About 55 to 60 km from Shillong, Kongthong is the "whistling village": each resident is known by a tune composed by their mother, a tradition called Jingrwai Iawbei that passes from generation to generation. It is reached by road via NH206, with a short walk from the roadside to the village. Meghalaya Tourism lists local storytelling, folk music and trails to root bridges, and gives October to April as the best months.

The Jaintia Hills

Meghalaya Tourism lists the Nartiang monoliths, the two-tiered Phe Phe Falls, Krangshuri Falls, where a river drops over a cave, and Larnai black pottery, made and sold by women. Dawki lies in the same hills, about 55 km from Jowai, the region's main town. These places suit travellers who have time to go beyond the standard Shillong and Sohra loop.

The Garo Hills

The Garo Hills, in the west of the state, have Tura as their cultural centre and the starting point for Nokrek National Park, which Meghalaya Tourism lists with hoolock gibbons and Asiatic elephants and describes as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. It also lists Siju Cave and its bird sanctuary, with hornbills and peacock pheasants, and Balpakram. Tura celebrates Wangala, the Festival of a Hundred Drums. The region needs its own days, and Meghalaya Tourism's pages give no travel times to it, so check before you plan.

Meghalaya Tourism says the state can be visited all year. March and April are spring, with sunny days and some showers; the monsoon runs from about May or June to September; October and November are post-monsoon, with clearing skies and harvest festivals; and November to February is the driest and sunniest season, when trekking and caving are easiest and some highlands see frost. It adds that the weather is unpredictable at any time, so carry a light jacket.

IMD's 1981–2010 normals for Shillong give a January range of 6°C to 15°C and July's 18°C to 24°C, with about 2,250 mm of rain a year. At Cherrapunji the same record gives about 11,857 mm a year, with June at 2,590 mm and July at 3,093 mm, against 18 mm in January. Waterfalls peak from June to September; root bridges, Dawki, Mawphlang and Laitlum are better from October. Our guide to travelling in India in the monsoon covers the wider picture.

• By air: the main gateway is Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, in Assam, about 100 km (three hours) from Shillong. Shillong Airport at Umroi is 35 km from the city centre but has limited flights. See our domestic flights guide for flying within India.
• By rail: Guwahati is the nearest railhead, and Meghalaya Tourism says there is no direct rail link into the state. Taxis, shared cabs and buses run on to Shillong.
• By road: National Highway 40 connects Guwahati and Shillong. Meghalaya Tourism says entry points observe standard protocols, so carry government-issued ID.

Dawki is 208 km from Guwahati's airport by Meghalaya Tourism's reckoning, and Mawsynram is 162 km, so allow generous transfer time on a departure day. Our Assam travel guide and Kaziranga travel guide cover the other side of the Guwahati gateway.