Day 1: Arrival and drive to Shillong
Arrive at Guwahati airport or railway station as per scheduled time and drive down to Shillong. Check in to your hotel. Relax, or explore the city if there's time
- Shillong
Arrive at Guwahati airport or railway station as per scheduled time and drive down to Shillong. Check in to your hotel. Relax, or explore the city if there's time
No time to waste. The adventure starts today. First, you will be taken to Mawrynkhang Trek, also known as the Bamboo Trek. This is at a distance of 1 hour from Shillong, and the trek will probably take you 4—5 hours to complete as per your speed. No need to hurry though. You can do this at your own pace and enjoy the amazing views and slightly adrenaline—pumping experiences this trail has to offer. And don't worry, the bamboo paths are strong and stable and you won't fall too. After this breathtaking experience, you'll surely need some late lunch to recharge yourselves, and then, you will be taken to the accommodation in Cherrapunjee.
Even more amazing adventures waiting for you today. We start with a caving adventure to Mawmluh caves. Once at the location, you'll get briefed on the amazing adventure lying ahead. Mawmluh caves is a 7 km cave network, out of which 4 km is open for public exploration. You will be given caving suits, gumboots and helmets, along with mounted flashlights. This activity is not recommended for people who have claustrophobia. Inside the cave, you will be exploring different terrains with your guides, some crawling, a lot of walking, wading through water, and you might even be able to see fishes without eyes because there is no light in the cave. Once you are done with the caving adventure, you can head to Wei Saw dong falls, which is a beautiful tiered waterfall. While swimming in the pools is prohibited, you can still explore the shallow parts of the waterfalls, and climb up to the next level of the waterfall too. Spend enough time here refreshing and enjoying this place to your heart's content, and then you will be taken to the accommodation in Cherrapunjee.
You are in the Northeast so the sun comes up early and it is preferable to start the day early. Post breakfast, you will start on the drive to Mawlynnong, which is the cleanest village in Asia. There, you will visit the village, and then the Nohwet Root bridge. Post this, you will be taken to Shnongpdeng. The day's drive will be through some of the most beautiful roads you'll see. Once in Shnongpdeng, you can check in to your camp, and either enjoy the view from the bridge, or just chill out at the camp, or even sit by the river drenching your feet with the flowing water. Enjoy campfire and dinner at night and a little bit of stargazing too.
Why leave beautiful places in a hurry? Today would be to do a short trek upstream, to an area with pools, where you can enjoy swimming in the clean blue waters. Post this, you will be taken to the camp for lunch, and post that, you can head back into the river and do adventure activities like cliff jumping and zip—lining, or rent a kayak from there and enjoy kayaking. You could also take some time out for yourself by the river. Overnight at the camp.
Start early after breakfast and head to Krang Suri Falls first. You surely would have seen this waterfall in pics and now is the time to experience its beauty. Relatively easier to access when compared to rest of the waterfalls in Meghalaya, you get a good view of it when you start the 15 minute walk to the waterfall. Enjoy the waterfall and click enough pics, and then you head to the last waterfall in the itinerary Phe Phe falls. Phe Phe falls is a two—tier waterfall. Phe Phe is a Jaintia word that translates to Paradise. You will need to trek down a little to the base of the waterfall, where you will get an amazing view of this majesic falls. Spend enough time here, and trek back up, and you can resume the drive to Shillong. If you have daylight left, you can visit the Monolith park and 400 years old Durga temple in Nartiang which is at a diversion of 50 minutes from your travel route. Reach Shillong and take adequate rest.
After breakfast, you will be taken to Laitlum Canyons, also known as the Grand Canyon of India. Once here, you can enjoy the beauty of this place and take pictures to your heart's content. Post this, you embark on the drive to Mawphlang Sacred Forests. Here, you will set off on the 1—hour trek inside the forest, where your guide will explain the rituals followed by the locals, details about the prayers and sacrifices, their customs and the signs they look out for to see whether the gods have accepted their prayers, and more such details. There are over 100 sacred forests like these in Meghalayo. This one lets you learn about, and experience those. After this, you will be taken back to Shillong city. You can explore more cafes here, do shopping, and retire to your hotel for the night.
Start the drive to Guwahati as per flight timings. If time permits, visit the Umiam Lake viewpoint. You would prefer staying back in Meghalaya but please do get on the flight cherishing the memories made in these beautiful places, and promising that you will be back soon for more of these beautiful moments