Prologue - This was my first trip to the North East, so I have been a little more indulgent in my review—especially since there are not too many detailed ones around (Yes it has 2 parts!). I have shared only thumbnails and brief notes on the places we visited; for more photos and details, click on the links for detailed google reviews.
Day 0 – Travel Day: Bangalore → Guwahati (IndiGo) → Shillong (~3.25 hours by car)
Our flight was delayed by two hours due to technical reasons. We were deboarded from our original plane and had to make our way through domestic transfer to a new aircraft. Our travel guide, Badal, picked us up at Guwahati Airport around 2 pm.
It was a sombre day. The entire city was closed, paying respects and singing eulogies for their favourite son, Zubeen Garg, who had passed away earlier that morning.
Food options appeared only once we crossed into the Meghalaya border. We stopped at Sardarji Dhaba—the food was decent to good, service was very average (the place was packed, given it was a late Saturday afternoon). The drive that followed was refreshing: lovely cool weather, sunset skies (it gets dark by 5 here), and rolling traffic as we skipped Umiam Lake and headed straight into Shillong. We checked into Vivanta Shillong by about 6:30 pm.
Day 1 - Shillong - Laitlum Canyon, Shillong Peak, Mawphlang Sacred Forest , Elephant Falls - Shillong (Approx 5 hours)
Restful night, the morning sun jolting you awake at 5:45 am. After a heavy breakfast, we started at 9 am - drove for about 45 mins to reach Laitlum Canyon. A gorgeous viewpoint with grassy knolls and mist in the air—justifying its “Scotland-ish” tag. Great spot for photos and reels (and yes, plenty of those were happening around us!).
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| The Mist and Grassy Knolls |
Next, we drove to Shillong Peak (Laitkor Viewpoint), which sits inside an Air Force cantonment. Access is restricted—you need to switch to village taxis (₹200 return) that are the only vehicles allowed in. Unfortunately, mist and drizzle blocked any real views, but we still enjoyed the clean, crisp air and clicked pictures in the woods.
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| Shillong Peak - All Mist and no view! :) |
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| Made the best of the misty weather |
The highlight of the day, though, was the Mawphlang Sacred Forest. Protected for centuries by the Khasi tribes, entry is allowed only with a guide and nothing can be taken out from the forest. It was a fascinating experience—dense woods, thunder rumbling in the background, and captivating stories from our guide. Saw my first Rudraksha tree here and the first of many sacred stone formations (menhirs) that we would later notice across villages. Traditionally, three upright stones represent the male form, and a single horizontal stone represents the female.
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| The Traditional Stones/Menhirs |
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| The Rudraksha seed |
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| Driving towards Elephant Falls - The Bhut Jolokia on the right |
On our way to Elephant Falls, we spotted some fiery Bhut Jolokia (ghost peppers) being sold roadside. By this point, our heavy breakfast was still holding us over, so we did not bother with lunch (something we often end up doing on travel days).
Elephant Falls itself was not particularly spectacular—more like the commercial North-Eastern cousin of Coorg’s Abbey Falls. By then it was raining steadily. We pulled on our ponchos and made our way down the steps, only for the rain to stop immediately! Ironically, that was the only time we wore them on the entire trip.
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| Poncho Villa |
Day 2 - Shillong - West Jaintia Hills, Krang Suri Falls, Nartiang Monoliths, Nartiang Durga Temple - Shillong (approx 9 hours)
Getting Out of Shillong
Monday morning started at 9 am—right in the middle of peak traffic. Shillong, being a major city, has plenty of incoming and outgoing movement. It was organized chaos, and just snaking out of the city limits took nearly an hour (a lesson for the rest of the trip!). The silver lining: no one attempted those infamous “3rd/4th/5th lanes” that block oncoming traffic. People followed the rules, and the traffic wardens kept things moving.
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| Traffic - Organized Chaos |
As we headed towards Jowai, the weather turned beautiful once again: cloudy, cool, and perfect for a road trip. Great conversations with Badal made the drive breezy as we made our way to the first trek of the day—Krang Suri Falls.
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| Clouds, Hills and the lovely Road |
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| Heading into the West Jaintia Hills |
It is about 350 steps down to the falls, and what a reward at the bottom! A gorgeous cascade pouring into a turquoise pool of fresh, cool water. Plenty of tourists were already swimming (life jackets are mandatory, ₹100 to rent), but we had not carried a change of clothes—nor were we planning a dip in this season. The falls remind you of the Erawan falls in Thailand. Standing right in front of it was magical—though I could not help wishing for a quieter moment, just the roar of the water and the mist on my face, without all the human chatter.
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| Krang Suri Falls |
Short video from the Base of Krang Suri
Next up was something my wife had been curious about ever since planning this trip—the Nartiang Monoliths. This site is essentially a park/garden filled with countless monolithic stones and menhirs, erected by the Jaintia kings nearly 700 years ago.
The drive to get there was long, with some patchy stretches of road under construction. But once we arrived, the atmosphere was striking—almost eerie in its majesty. The place is a protected site, though it could do with much better upkeep. Villagers were eating their lunch, while allowing their cattle to graze With some care, this could easily be India’s own Stonehenge!
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| Obelix would love this place (Menhirs!!) |
Not far from the monoliths came the most unplanned surprise of the day—the Nartiang Jayanti Devi Temple, a Shakti Peeth. Hardly anything is written or known about it, and I actually had to double-check its significance once I got back to the hotel.
This 600-year-old temple is dedicated to Jayanti Devi (after whom the Jaintia hills and tribe are named). The temple was quiet, with only the Bengali priest and his spouse looking after it. Hopefully it finds more recognition and patronage in the years to come.
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| Paddy / Step farming |
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| More cloudy skies and grassy knolls - Scotland anyone? |
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| A Sports center in the village |
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| Spider hanging in the air - is he? |
Along the way we passed paddy fields, stepped farming terraces, breezy skies, and even spotted a spider suspended mid-air. Quirky little sights that make road trips so memorable.
Lunch never really happened—we just survived on chai, biscuits, and rusks along the way. By the time we rolled back into Shillong at 6 pm, it had been an 8-hour day: lots of time on the road, with relatively little “out of the car” exploring.
Tip: In hindsight (as Badal suggested), this circuit would have made much more sense on the way back from Dawki to Shillong, since we had essentially driven 70% of the Dawki route and then backtracked. Day 2 could instead have been better spent sightseeing in Shillong itself (a couple of museums, the man-made lakes, some parks, etc.). But then again, we wanted to go beyond the beaten routes—and this detour gave us exactly that.
Day 3 - Shillong --> Dympep Valley Point , Garden of Caves, Wah Kaba falls, Arwah Cave, Nohkalikai Falls, Mawsmai Cave, Seven Sister Falls ---> Cherrapunji (9 hours)
Having learnt from our Day 2 experience, we started earlier—around 7:45 am—to make sure we covered all our stops before reaching our hotel in Cherrapunji. Breakfast done, bags packed, and off we went.
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| Dympep Valley Point |
The drive towards Sohra (the local name for Cherrapunji) was smooth and pleasant. Because we had started early, we made it out of Shillong quickly and stopped first at Dympep Valley Point, a picturesque outtake with sweeping views. A nice warm-up before the bigger sites of the day.
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| Garden of Caves |
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| Another Cascade at the Garden of Caves |
Next was the Garden of Caves, a site developed with man-made walkways and bridges around a natural ecosystem of caves, waterfalls, rivulets, and bamboo groves. It’s essentially “all things Meghalaya” packed into one place. The steady hike, cascading falls, and misty air reminded me of Watkins Glen State Park in upstate New York. You could easily spend 2–3 hours here clicking pictures and lose all track of time.
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| A Foetus shaped recess in a small cave |
Our first waterfall of the day was Wah Kaba Falls. We arrived early, before crowds, which made the misty descent down the steps feel mysterious—like not knowing what’s around the next bend. We managed to catch a clear view of the falls before the mist swept back in. The breeze ensured a light spray as we stood admiring it. Though the staircase had more steps than Krang Suri, the walk felt easier.
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| Wah Kahba Falls |
Wah Kah ba!
Arwah Cave was not part of our original plan, but thanks to our early start, we squeezed it in. At first, we relied only on our phone flashlights in the pitch darkness (amusingly, light bulbs were hanging but not working). We managed some photos until claustrophobia kicked in—and just then, the generators roared and the lights came on!
Unlike limestone-heavy caves, Arwah is more about fossils embedded in the walls. The walk was surprisingly straightforward—less crouching, more straight paths—though still tight enough to keep you on your toes. It was a good experience overall and gave us some memorable “explorer shots.”
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| Explorers |
By 11:30 am we had already seen three places—such a contrast to the sluggish Day 2! Energized, we headed to the iconic Nohkalikai Falls. When we arrived, the entire viewpoint was blanketed in fog. We could hear the roar but see nothing.
So we waited it out—Maggi, chai, and conversations with locals selling handicrafts, cinnamon, turmeric, and souvenirs. About 40 minutes later, the sun broke through just enough for the fog to lift. And there it was: the veil of water plunging into a turquoise pool below. Pure grace.
Hear me, See me?
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| Nohkalikai |
Seven Sister Falls
A quick stop at the Seven Sisters Falls viewpoint gave us a fleeting glimpse before mist rolled back in. Then it was on to Mawsmai Cave, one of the most popular caves in the region and much more “properly developed” than Arwah. A short walk from the parking, the cave greeted us with water trickling alongside and surreal limestone formations.
Very soon, the fun began—squeezing into crevices, crouching low, holding my breath through narrow passages. Most points, I was standing upright only about 60% of the time! Claustrophobia flirted at the edges, but since the cave is well lit, it felt manageable. Completing the loop rewarded us with some stunning photos. For a moment, it felt straight out of the movie The Descent.
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| Limestone Formations |
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| Freedom! |
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| Up and Away!! |
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| Seven Sisters Fall |
By 2:45 pm, we had checked off everything we had planned (plus Arwah as a bonus!). Maggi, chana, and chai had kept us fuelled all day. We drove the final 20 km to our stay—Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort—just in time for a spectacular sunset, pakoras, sandwiches, and more chai.
Evening conversations with Mr. Rayen, the resort’s owner, were the cherry on top. Originally from Madurai, he has been living here for the past 29 years—living proof that life can take you in directions you never expect.
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| Panorama - To the left is the plains of Sylhet (Bangladesh) and the East Khasi Hills on the right. |
That is it for Part 1 - Follow here for more - PART 2 is here.
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