India Meghalaya North east Travel

A quick trip to Shillong and Cherrapunjee

Known as Scotland of the east, Shillong is one of the most beautiful and happening hill-stations in north-east India.

I had crossed Shillong many times on my way home to Silchar (A glimpse of north-east India) but had never got a chance to actually visit this beautiful hill-station.

The Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians
The Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians

However, that changed sometime back when I finally managed to do a quick trip to the capital of the land of clouds, Meghalaya.

shillong peak
Shillong city as seen from the Shillong peak

As this was a quick trip, I could not visit all the places in Shillong I would have to loved to but then again, we always need a reason to re-visit a beautiful place, don’t we? 😉

Elephant falls Shillong
Elephant falls -Shillong

The main plan this time was to visit Cherrapunjee and leave Shillong for the next time.

Ward's Lake Shillong
The Ward’s Lake

After an overnight stay in Shillong but away from the hustling & bustling city-center, as we drove to the wettest place on earth, Cherrapunjee, the views got better and better with every turn.

Cherrapunjee meghalaya board
Cherrapunjee not far

Winding roads with green pine trees on both the sides, big cottages with even larger and greener lawns, built in classic British style every few kilometers and frequent army installations kept us company as we moved towards Sohra (local name for Cherrapunjee).

on the way to Cherrapunjee
The ‘V’-valley

There were two not-so-good things about this trip. One, I somehow forgot to take my camera’s tripod with me (photos in this post are from my Samsung Galaxy Grand or hand-held from the camera) and two, it was not the season when I could see the waterfalls in all their glory.

shillong nohkalikai falls image
The tallest plunge waterfall in India – Nohkalikai Falls

The waterfalls were all dried-up but the weather was amazing which actually made-up for the dried-up falls.

Sweet Falls
Somewhere near Sweet Falls

The Mawsmai caves are one of the main attractions in Cherrapunjee and we made sure we don’t miss it. The cave turned out to be much bigger that what I had expected.

Inside Mawsmai Caves
Inside Mawsmai Caves

Formed naturally over a period spanning thousands of years, these caves are nothing less than a natural wonder. The entry to the caves is small but once inside, it is way bigger than most of us would imagine.

Mawsmai Caves
Mawsmai Caves

There are areas inside the cave where you actually need to squeeze yourself between limestone formations hanging from top in order to proceed ahead, which actually makes it pretty interesting.

On our way back from Cherrapunjee, the setting sun made the surroundings look even more magical.

architecture sohra shillong
Age-old architecture
A beautiful sunset shillong
A beautiful sunset

13 thoughts on “A quick trip to Shillong and Cherrapunjee”

  1. The water fall picture is amazing. I am sure you would have made a magical frame, if you had the tripod. This place looks really beautiful. Scotland of the East!

    1. Thanks Jatin. This part of the country is beautiful, do make plans for visiting the beautiful north-east. I can suggest and help you with the planning.

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