Before I come up with my next post on Chicago in continuation to the previous one In and around Chicago in pictures, let me show you a glimpse of the greenery of North-east India. Something similar to my last post The Silchar to Lumding train line.
During the good old times when I was a student, I did not have the luxury of flying to Guwahati from my hometown Silchar whenever I wanted to or had to.
With a very slow train that took more than a day and half to reach Guwahati from Silchar as an alternative to flying, the only feasible option was the (actually it still is, until the BG becomes operational) overnight bus service which took ~12 hours to make this journey.
The reason behind this journey taking much less time than the train route was, unlike the longer train route which passes through the hills of North Cachar (Dima Hasao now), the buses take the shorter route through the National Highway 44 which snakes through the beautiful hills of Meghalaya.
Almost 75 percent of this road lies in the hill state of Meghalaya. From the Silchar side, only the initial 40 kilometers or so, with green tea plantations on both sides of the road, is in Assam.
Same is the case on the other side as well. The road enters Assam just ~35 kilometers before Guwahati at the border town of Jorabat. Rest of the route is in Meghalaya, passing through small and big towns and cities like Umling, Umkiang, Jowai and the capital city of Shillong, etc.
This route is one of the many picturesque ones in the north-east. And even with all the landslides and traffic jams during the monsoon season, to me, this route is amazing when done during the monsoons.
PS.- Please excuse the quality of the photos as these are almost a decade old when I barely knew how to hold a camera.
I liked the pictures you have displayed here. Now, I have to make a trip to these places. We had been to Munnar and stayed at a tea estate. It was drizzling at that time and looked beautiful. Loved the place. We should love this too! Thank you!
Thanks Sandhya!
Glad to know that you liked it 🙂
I can tell you very confidently that the North-East is an entirely charm altogether. More so, the state of Meghalaya.
It will totally be worth the journey as and when you plan to do it.
*Post on Shillong and Cherrapunjee coming soon 🙂 .
Cheers!
Rajiv
One correction: That is not the Malidor Bridge. It is the Lubha bridge at Sonapur, Meghalaya.
Thanks Homagni, for pointing out the mistake. Correcting it now.
Nice write up. The pictures of the misty hills are beautiful.
Thank you. Meghalaya IS beautiful. 🙂
What a pleasant and beautiful ride! Great photos, Rajiv!
Thanks, glad that you liked it!
North East India is a different kind of beauty waiting to be explored!
What a beautiful ride. A road trip with a view! I want to visit the abode of clouds!
Though not the best time but plan a visit during the monsoons to experience the magical beauty!
So beautiful! Makes me crave for a trip to the North-East.
Thanks Ankita, really glad that you like it. Why not plan a trip right after the monsoons? Everything will be wonderfully green and lively 😉
Cheers,
Rajiv
The greens of Meghalaya and the wisps of floating clouds everywhere! Just the way I remember it.
Nice post Rajiv 🙂
Absolutely Vaisakhi, NE is synonymous to refreshingly green.
Cheers,
Rajiv
I had a memory of travelling by train from Silchar to Guwahati. What a lovely scenery this route had? Now that the new train route, I was told, is different than the older one, I would love to have a look and read review of this new route. Why don’t you do it again, Rajiv?
It was indeed a brilliant route dada. Thankfully, even though the new route doesn’t have even half the number of tunnels and bridges the route still is brilliantly beautiful.
I am planning to move back to the north east soon dada. Once I have, I will share more about this part of the county 🙂