Meghalaya · 6 Days
Meghalaya — Living Root Bridges Trek
A walking trip for the root bridges — the Nongriat double-decker and Rainbow Falls, with recovery days for the falls, caves and the plateau.
Day by Day
6 Days, In Full
Meghalaya for walkers who came for the root bridges. The centre of the trip is the Nongriat trek, down about three thousand five hundred steps to the double-decker bridge and on to Rainbow Falls. Around it are lighter days: the Riwai and Mawlynnong bridges, the Seven Sisters and Nohkalikai, Mawsmai Cave, and slow time on the canyon rim to let the legs recover. Four nights in Cherrapunji keeps the driving down. It is not a technical trek, but the daily stair-climbing is real work, and a reasonable level of fitness matters.
Shillong
Arrive in Shillong via Umiam Lake
The drive up from Guwahati airport takes about three hours, climbing out of the Assam plains into pine hills. The road runs along Umiam Lake, and there is a viewpoint to stop at for the first real look at Meghalaya. You reach Shillong in the afternoon. The rest of the day is easy: Ward's Lake, the cafes around Police Bazar, or just a rest after the flight. The evenings here are cool all year.
Shillong → Cherrapunji
Shillong to Cherrapunji via the Mawkdok Canyon
The road south to Sohra runs across a high, open plateau that gets barer and windier as you go. The Mawkdok Dympep viewpoint, about halfway, looks down a deep V-shaped gorge and has a zipline for anyone who wants it. You reach Cherrapunji by early afternoon. Nohkalikai Falls, India's tallest plunge waterfall, is the first stop: a short walk to a viewpoint over a three-hundred-and-forty-metre drop into a blue-green pool. Check in on the canyon rim for the evening.
Cherrapunji
The Double-Decker Root Bridge Trek at Nongriat
The big walk of the trip, and a hard one. From Tyrna village a stone staircase of about three thousand five hundred steps drops into the gorge, over two long steel footbridges, to the hamlet of Nongriat and its double-decker living root bridge, two woven spans stacked over the same stream. Strong walkers carry on to Rainbow Falls and its blue pool. The climb back out is the real effort. Start at first light, carry water, take a guide, and keep the rest of the day clear.
Cherrapunji
A Slow Day on the Sohra Plateau
A day with nothing fixed in it. The plateau around Cherrapunji is made for slow looking: canyon-edge decks, short walks to viewpoints, the Eco Park, and the light moving on and off the cliffs as the cloud comes and goes. You might visit the Cherrapunjee Holy Cross church, walk part of the way toward a root bridge without doing the full trek, or simply sit with the view and a pot of tea. It is the day that lets the rest of the trip settle.
Cherrapunji
Cherrapunji — the Waterfalls and the Caves
Cherrapunji is one of the wettest places on earth, and the landscape is all water and limestone. The Seven Sisters Falls pour off the cliffs near Mawsmai, best after rain. Mawsmai Cave is a short lit walk through the rock, past flowstone and narrow squeezes, with the longer Arwah cave nearby for anyone who wants more. The day can also take in the Nohsngithiang viewpoint, the Eco Park on the plateau edge, and Thangkharang Park, where on a clear day you can see into Bangladesh.
Shillong
Depart Shillong for Guwahati
A last morning in the hills before the drive down to Guwahati airport, about three hours. If the flight is later, there is time for a final stop at Umiam Lake, a coffee in Laitumkhrah, or the shops of Police Bazar for Khasi weave and orange-blossom honey. The road loses height quickly, and the air warms as the plains come back into view.
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Priced Packages On This Route
This route is already built into these packages — real inclusions and pricing on each one's own page.
luxury · 5 Nights
Living Root Bridges Trek — Luxury
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
premium · 5 Nights
Living Root Bridges Trek — Premium
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
luxury · 5 Nights
Meghalaya Adventure & Caving — Luxury
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
premium · 5 Nights
Meghalaya Adventure & Caving — Premium
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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