Mawlynnong - Cleanest Village of Asia | Things You Need To Know - Voyage with Vrinda

This is the fifth post of my Meghalaya series, in which I visited the cleanest village in Asia - Mawlynnong. If you ever decide to visit Meghalaya, then do keep Mawlynnong village in your list. 

About Mawlynnong

Mawlynlong's picturesque beauty is captivating in both reel and real. This charming village, located in northeastern India, is often referred to as " God's own Garden". It will be a memorable place. In 2003, the village was named Asia's cleanest village.

Mawlynnong village is around 90 KM away from the capital city of Meghalaya - Shillong, and you can reach there via a cab.

It also lies along the India-Bangladesh border and you will see both the time zones in your phone.

My brother went to Mawlynnong village a year before I did and he was all praises about it. He said it felt like being in the world of Sesame Street, in the sense that everything felt so unreal and artificially made; but it was not. 

The leaves of the plants are so unnaturally green and petals of the flowers are so bright in color, that it feels like as if someone has made them through plastic. You could also see cute little bamboo dustbins placed at regular intervals to dump your dry waste.

You know how you see pictures of a place on social media and create some image of it in your mind and when you actually reach to that place, you think - "hmm! it looked so much better in the pictures? " Well, with Mawlynnong, it's completely opposite!

Society & Culture

The village's main attractions are not only tourism but also the literacy rate and empowerment of women. Women supervise most of the important tasks.

People of Mawlynnong follow Matrilineality, which is also the tradition of Khasi people. A Matrilineal society is the one in which kinship is traced through the female line.

Or basically, the wealth and property of a household are passed from the mother to the youngest daughters. Also, there is a literacy rate of almost 93% in the village of Mawlynnong.

People of Mawlynnong follow a strict routine to maintain the standards of cleanliness

Rules

Now it's not easy to earn the title of the cleanest village of Asia and that too twice!! You have got to follow some discipline - both in your lifestyle and your behaviour. So, it's not a surprise that -

- Plastic bags and smoking are strictly prohibited in Mawlynnong. 

 - Each and every household has functional toilets. 

 - People follow strict norms and adhere to a time table to ensure the timely and regular cleanliness throughout the village.

How to reach Mawlynnong?

You can book a private cab from Shillong or Cherrapunji to reach Mawlynnong village. From Cherrapunji, it will take you 2 to 3 hours to reach Mawlynnong. If you are not in Meghalaya, then Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (Guwahati) is the nearest airport.

Where to stay in Mawlynnong?

There are not many places that offer good accommodations for tourists. It is unlikely that you will find star hotel amenities here. But, the natural appeal of the location will make up the difference.

We did not do any prior bookings for our stay and honestly you don't even need to.

But if you try to find homestays in Mawlynnong, then you will find a lot of homestays there as almost every third household has opened their own homestay for the tourists. So, you won't find any hotels or resorts and that's why you can't even book anything prior to your visit. Also, don't expect any luxurious or lavish stay but you can surely expect the simplicity and rustic feels of a village.

Places to visit in and around Mawlynnong

Visit voyage with vrinda to read more about the must visit places around Mawlynnong.