Meghalaya- The Abode of clouds

The lush green Khasi and Garo hills, dotted with beautiful waterfalls, charming and friendy people, simple yet delicious food never fail to make a place in your heart. There are several tribes in this part of the country( Garo, Khasi, Jaintia, Hajong etc.). These tribes add a lot of colour to our beautiful country with their costume, music, festivals. The weather here is very pleasant with heavy rainfall throughout the year. The country shares its border with Bangladesh. Whenever it comes to such places, I do make a point to not miss the experience of sitting in a cafe, hear the droplets of rains fall over the roof, have garama garam chai and pakoras and talk about life.

Shillong, the capital ltown of Meghalaya is quite laidback and cosy, just the way i like towns to be. It has some lovely cafes to hangout. The Ward's lake and the Elephant falls are two important landmarks of the city. The Ward's lake is its full glory in the autumn season, when the orchids are in full bloom. You can have the view of the entire town from top of the Laitkor hill top, popularly called as the Shillong view point. There are many churches in the state mostly constructed during the British times.

Mawlyngong a few kilometres away from Shillong is supposedly the cleanest village in Asia. The village has a lot of structures made out of bamboo shoots and it indeed is neat and tidy. Nearby, in the village of Rizwei you can locate the single decker living root bridge. The way this bridge has been built is mindboggling to say the least. Around the nearby villages, you can find little kids playing and enjoying themselves like freebirds outdoors, which has become a very rare sight in towns and cities now a days. You can always feast in local restaurants in these villages, which serve simple yet delicious food. You can also feast on local cuisine like Jadoh, Ki Kpu, Tung-rymbai. One peculiar speciality about Meghalayan cuisine is the extensive utilization of bamboo shoots.

Nongriat is a village in the East Khasi Hills, which is famous for its living root bridges, which have been amazingly carved out by the villagers. These bridges are indeed natural marvels stronger than the concrete bridges. To reach this village though, its a few hours of a beautiful trek from Cherapunjee. There are quite a few treking trails in the state, which are interspread with landscapes, which one can only adore. Cherapunjee famous for its heavy rainfall is more like a village within a waterfall. Seven sisters falls are the most famous. Though, it is best recommended to visit Cherapunjee in September-October. Sandstone caves are in abundance in Meghalaya, due to heavy rainfall and its topography.

The Bangladesh border village of Dawki is a must visit place. Its the river Dawki which flows in the region gives the village its name. The water of the river is crystal clear and the boat ride there is a mystic journey in wonderland. It is recommended to visit this beauty early morning to actually soak into the beauty of this place.

Meghalaya is a jewel in the hinterland , which adds lots of colours to our beautiful country, which one can never explore in lifetime.