Meghalaya-Why You Should Be In The Driver's Seat

Meghalaya, home of the wettest place in Earth, has amazed us for decades now. Each year, thousands, if not lakhs of tourists rush to visit this "out of the world" part of India. But what if we do the things a little differently this time. What if we make no plan this time? Only except....... getting a good car that "YOU" are going to drive on the curves of this beautiful state. Sounds tough? Not at all. Self driving in Meghalaya is gaining popularity among the outer state travellers also these days. Guwahati has quite a few self drive car rental agencies now from where you can rent a car and enjoy the ride.

Seven Sisters Waterfall at Cherrapunjee. The streams are almost invisible though in Winter season.

Three Good Reasons of Self Driving In Meghalaya:

1. Road condition in Meghalaya is surprisingly good:

The first thing that comes to our mind while discussing about road trip in Hilly Regions is difficulty of driving. Driving in hilly road has always been a tough challenge for plain landers. The convention is to leave the driving to the reliable hands of hill drivers. It's logical and practical also if you are going to Shimla, Ladkah, Sikkim, Darjeeling, but not applicable when it comes to Meghalaya. Most of the stretches of Meghalaya has fairly wide roads with moderate slope. The tricky portions of the road are also manageable easily if the driver is careful. However, night time driving should be avoided. This can be achieved by a simple scheduling of the visiting places.

The road to Mawsmai Cave in Cherrapunjee

2. Internet is available throughout the journey and Google Map is accurate for all the locations:

Unlike all other hill regions, you can get network and high speed internet in all stretches of road. Blind spots are almost zero. I had Airtel and I got 4G+ at every corners of the road. Same was the case for my wife's Jio and father's Vodafone. The second best thing is road direction to almost every location was absolutely correct. We had some problems in Shillong and Cherrapunjee. But that, I Believe, is a result of over reliance on maps. With maps and a little bit of asking here and there you can go to little Johnny's doorstep and say "Khublei"!!!

3. For the love of driving:

If you are an enthusiast driver who dreams about driving his/her 4WD upto Gurudongmar or Nubra Valley some day, Meghalaya is a perfect place to start with. Moderate gradient hilly road, sharp yet gentle curve will boost your driving skill and confidence to take on your next big mission. And getting the panoramic view of lush green mountains, clear sky through the windshield is an experience which cannot be monetized. Not to mention the flexibility of your travel plan that a personal car will give you without any extra cost.

Why Drive and not Ride?

As Meghalaya has completely unpredictable raining patterns, riding through it is not everybody's cup of tea. While experienced riders can always take on to this journey as they have tested their ability and resilience to tackle and endure the effects of changing weather, inexperienced riders and families may find it difficult to pack all your belongings on your bike and ride through longer miles.

The Checklist:

Before you embark on your journey, check the following things for a seamless driving experience:

a. Driver's License: Most important document for this journey. No car rental agency will give you their car if you do not show them your Driver's License during handing over of the car, even if you make full advance payment.

b. Substitute driver: It's always come in handy if there are two drivers to share the driving. In my case I drove alone for the whole duration. Did not have any problem. However, having a friend who can drive is an added bonus. He can be your navigator also using the GPS.

c. Power Bank: Using GPS all the time will drain your battery much faster. Keeping a power bank will ensure you will not stuck in an unknown place with a dead phone.

d. Checking of car condition: This is the most important thing to do before you receive the car from car rental agency. Even if the agency promises several on road services, but at the time of crisis chances are high that they will ditch you and tell you to get the car repaired yourself. So, thoroughly check your car. I am giving a checklist for your reference: Brake, Horn, Head Light and deeper, Engine Oil Level, Tyre Pressure, Indicator and Hazard Light, Door Lock & Power Window. And lastly start the car and operate the clutch, accelerator, gear lever to check if anything is off.

Looks like you are all set. Wear your favorite shade and plug in your favorite music; you are good to go.

What I recommend about a perfect tour plan of Meghalaya:

Though having a self drive gives you the flexibility of altering your plan at any moment at your convenience, but having a basic schedule template will always come handy. I am suggesting a plan which, I believe, is one of the best schedule for visiting Meghalaya.

Book your car from any of the Car Rental agencies at Guwahati. Try to book a diesel vehicle as the extra torque will help you in hilly roads. I booked a Zoomcar which costed me a mini fortune. There are several other local agencies who are much more affordable. Below is my Zoomcar Booking snapshot. you will get an idea from it. I paid Rs.12,585/- to Zoomcar (including Airport pickup and drop from the Zoomcar location) and put diesel of Rs.2500/- for the whole trip. So, total expense towards car was 15,058/-. If I had booked a car with driver, over all cost would have been around 16,500/-.

Day-1: Plan your arrival at Guwahati at around 11:30-12 am. Get your car and have lunch at any of the numerous cozy restaurants near the highway.

Guwahati to Shillong travel time is more than 4 hours incl. chai and selfie breakes. Road to Shillong is four lane highway with mind blowing curves. It will really be a roller coaster ride if you are in for it. If you can get to Shillong before sundown then enjoy the sunset from Umiam Lake at the city boundary. Check-in to your hotel. Enjoy the night life at Police Bazaar.

Day 2: Try to start your journey within 8 am. Check out from your hotel and go towards Cherrapunjee. Visit Elephant Falls and several other view points on the way. You will reach Cherrapunjee at around 12 noon. Check in to your hotel and have lunch. After lunch, go straight to NohKaliKhai Falls (google maps confuses about location of this falls, better ask the locals), Mawsmai Cave and afterwards Seven Sisters Falls and Cherrapunjee View Point. I am not going into detail of each location as they are all available in Google. There is not much to do after Sunset. Cherrapunjee becomes very quiet after evening. Get a good night's sleep for the next day's adventure.

Day 3: Today is the most exciting day of your meghalaya Trip. Start the day and try to start from hotel within 07-07:30 AM. Go straight to Tyrna village, the starting point of Living Root Bridge and Rainbow falls trek. This is the most beautiful and famous place to visit in Meghalaya. Road to this village is not in a good shape. But as the gradient is very moderate, you should not have any problem and reach to Tyrna in about half an hour. From Tyrna village start your 5 hour long trek to Nongriat village, in which the legendary Double Decker Living Root Bridge is Situated. If your fitness permits, then you can go even further to Rainbow Falls. There are fruit Juice stalls at several places where you can rest while walking. After the trek, come back to Hotel, have lunch and start for Mawllynong. Mawllynong is the cleanest village in Asia and a night stay here is must. You should reach Mawllynong within 5 pm. Pre-booking a home stay here would be good. You can easily get accommodation here on arrival though.

Note:

i. Attempting root bridge bridge trek requires pretty good fitness. So, aged people are advised not to attempt this trek.

ii. If you want to go to Mawsynram, then take an extra day and go there from Cherrapunjee. You can visit Khem Puri Cave here, Asia's longest Lime Stone cave. Then come to Mawllynnong.

Day 4: Your fourth day of this trip will start with cacophony of birds, fresh air and a soothing touch of laziness. Mawllynnong; a place definitely made for love at first sight, will leave you with no other option but to take a early morning stroll through its unbelievably clean lanes surrounded by beautiful homes and trees. Believe me, it will be your one of the best experience in decades. After having breakfast, start for Dawki within 08:30 am. You will reach Dawki by 10 am. But don't stop at Dawki. See the Indo-Bangladesh border from here and drive straight up to Shnongpdeng. This place is a little upstream than Dawki on Unmgot river. It's comparatively much less congested than Dawki and river water is much cleaner here.

You can have a boat ride here with unbelievably transparent water underneath you. Then start driving towards Krang Suri Falls. Krang Suri is one of the most beautiful water falls in Mehalaya. You should reach krang Suri by 1 am if you leave Shnongpdeng by 12. Spend some time here and then go to Jowai. Jowai have some interesting places to see like Nartiang Monoliths Park, Durga Temple etc. They will not Wow you but worth a visit. You can have your lunch here and then go straight to Shillong for the night stay. You should reach Shillong by 6 pm.

Day 5: Today is your last day at Shillong. Start early. If you are at Shillong in the last week of November, then there are cherry blossom at every corner around you. You can go the Polo Ground or Race Course where Cherry Blossom festival is officially held. After a visit start for Guwahati. If you can reach Guwahati by 11 am, then you can pay a visit to famous Kamakhya temple (the temple remains closed 12 noon to 4 pm), have lunch, visit the chinese market and city scape, whatever you want. If you have one or two extra with you then you can visit Kajiranga National Park also.

Ok Folks..!!!! We have come to the end of this journey. We have covered pretty much all of the Meghalaya creating a circuit from Meghalaya to Cherrapujee, Dawki and all the way to Jowai. And as you had a car which YOU were driving, you had endless freedom to start when you want, stop when you want and stay where you want. You can become a Nomad completely. Do not travel like a regular tourist settling for a 5 point package. And one more request, do not throw litter here and there. Meghalaya is an extremely clean state. Kindly help it remain that way. I hope the information I shared will be helpful for you. Adios..........!!!