Meghalaya has not seen rapid commercialization, instead it has managed to preserve its immense beauty and culture. One of the major part of their culture is Cleanliness which I observed and learnt right from the first day. As part of our group tour policy also, each of us carried a bottle with us and got it refilled at restaurants. The other highlight was that we stayed at simple guesthouses and enjoyed the local delicacies and home cooked food. The trip , in a way, introduced me to the concept of responsible traveler and what it entails. Meghalaya is soaked in so much beauty that it pains to see plastic wrappers and bottles littered by the travelers and becoming an eye sore. We need to acknowledge that we are just guests in their home and our visit should at least not have a negative effect on the place.
Day 4 : Mawlynnong
Mawlynnong has recently become quite popular owing to its title of Asia’s cleanest village. It is small remote village of not more than 90 families living there who have now opened their homes for tourists. Mawlynnong has number of homestays where you can spend a night. The village as you enter looks like huge well kept garden with colorful flowers bedecking the sides of the immaculately kept streets. There are no particular activity to do here except stroll around this beautiful village overflowing with flowers, birds and lots of greenery! There is a bamboo machan (viewing point on a tree) created which gives you a panoramic view of the valley stretching till Bangladesh.
Day 5 : Dawki/Shnongpdeng
You must have come across the picture of boats floating in mid-air as the water is so crystal clear water on internet. I always thought those pictures as misleading but seeing the Umngot river with my own eyes, there was not an iota of disbelief left.
Situated near the border, Dawki is the last town you will cross before entering Bangladesh. Now you can either go to Dawki or a small village called Shnongpdeng for the boating experience. Shnongpdeng is slightly off the tourist circuit and you will find many riverside camps for overnight stay. There are also many adventure activities that you can indulge in like kayaking, ziplining, cliff jumping with adventure tour companies which provide such packages. We fell short on time so went for boat ride which was magical. The water is so transparent that one can see the river bed clearly. We saw locals perched on top of the rocks and their boats, sitting so still, trying to catch fish.
Ideal Time to visit - You will find the water to be absolutely clear and emerald green in the winters i.e. November to Feb, so plan accordingly. After a leisurely breakfast in one of the eatery in Mawlynnong , we started off to the border village of Dawki.
We started off from Dawki towards another waterfall – Krang Shuri which took around 45mins to reach. The waterfall is in the midst of a Jaintia Hills and you have to walk for 15 mins before you hear the roaring sound of the falls. The trail is well kept and you will find directions to the falls easily. The weather in Meghalaya can change anytime , so do carry a raincoat or umbrella. When we started from Dawki, it was very sunny and hot but by the time we reached Krang Shuri the clouds had descended and it had started raining.
You will soon reach the entry point where you have to pay small entry fee of 50 bucks per person. The Krang Shuri has been well developed with changing rooms for men & women , proper washrooms and couple of eateries. If you want to jump in the water, life jackets are compulsory. And trust me, the moment you see the waterfall, you will want to jump in!
Krang Shuri is enchanting and endowed with so much beauty that its hard to take everything in! The color of the water is deepest blue and is surrounded by lush greenery on all sides which sets it apart from other waterfalls.
There is a dam like structure built over the water to make it safer for people. You can take a dip, swim or just sit on the benches built on the side of the waterfall enjoying the beautiful landscape! The other section is little steps down from where you can watch the waterfall and one set of stairs take you at the backside of the falls in a cave like structure which I have never seen anywhere. There are camping options at Krang Shuri and it definitely must be on your list. A day trip will not do justice to this place and you will be left craving for more.
We left unwillingly for our next destination Laitlum caves near Shillong. The drive turned out to be very scenic as it was raining and we passed very beautiful valleys and rice fields in Jowai. As we turned from the highway towards Laitlum caves , the weather became increasingly cold and windy. Just couple of kms before , we found the road was blocked as a tree had fell due to rain and we couldn’t go any further. All of us were disappointed but we then decided to make most of the amazing weather.
On the way back , we found a sole restaurant sitting on the edge of a hill with beautiful view of valley behind it which was shrouded in fog making it look so surreal. We rushed inside to the cozy interiors of the restaurant and ate to our heart’s content. It was a lovely afternoon and as I looked around the motley group of people who were strangers 5 days back , I was filled with relief that I went ahead with this trip.
Shillong
We reached Shillong by evening and went straight to our hotel near to Police Bazaar. We went around for shopping and dinner in the main market. The next day we went to the Cathedral Catholic Church in Shillong which was a massive blue and white colored beautiful structure, roamed the streets of Shillong and left for Guwahati Airport from where we boarded our respective flights.
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