When you think of experiencing cherry blossoms, it is Japan that pops into your head, among other international destinations like Spain and Paris. However, India, with its vast landscapes and abundant natural resources is no longer left behind. In the past few years, Cherry Blossom Festivals have become a phenomenon across different parts of the county. These are the places that let you gaze at the Pink Beauty without breaking a bank!
Shillong prepares to host the fourth edition of India International Cherry Blossom Festival this year in November.
While the show stopper of the festival remains the heavenly pink blossoms, don't be surprised to find the whiff of barbecue draw you towards it.
You can book your tickets here!
Attractions at the festival
This one is bound to be an exciting affair with music gigs, a beauty pageant and stalls showcasing the cuisine, wine, arts and crafts of the region. A sumptuous Korean barbecue and K-pop music further adds unique flavours to the surreal experience.
Walk under the beautifully lit up cherry blossom trees in the night sky and try the fine dining experience at Ward’s Lake, from 4.00 pm to 8.00 pm.
And that's not all! Rock concerts, traditional folk music, unplugged western music and dance performances by natives of North East India will give you all the more reasons to not miss a thing while visiting the festival.
For adventure lovers, there are bicycle rallies and taekwondo demonstrations, while book lovers can enjoy the pleasant storytelling sessions. An amateur tournament golf tournament is open for all as long as you bring your own gold kit. The latest addition this year is a cherry blossom photography competition where both old and new photos of the blossoms will be accepted.
Dates:
This year the India Cherry Blossom Festival will be held from 13 November to 16 November 2019.
You can book your tickets here!
How to reach:
By air:
The nearest airport to Shillon g is the Umroi Airport near Barapani, which is about 25 kilometres away. This has limited connectivity with other cities. The nearest major airport that is well-connected with multiple cities across India is in Guwahati, which is about 125 kilometres away. Take a taxi from Guwahati to Shillong.
By train:
The closest railway station from Shillong is in Guwahati. It’s about 100 kilometres away and you can easily take a taxi from there. The Guwahati railway station is connected to New Delhi and other major cities across the country.
By road:
Take a bus from Guwahati to Shillong. Hire a taxi for a convenient and comfortable journey. A shared taxi is more economical. The drive is extremely beautiful so you will really enjoy it.
Located between the borders of Manipur and Nagaland lies the Kayinu village in the land of Mao. Popularly known as a gateway to Manipur, this town is blessed with scenic views, abundance in flora and fauna and a history of traditions and culture. Due to favourable climatic conditions, every year in November the town gets filled with a variety of plants and natural resources which are rarely found in the country. To celebrate this fact, last year for the first time, a cherry blossom festival was included as a part of their annual flower festival.
You can book your tickets here!
With innovative floral decorations and interesting setups, this garnered a lot of attention from locals and tourists across the country. Hence to make it bigger, from this year onwards, it will be a part of the Sangai festival held in November in Manipur every year.
The Sangai festival is named after their state animal, the Sangai deer. Although over the years, this festival has seen a lot of changes and themes, the main aspect of it is to promote tourism.
Attractions at the festival
Cherry blossom will obviously be the focus this year. The Cherry blossom organising committee along with the Institute of Bio resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) are the main organisers for this festival along with the local government. They ensure stunning natural and man-made displays arranged in a picturesque natural environment. Apart from cherry blossoms, you can also view a lot of other plants and flowers of the region.
The festival, in order to promote the local culture and tourism also has other events like cultural programmes, performances, adventure and water sports, local food stalls and traditional games.
Unlike the other international cherry blossom festivals, or even the domestic ones like the popular Indian International Cherry Blossom Festival held at Shillong, around the same time every year , this one is less crowded and hence gives you an opportunity to explore the cherry blossoms at peace. Also Manipur is a highly unexplored and underrated destination with lots of options to explore around. You can check here for things to do.
Dates:
The Manipur Sangai festival is happening this year from 24th to 30th November.
You can book your tickets here!
How to reach:
The town of Mao is located 95 km from Imphal, the capital of Manipur. You can reach there using local state transport buses or private cabs. To reach Imphal, these are the options.
By Air:
Nearest airport is Imphal Tulihal Airport, located about 8 km. away from the city centre. All major metros have regular flights to this airport daily or atleast every alternate day.
By Train:
There is no railway station at Imphal. The nearest railway station is at Guwahati (486 km) or Daotuhaja (365 km). From there, you will have to take a private cab or a state transport bus to reach Imphal.
By Bus:
You can reach Imphal in private or state transport buses from Guwahati (486 km) or Dimapur (201 km) via NH39.
Have you visited any such beautiful destinations? Write about it on Tripoto.
Check out videos and more on Tripoto’s YouTube page!
Frequent searches leading to this page:-
shillong and meghalaya trip, shillong trip in monsoon, budget for shillong trip, shillong trip for 5 days
' fill='%23359391'%3e %3cpath d='M46.1538462%2c43.5714286 L41.5%2c50 L36.8461538%2c43.5714286 L36.8670256%2c43.5714286 C36.3173077%2c42.7142857 36%2c41.6851429 36%2c40.5714286 C36%2c37.4854286 38.4535641%2c35 41.5%2c35 C44.5464359%2c35 47%2c37.4854286 47%2c40.5714286 C47%2c41.6851429 46.6826923%2c42.7142857 46.1329744%2c43.5714286 L46.1538462%2c43.5714286 Z M41.4294872%2c39 C40.6150641%2c39 39.9487179%2c39.675 39.9487179%2c40.5 C39.9487179%2c41.325 40.6150641%2c42 41.4294872%2c42 C42.2439103%2c42 42.9102564%2c41.325 42.9102564%2c40.5 C42.9102564%2c39.675 42.2439103%2c39 41.4294872%2c39 L41.4294872%2c39 Z' id='Location-white'%3e%3c/path%3e %3c/g%3e %3c/svg%3e)
