Trip to North East India (Day 7)

Day 7
This was practically the last day of our north-east India tour. We wanted to visit some nearby places from Shillong and were recommended to go to Cherrapunji, the place with the heaviest rainfall in the world.

8:30 AM
There is a water sports complex right next to the Orchid resort. Here various activities are organized such as speed boat ride, house boat and cruise. We decided to check it out early in the morning. It was a 15 minute walk down to the Umiam lake where the boats anchor. The boathouse was locked and the boatman had not yet come. So we sat by the lake for some time admiring its beauty. Here is a view of the lake.

The boatman arrived at 9:30 and we enquired about the rates. There were a couple of options available such as the speed boat that could accommodate four people, a slightly larger boat that could take around ten people and a bus that could house 30-35 people. There were only a few people and so hiring the bus was not feasible. We decided to go for the speed boat; it cost us Rs. 75 per head for a 5 minute ride. This would cover half the lake. It was also possible to hire the boat for 10 minutes which would cover the entire lake and for which Rs. 150 would be charged.

We had to put on life jackets before boarding the boat. The boatman struggled for some time to start the boat by yanking a lever several times. This reminded us of Bangalore autorickshaw drivers starting their autos. We enjoyed the boat ride which took us round the lake and gave many photo opportunities.

This is the speedboat in which we travelled and standing in front of it is our boatman:

10:00 AM
Returned to the hotel. We came back a little early since we expected to be out all day. We contacted the receptionist who called for the same taxi that had taken us to Shillong on the day before. Meanwhile we had breakfast in the dining hall awaiting the driver.

11:00 AM
The driver arrived at 11:00 AM and we had a brief talk about the places to be covered and the amount to be paid. We had to pay Rs. 1500 for the Cherrapunji trip, which was slightly higher than the Shillong tour since it involved an extra two and a half hour's drive.

12:15 PM
Our first stop was a view point at Mawkdok Valley on the way to Cherrapunji. It is a very deep valley with sloping sides dotted with waterfalls. The place is filled with such lush greenery that a pair of eyes is insufficient to take in all its splendour. It was simply breathtakingly awesome.

1:15 PM
Visit Nohkalikai Falls at Cherrapunji. The original name of Cherrapunji was Sohra and so most of the boards there mention Sohra instead of Cherrapunji. It was about an hour's drive through barren landscape before we reached the Nohkalikai Falls. This is reputed to be the fourth highest waterfall in the world. There was an entry fee of Rs. 5 per head and an additional Rs. 20 for a digital camera. The waterfall is visible at some distance from the viewpoint. Somebody told us that a newer viewpoint was under construction some distance away. We decided to explore it and found that we had to climb down around a hundred stone steps before reaching the new view point which was apparently still not completed. It was constantly drizzling and we had to watch our step while climbing down. There were no other tourists here probably because nobody knew of it or were not enthusiastic enough to climb so many steps. This is how the waterfall looks from the viewpoint.

Climbing the steps back up was more exhausting than going down!

2:15 PM
Visit Mawsmai Cave. This is a cave that is around 150 meters long. We had to pay an entrance fee of Rs. 10 per head plus Rs. 10 for the camera. The cave is filled with shallow water for most of the way and we had to remove our shoes and roll up our trousers to avoid getting wet. The wet surface makes the ground very slippery. There are several rocks along the path providing the stepping stones for making progress. The roof is very low at several spots and we had to walk with our head bent low. Stalactites and stalagmites hang from the roof lending it an authentic look. The rock formations are also very beautiful. The place is damp with water dripping down from the roof at several spots. The inside of the cave looks like this:

It took us around 10-15 minutes to cross the cave and come out at the other end. It resembled a subterranean obstacle race. Several excited teenagers went back into the cave for another round of exploration!

3:30 PM
We were famished by the time we finished our cave adventure and came out of the exit. There was a newly inaugurated small dhaba just outside the cave and we had a simple meal of chapattis there.

4:30 PM
Visit the Seven Sister Falls. There are seven different waterfalls here that can be seen from a distance. The seven north-eastern states (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya) are also referred to as the seven sisters. The waterfalls are probably named after this analogy. It was quite cloudy and it was difficult to spot all the seven falls from the distance.

We were now very close to the Bangladesh border and our driver pointed out the Sylhet district of Bangladesh in the horizon.

5:00 PM
Visit the Eco Park. There was not much to see here. At the entrance was a small green-house with several plant species. There was a small stream flowing over which was a stone bridge.

6:00 PM
On the way back, one of the tyres of our taxi got punctured and we had to get it repaired in a mechanic shop. Finally we departed to Shillong. On the ride back, we got to witness the majestic sunset of Meghalaya, which literally means the Abode of Clouds. The sunset was visible for more than half an hour. Never before had we witnessed such a wonderful celestial spectacle. We thought that our journey all the way to the north-east was worth it and more after seeing that brilliant event. Words are insufficient to describe its magnificence. Here are some photographs of the Meghalaya sunset.

This later inspired me to pen a few lines of poetry:

Abode of Clouds, swathed in shrouds
Your beauty is but Nature's bounty!

On the azure plate
Who doth paint
A million hues
Is it Nature's ruse?

Words cannot express
All it does is impress!

8:30 PM
Arrive at the Orchid Resort. We had dinner soon after and retired for the night.

We were to later leave for Guwahati by taxi and thence take a flight back to Bangalore.

With this post, I will conclude the series of blogs on North-East India. It is my sincere hope that this will be useful to some enthusiastic traveler some day.