A VISIT TO SHILLONG, CHERRAPUNJI

This time although we wanted to visit Port Blair but due to non-availability of tickets we planned for another state of north-east ‘Meghalaya’. We visited Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya via Guwahati.

The name Meghalaya is a set of two words megha (clouds, it is badal in hindi)+alaya (house, it is Ghar in hindi) badalon ka ghar, house of clouds. It means that here rain is more than any other place in India. Earlier Cherrapunji in Meghalaya was the place having maximum rainfall but now a days Mawsynram has replaced it as wettest place.

This visit could not have been planned but for assurance by friends like Shri P.K.Sharma, Shri B.D.Ram. Of course credit of success of the visit also goes to Shri Hazarika, Shri Rao and Shri Talukdar, the person on the wheels.

We boarded Air India flight to Guawahati at 10.30 am on 24.11.2014. Guawahati to Shillong is a road journey. We started from Guwahati at 2pm and reached Shillong at 6.30pm. There was heavy jam on the roads of Shillong as this was the office time and slowly we reached our guest house. After having our early dinner, we retired for the day and went for early bed as we had to start early the next day.

Next day on 25.11.14, we started early at 6.30 am and went for full day excursion to local Shillong and Cherrapunji. On this day, we visited Mawsmai cave, Thangkharang Park, Eco Park, Elephanta falls, Shillong peak, Don Bosco Museum

Nohkalikai Falls was one of the taller waterfalls in India. The name of the Fall was said to come from a tragic story about a widowed woman named Ka Likai. The story in short is that Ka Likai's second husband who didn't like the attention she gave to her child. So the man killed and dismembered the child then made the child into food. Upon learning that she had unknowingly eaten her child in a meal cooked by the envious husband, she eventually jumped off the cliff above the waterfall (it turned out that "Noh" was Khasi for "jump").

Mawsmai cave - Situated around 6 Kms from Cherrapunjee, these limestone caves have the distinction of being the only caves in Meghalaya that are lit enough to enable tourists to enjoy the natural formations in awe.

Though the caves are long, only a distance of 150 meters is open for tourists, while the other section is closed. The stalactites and stalagmites caves have innumerable forms, shapes and sizes inside leaving one to imagine as many life forms as possible. This magnificent natural wonder is the handiwork of years of natural abrasion and underground water. In the caves, some part is so narrow that one has to struggle to proceed further. It was a thrilling experience

Here we bought Koi, a dish made of Pan leaf, chunna and supari for taste. As per Locals, after eating this, heat would be generated in the body. They used to eat this to get rid of biting cold in that region.

Thangkharang Park is situated at a distance of 12 km from Cherrapunji. It is located just besides the Khoh Ramhah rock and offers a 180 degree view of the Bangladesh plains below. This view point also presents a nice view of the Kynrem Falls, which cascades in three levels at a distance. There are various species of plants and trees that can be seen in the park and in the greenhouse within the area of the park. The plant particularly attracted us was Dalchini and Tejpatta Tree which we use daily in our food. Viewing our neighbour country from such a close distance attracts all the visitors.

Eco Park - A large "Eco Park" established by the Meghalaya government in the plateau, which hosts several hybrid and indigenous orchids in the Green House donated by Shillong Agri-Horticultural Society. The Eco Park offers breathtaking view of distant Sylhet Plains of neighbouring Bangladesh.

Shillong Peak - Shillong Peak is the highest peak of the province of Himalayas, standing at an altitude of 1,965 metre above the sea level. This peak provides a breathtaking view of entire Shillong city. It is presently under the administration of Air Force.

Elephanta Falls – A truly magnificent view of multiple water fall. This is a set of three separate waterfalls. One has to climb down to enjoy fully the beauty of the falls as the fall at lower place is the most beautiful out of the three. Down the line there is a park where one can enjoy the waterfall sitting down and gazing at the fall listening the roar of the rolling water.

Don Bosco Museum - Don Bosco Museum, is a theme museum that has a repository of information on the entire north eastern states of

Assam

, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The museum exhibits a wide collection of regional artwork, attires, accoutrements, etc of all these states. This is a must visit place in Shillong.

26.11.2014

On this very last day of our journey, we left the guest house at 7am and proceeded towards Guwahati Airport. In between we visited Barapani, Balaji Temple and the famous Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati. On our way back to Guwahati we saw many long trees of Supari, and the creepers of Pan which were made round around the Supari trees. We also saw fields of Pinapple. It took around three and half hours to reach Guawahati.

Umiam Lake (Barapani) – Umiam Lake is among the popular tourist spots and is 17 km from Shillong. Resembling to the lakes of Scotland, the beautiful lake was formed as a part of building a reservoir. It was created because of the dam for the Hydel Project, and was firstly built in the North Eastern part of India. The water body is also known as 'Barapani' (big water), sprawling over an area of 10 sq. km. We gave a flying visit to this place and spent only 10 minutes for photography etc., although this is a place where one can spend hours and enjoy boating among the green hills.

The Kamakhya Temple – It is one of the most venerated Shakti shrines in

India

, and is regarded as one of the Shakti Peethams associated with the legend of Shiva and Daksha Yagna. It is located on a hill - Neelachala Parvat or Kamagiri near the city of Guwahati in Assam. Shakti, residing on the Kamagiri hill is known as Kamakhya, the granter of desires. There is no image of Shakti here. Within a corner of a cave in the temple, there is a sculptored image of the Yoni of the Goddess, which is the object of reverence. A natural spring keeps the stone moist.

We bought the ticket for special darshan as the general queue was very long and we didn’t have time as we had to board the flight on that very day. After getting ourselves blessed, we proceeded towards Air Port and landed at New Delhi at 7.20pm.