Day 49 to 52: Shillong and Cherrapunji

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The next stop on the trip was Meghalaya, the land of clouds. The plan was to come from Kaziranga to Guwahati and go to Shillong, but got advise from locals to take a detour through a bus-stop before Guwahati, which we did. Saved a few hours, not that it matters when one travels without goals .

You will not see any pictures of Shillong in this blog, I was shocked how crowded the city is. Narrow lanes bustling with cars and all sorts of vehicles, seemed like Mumbai (except Shillong had even lesser space). The city is now well known for its educational institutions and kids from all over India seem to throng here for good quality schooling. The central market was choc-a-bloc, with hardly place to put ones feet. All in all, it wasnt what I expected, but had to do it en route to Cherrapunji

There are only two hotels in Cherrapunji, the one I booked was probably the dingiest of my whole trip. We tried to find an alternate homestay, but failed, so survived that night in the hope of exploring Cherrapunjee the next day. And it was worth every bit of inconvenience.

As we have all read during our school days, Cherrapunji is the wettest place on earth. So for all rainlovers, its an absolute must. During the last 30+ years, average annual rain fall has nearly been 40 feet and the highest has been 80 feet. For a land at only 1500 meters high, these are mind boggling numbers, but at the end of the day, numbers dont tell you much unless one visits the place.

Anywhere you stand, you find clouds below you, just an incredible sight. And not surprisingly, the place boasts of one of the highest waterfalls in India, Nohkalikai. We went before the rains had really started, the locals told us that during rains the waterfall grows by almost 20 folds. Mawshamok was the other place we visited, they say it has the most beautiful views in the North East and I cant challenge that opinion. Surreal experience visiting there.

All in all Cherrapunji lived upto the expectation and we left from there happy campers, knowing that now we must part ways with Isabell going to Nepal and me heading to Arunachal Pradesh

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Comments

[ajay]

I AM COMMING CHERRAPUNJI.

[Gunjan]

amazing piccs