It all started with a midnight conversation with one of my closest friends by the window at my house.

‘I really want to go to Cherapunji’, she said. And there started our two-hour long conversation about the places we’d want to visit in the coming years. As luck would have it, we got a chance to actually pick a place of our ‘bucket list’ when we decided to do an all-girls trip earlier this year.

We did a fair share of research on best time to visit, distance from the closest airport, safety for girls, means of local travel etc before we finalised on Meghalaya, the wettest state in India. I am a fanatic when it comes to travel planning; I will make a gazillion lists, work on excels, speak to every and anyone who has travelled to that particular place, read all the possible blogs written and then make my own customised itinerary.

And so, everything that you need to know when you travel to Meghalaya for a short budget trip is here -

1. About the East

The first thing you should know about North East India is that the sun rises by 4.30am and sets by 5.30pm. Meghalaya goes dark by 6pm, and you will find the roads abandoned if you venture out post 7pm. Ideally, you should wake up early, and will invariably end up passing out by 9–9.30pm.

2. Travelling To Meghalaya

You might be travelling from any part of India, but your pitstop will always be Guwahati, Assam. That is where the main airport is. Guwahati is centrally located from all the seven sisters, and so you can find your way to from there.

The ideal way to get to Meghalaya is by booking a private cab for your entire stay. There really isn't any facility for public transport for local travel, having the freedom of travelling wherever whenever you want, is important. (Recommended — Book 3/4 days in advance, so you have some negotiation power with the driver). The driver/ service provider will insist on per day charge in addition to paying for his food, tolls and overnight stay — Bargain a lump-sum cost which could range anywhere between 2000–4500, depending on the car you take. ( We booked our cab through Lala [9678010056] who runs a cab service. He was super sweet and helpful). We got a Swift Dzire with a very safe driver, who was more than helpful, and even went and scored some green for us (more about it below).

3. Stay in Meghalaya

So unless you have a good week or two to spend at Meghalaya, there would be a very specific list of places you’ll want to visit there. The right way to space out your travel would be to reach Guwahati early morning, head straight to Cherapunji with a couple of pitstops through the day, set base in a centrally located home-stay/airbnb/cottage, and spend your last night in Guwahati. (Book an early morning flight out — You wont want to miss your flight because you were in transit from another state, neither do you want to venture out late at night when you know the sun sets by 5.30pm).

On our way to Cherapunji on Day 1 we stopped at Ri Kynjai, which is a gorgeous resort at the Barapani (Umaim Lake), it has a glorious view of the Lake, with larger than live interiors. Its a beautiful resort, but was obnoxiously out of our budgets, so we just stopped there for a quick beer. They have a cover of 700 Rs per person, if you want to eat lunch. We’d recommend you head there just for the view, its 15 minutes off route, and absolutely worth the view.

Also, we fell in love with the Spiced Pineapples that you get on your way to Shillong at the highway. Stop, take one whole pineapple for around 40 bucks, and ask them to sprinkle a lot of Jhala ( Red Chilly).

We also stopped at the Umaim lake view point, where we ate this yummy egg-aloo tikki with tikhi chutney. Do not miss eating this. Its for 10 bucks, and has a very interesting flavour.

We went on to make a final stop at Shillong Police Bazaar, where we picked up lots of fruits and some memorabilia. We also ate betel nut Paan there, which is a NE speciality. This is also where you will get your ‘greens’. More often than not your drivers will help, like ours did. You should pick all your necessities here, specifically your Slim Jims, because you will not get any of this at Cherapunji and around.

We had a 5N/6D stay at Meghalaya. After speaking to a lot of people we narrowed down on staying at Cherapunji for 4 nights, and crashing at Guwahati on the final night. Shillong was our pitstop on our way to Cherapunji on day 1. (Not a lot to do there — you can give it a miss if you want more time with nature). After what obviously constituted as a lot of research we singled down on this beautiful property called the — Sai-Mi-Ka Cottages (http://www.saimikaresort.com/).

4. Stay at Sai-Mi-Ka Resort :

IF it were at all helpful, I would write a seperate article just talking about how absolutely amazing this property was, but thats an article for another time — here are all the details you need to know about this place to be absolutely sold on wanting to stay here :

This property is spread across two adjoining plots, they have about 10–12 different cottages, each done very tastefully, incorporating a different look and feel of the East Khasi style cottages. They have cottages of all possible sizes — From occupancy of 2 to 8. There were 3 of us, so for the first three days we stayed at Kyllalyngkot cottage, and for our final night stayed at Kymmang cottage. They were both equally gorgeous with a view of the valley and a private balcony. Kyllalyngkot was cosier and more earthly in its interiors, and Kymmang was bigger, and modern. We loved the fact that we got a chance to experience both the cottages. You can call for a Bonfire (200 Rs additionally) at night, which they will set up in your cottages’ backyard/ balcony. They also set up the fireplace in your room every-night, (if you call for it -this is inclusive of the stay cost).

The staff there is extremely friendly, every morning at 7am they’d play some rock music to set the mood for the day, and serve the most delicious breakfast. You WANT to have their cheese omelettes, butter bread, pancakes and Aloo Paratha. They make it with love and lots of cheese ;). The property manager is a Biotech engineer, who left his job in Pune and moved here to live a life of solitude and peace. He will come and tell you great stories, tell you about the places you should visit around there, and the food you should eat (and will bring you a doob to welcome you, if he gets the stoner vibe, OBVIOUSLY!).

There is a trail through the cottages to a small natural pool and if you keep going further down you can go straight to the Nohakalika Falls (Wont recommend to amateurs as it’d be a tiresome long day). Lots of travellers would head down to the natural pool early in the morning before breakfast for an early morning hike.

5. Food At Meghalaya :

The food in the NE is very simple and basic. It is more often than not with very minimal flavours. You will mostly end up eating Maggie and Boiled eggs at the hiking trails, but you sould try the smaller restaurants that have the thali system. One of our favourites was Nalgri Restaurant at Cherapunji. We tried the chicken and fish thali there, and ended up taking two servings of almost everything. Sasta, Simple, Tikao.

You should also have the red tea there, which is native to the NE and easily available at almost every tapri. Like I already mentioned above, you will get lots of pineapples wherever you go, ask for thier special chilly, and enjoy the juicy pineapples of the NE!

Apart from all this, they also have some interesting bakeries and cafes, if you have time on your trip to-fro Cherapunji, try stopping at the ML05 Cafe. The ambience and the food is a must try.

6. Must Dos In Meghalaya

I will not walk you through my day wise itinerary of where I went and what all I did there, but will tell you about the miss-nots. The places you should visit changes basis the season you are visiting the city. There are lots of trails and hikes that can’t be done once it starts raining, which is almost 3/4th of the year. Since we went in the beginning of March, we were lucky to have skipped the rains, except on our last day, which honestly was a beautiful sight for sore eyes.

Dawki River And Mawlynnong Village

This will be your easiest and calmest day at Meghalaya. You can sit back in your car, play fun music till you reach this area. This place is around 80 kms from Cherapunji and will easily take you 2 hrs to get here. A sight like no other, the Dawki river is so clean you can see the shadow of your boat in the water. Its serene and quite and a joyride. This river is smack in the middle of India and Bangladesh, so you can see the Bangladesh shore and them Bangladeshis partying hard. A different experience, if you're interested in camping, there are many adventure camps that are held there, with a bonfire by the river. (Camptrails and Pioneer Travels to name a few).

Mawlynnong is the cleanest village of Asia, and is not far from the river. A simple clean village, if you find the time, you can spend half a day here. The ideal way to do this would be to start with a boat-ride at the Dawki and then lunch and Red tea at Mawlynnong. The longest single living roots bridge is at Mawlynnong , so if you find the time, you can trek to the bridge here as well. We skipped this bridge because we knew we had a long day planned at Nongriat, which is where the Double Decker Roots bridge is.

Nohakalikai Falls

This waterfall has a rather unfortunate story, which the guides will talk all about when you get there. What you need to know is, the view point is not where the beauty lies. The view point is where the uncle aunties go to just tick it off the sightseeing box. From the Nohakalikai view point, you can get to the head of the fall. Yes, the tipping point, where the fall starts from. (See picture) You will feel like you're at the end of the world! There is no trail to get there, or a set path for that matter. You’ll find a guide right before the entry point, who will charge around Rs.300 to take you all the way down and back up. The hike, even though really short, is very difficult. You will have to get on all 4 and go through rock holes and slippery slopes to reach the head. Its a 45 mins hike till the rocks, and another 15–20 mins to the tip of the fall.

On your way to the head, you will come across a postcard view natural pool, with water bluer than the bluest blue you have seen. Take your shoes off, and get in that ice cold water. Feel it numbing your feet. It really is worth it. You will also come across a small waterfall, its pretty and scenic, and worth a visit. Your hike back up will be no easier than your hike down. You should visit this place in the first half of the day, so you don’t get stuck on all fours, hiking up in the dark.

The Double Decker Roots Bridge and Rainbow Falls

This trail will easily take over 9 hours to complete, so you should reach the starting point no later than 8am. I say this for three reasons :

• How much ever time you get there, it wont be enough. So try to utilise the whole day.
• Its a really long, tiring and steep hike, you do not want to climb up 3500 steps in the dark.
• You WILL end up missing one of the main attractions if you don’t start early.

You‘ll easily get a guide for around 600 - 800 rupees for the day, depending on the rush there. Do not forget to take the bamboo sticks at the entrance for 20 rupees each. This is going to be your saving grace for the day. Also, keep this activity for your last day here, because under no circumstance will you be able to get out of bed to hike or go sight-see the next day.

This district is called the Nongriat district and lots of tourists choose to stay here overnight. Since its a small village with less than 20 houses, you will only find homestays here, with basic home-cooked meals. If you are up for it, and okay with absolutely basic amenities, you must spend a night here. (We chose to head back to our comfy cottage with the fireplace.)

Like I said, its long steep trail, which starts with over 3500 steps downhill. From there you will hike through a couple of manmade bridges and rocky slopes till you reach the village of Nongriat. This is where you will find the famous double decker bridge in all its glory. The smarter thing would be to spend time here on your way back, so there are fewer tourists. From here, it is easily a 1.5–2hrs hike to the Rainbow Waterfall. This fall is going to be the highlight of your trip. You will want to give up half way there, but just keep going. Take a couple of ORS packets from the shops at Nongriat and keep sipping it on your hike.

The Rainbow waterfall is called so because you can see a rainbow through the fall (11am to 3pm). The fall culminates into a beautiful natural pool with blue cool water. Take your top off and jump into the water. This will hands down be the best swim of your life. Go touch the waterfall, and become one with the water. Sit and smoke a doob there.

From here, on your trail back, you’ll come across a beautiful natural pool as well, hidden between huge rocks. You’ll be able to hear the water hitting the rocks from far away — It’s music to tired ears. If you find time, hike down and take a dip in the water there. There are also caves inhabited by bats and a long single living roots bridge. These are peripheral beauties that we have to skip cause we didn't start on time. So get here by 8am. Trek. Tire. Dip. Repeat. :D

Meghalaya is a hidden gem, and thankfully so. Civilisation will ruin it. Take a book with you, read it early in the morning, while you see the sun rise.

For any help and more travel updates, reach out to me on Instagram : @ClumsyKrusty

Disclaimer: All the images in this post belong to Krutika Lal. Do not use without permission.

I’ve been wanting to do this for a really long time, an year to be exact…. I want to tell the world about all the experiences I’ve had, people I’ve met, stories I’ve heard and memories I’ve made; but I never really had the balls to actually go out there and write about it… But after a year of wussing around, here I am, ready to write.

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