Assam & Meghalaya trip

My first plan to northeast India didn't go well during 2021 year end as I didn't get proper accommodation at the places of interest due to which I had to cancel my flight tickets which were booked in advance; good that I had flexi tickets.

Take 2: I made sure to book my flight and hotel accommodations well in advance for my 2022 year end trip. The itininary included visiting:

• Assam:
• Guwahati 
• Kaziranga National Park
• Meghalaya:
• Shillong
• Cherrapunji
• Mawlynnong
• Shnongpdong

Day 1: Guwahati

        Landed in Guwahati and we had a quick visit to Kamakhya temple followed by a pitstop at the Bramhaputra river bank. Later at night, my friend was gracious enough to take us around for a nice ride.

Day 2: Guwahati - Kaziranga

        We started to Kaziranga national park early morning post breakfast. As we entered the national park at around 3pm, Rhinos were spotted next to the highway and we made sure to stop and take few clicks.

        Later at 6pm, we attended the cultural show conducted at the Orchids park. I assumed it would be just a regular show but I was stunned by all the dance performances and musical instruments used during the whole 90 mins or so. It was a top notch performance by all the dancers showcasing so many different folks dances, not just Bihu dance but a lot many others, regional songs, costumes and their instruments. Everyone were just perfect. I must say, this is something which no one should miss when in Kaziranga.

Day 3: Kaziranga

        I was up quite early and went out for a fantastic 22 kms practice run on the highway covering both western and eastern parts. I had thoughtfully planned not to have the early morning safari immediately after a day's journey, so was set for a relaxing day keeping everyone else in mind. We visited the same Orchird's park to check out all the hundreds of unique Orchids maintained, museums and other attractions. Came back to the hotel where we had a tea estate next to it which provided a nice sunset view.

         There are other lesser known attractions like waterfalls etc. nearby which one can plan for.

Day 4: Kaziranga - Shillong

        Unfortunately, we couldn’t go for an elephant safari ride which requires the booking to be done well in advance, may be a month in advance. So settled in for the usual jeep safari in the national park. The jeeps are readily available by contacting any local folks or best the hotel folks who can arrange one for you. If you happen to book for elephant ride, make sure to have elephant and jeep safaris to be done in different zones of the park i.e. Western and Central zones may be.

        Once back from that, we got ready and started towards Shillong. Shillong was just a night halt as we didn't wanted to have a long drive directly to Cheerapunji. I didn't plan for any sight seeing in this city which are generally talked like the police chowk etc.

        We reached our homestay in the late evening. The weather was seriously great, a 9'C and breezy, and bit of rain before reaching. I just loved the locality and weather that welcomed us. I spent little time alone at night walking around the place. I realized we have a small forest area in the vicinity

Day 5: Shillong - Cherrapunji

        The next morning, I made sure to take a walk in that forest. An half an hour walk that took me to the other side of the area which had a nice football ground and gave a nice view of the sunrise.

        Back to the cozy homestay, got ready and headed towards Cherrapunji which was just couple of hours journey. We visited the Weisawdong waterfalls, which was just amazing. Again a must visit place. We have a small descent first, and at the midway we have a small viewpoint which gives us a beautiful view of the whole waterfalls which has multiple steps and green waters. Walk further down to enjoy the waterfalls from a closer look.

        After this, on our way back, we visited Arwah caves which is famous for its age old formations. It takes about 2 hours to walk to the caves from the parking lot and back. 

Day 6: Cherrapunji

        Early morning we were all set for the main attraction of the trip i.e. the double decker living root bridge. I must caution the readers here that this is not a casual walk but a proper trek which requires proper fitness, though we have well kept steps all through. We don't even require the assistance of locals guides. It has a steep descent and has 4 attractions in its stretch i.e.:

• Single root bridge

This is something which most of them can take up including senior citizens who are ok taking steep steps and back. Yes, it has proper descent while going and of course, ascend while coming back. If are not keen in taking long strenuous walk further, you can come back in 2-3 hours.

• Double decker root bridge

Further down, after walking for sometime we reach the the double decker tree.  We cross couple of nice iron hanging bridges. Take turns and get a nice photo asking someone else to stand at the bottom of the root to get a nice angle.

• Blue lagoon

Walk further for few minutes and one should reach the blue lagoon. It's amazing to see small river section having such an attractive blue color waters. Life jackets are available on rent at this place to have a dip.

• Rainbow waterfalls

Walk further for an hour or so and one must reach this waterfalls. What's special is if the sun rays fall at the bottom, we can see rainbow formation. Though faint, it adds to the attraction. It's a nice valley view at this point with waterfalls in one direction.

Our walk back was testing with all that ascend and one would start counting the steps. Started the trek at around 9am and returned at 5pm. Glad that my 10 year-old and wife could manage it well.

        Went back to the hotel satisfied with the experience and had the best bowl noodles I had in quite sometime.

Day 7: Cherrapunji - Mawlynnong - Shnongpdong

        We started early towards our next destination Shnopedong, our next best attraction. On our way, we visited Mawlynnong, one of the cleanest village in Asia. Nothing fancy or great, but yes, it was clean and has become a tourist place with few restaurants and shops around. We have entry fee for the village and again entry tickets for any bamboo view points that are available in the village.

        From there, we headed to Shnopedong and we cross Dawki which gives us a nice view of the crystal clear river waters and the Bangladesh border. A little further we finally reached our last destination. It's a small village but had great things about it, which was planned for next day.

Day 8: Shnongpdong

        This place is known for crystal clear river and water activities. As we walked towards the river bank, we were amazed by its beauty. Boating, kayaking, zipline, cliff jumping are all offered at this place. Make sure to enjoy every single of it because the experience at this place is amazing. We went back hotel in the late afternoon. For me, the time spent at this beautiful river front wasn't enough, so I headed back again in the evening to have a nice stroll.

Day 9: Shnongpdong - Guwahati

        Last few days were great and now we saw ourselves heading back to Guwahati. The realization that our wonderful trip is ending makes us sad but at the same time forces us to think what's next!

Summary:

I cannot thank enough my friend, Pranavi for the help and importantly for giving me the sneak peek at the northeast India beauty through all those status updates and posts.