[DriverR]

Originally Posted by 5252rpm

Hi folks,

Need your advice on this trip plan.

- Flight to Guwahati
- Zoomcar : S-Cross
- Drive to Cherrapunji
- Cover locations around Cherrapunji

How are the roads in general? OK to visit around this time? Any places to avoid now?

Road/drive to Cherrapunji (Sohra) is fine. The roads are good. (Some small bit may have potholes but those are few.) The Guwahati - Shillong road especially is nice to drive in. From Shillong to Cherra few stretch may be patchy a bit, but the roads are mostly good. Use Google Maps when in doubt.

Do plan to stop to stretch your legs at Bara Pani (about 30 mins before Shillong). There are the lake viewing points on the road itself with shops withe tea, snacks. The view from there is good.

Plan to get a bit stuck in traffic in Shillong. Traffic is not as bad the big metro cities but being a hill town, the roads are narrower, with a high traffic volume. I trust you are used to driving in hill roads and stop-starting in slopes as that would be needed when driving through Shillong.

There is a good resort in Cherrapunji which you can use as your base and move around. Although, to be frank, most people prefer to be based in Shillong and drive around from there during the day, as Shillong has much better infrastructure, markets and restaurants.

Also do note that evening comes sooner in NE India, so if you are not comfortable with driving after dark, plan to complete all driving before 5pm.

The last thing to note is that summer time the waterfalls in Cherra are mostly dry. So if you are coming to see the waterfalls, you may get disappointed. But the drive and scenic views are good.

[5252rpm]

Originally Posted by DriverR

There is a good resort in Cherrapunji which you can use as your base and move around.

Many thanks DriverR. Could you recollect the name of the resort ? It will be of great help. We are planning to stay at Cherrapunji (not Shillong).

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, both are closed for self-driven tourism for now.

Are self-driven rental cars allowed in Meghalaya ? Just wanted to check if the option of getting a Zoomcar, etc from Guwahati is an option for a trip to Shillong, Cherrapunji and other nearby places of interest.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by NPV

Are self-driven rental cars allowed in Meghalaya ? Just wanted to check if the option of getting a Zoomcar, etc from Guwahati is an option for a trip to Shillong, Cherrapunji and other nearby places of interest.

Yes, you can use Zoom Cars from Guwahati for the destinations mentioned.

[NPV]

@ABHI_1512, @DriverR, others hope you can help me with planning the itinerary for a Shillong, Cherrapunji trip.
Quoting your posts to get your attention via forum notification system

Originally Posted by DriverR

...

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

...

A plan I made based on the information from various forum thread posts:
Day 1

• Bangalore-Guwahati flight
• Guwahati to Shillong by road
• Check in to hotel at Shillong
• Afternoon/evening - Stroll around Police bazaar

Day 2

• By road Shillong - Laitlum Canyon - Lady Hydari Park - Wards Lake - Don Bosco Museum

*Too much or too little for the day ?

Day 3

• Check out hotel in Shillong
• By road Shillong - Shillong Peak - Elephant Falls - Nokhalikai falls - Cherrapunji
• Check in at hotel in Cherrapunji
• Visit to Bangladesh Plains View Point - is this good compared to the border at Tamabil near Dawn ?

Day 4

• By road Cherrapunji - Seven Sisters waterfalls - Mawsmai caves

*Not sure about Double Decker Root Bridge and Rainbow falls since it involves a lot of trekking and the family may want to skip


Day 5

• Check out hotel in Cherrapunji
• By road Cherrapunji - Mawlynnong single decker root bridge - Dawki - Shnongpdeng (boat ride) - Jowai - Shillong - Umiam lake
• Check in to hotel near Umiam lake

*Is this doable ? Can I include a visit to Tamabil (Bangladesh border) on the way from Shnongpdeng ?

Day 6

• Relax at hotel

Day 7

• Check out hotel
• By Road Umiam Lake - Guwahati
• Guwahati-Bangalore flight

***I wanted to include a visit to Mawsynram, let me know if that's possible. Also, do suggest places that I'm missing or if any tweaks to the plan are needed.

Appreciate your suggestions.

[ABHI_1512]

^^
You have made quite a relaxed plan NPV. By the looks off it, Day1 looks the most busiest to me. Jokes apart, Day 2 is okay ish for most of the part. Shillong night life is quite something and you should definitely visit one of the many cafes, specially Dylan’s Cafe.

If you choose to stay at the most famous address of Sohra- Polo Orchid then you can just view the seven sister falls from the hotel itself. For day 3 you have most the places en route only. You can also visit the Airforce Museum while going towards Sohra.

For Day 4, most of the places are nearby like Mawsmai Cave, Arawah Cave and the Garden of caves. Little bit of walking is involved in all the places but do visit the Garden of Caves, lovely place. You can depending on time available, should definitely try for Krang Suri falls. It’s a wonder that should be seen to be believed.

Day 5 is perfect and your visit to Bangladesh border will depend upon how much time you spend at Dawki. Perfectly doable though. Since the sun sets early in those areas, it’s upon you to decide the course for the day.

Day 6 is my favourite day, spending a day relaxing in a property beside the Umiam lake, bliss.

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by NPV

@ABHI_1512, @DriverR, others hope you can help me with planning the itinerary for a Shillong, Cherrapunji trip..

I recently made a road trip from West Bengal to some parts of Meghalaya including some 'touristy' places as mentioned in your tentative itinerary. Just thought to share few pointers from my side.
1. First and foremost check the weather forecast during your planned visit duration. I got to know that some rain starts from March last week itself and summer is not exactly rain free in Meghalaya.
2. There are also two living root bridges at Laitkynsew (Cherrapunji). One involves hardly any trekking. Though not as grand and famous as the double decker bridge still this will give a good idea about how these are formed/ made over years. Cherrapunji Holiday Resort is a really nice property here if available. If you drive on your own, just be a bit careful during last few kms to this place since roads are bit narrow with complete blind turn in places.
3. There are three waterfalls (Lyngksiar, Janailar, Mawsawa) enroute Sohra from Shillong with a slight detour. If weather is clear you may visit one of these.
4. Depending on the weather & recent history of rain, the 'magical' color of Dawki may change and what you see may not be same as the popular pictures. Usually it takes 3 days for the water to clear up if there is any rain.
5. Orchid resort is a grand property to stay on Umiam lake but usually requires prior reservation. Ri Kynjai is even better and more expensive option what I ve heard.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

^^
You have made quite a relaxed plan NPV. By the looks off it, Day1 looks the most busiest to me. Jokes apart, Day 2 is okay ish for most of the part. Shillong night life is quite something and you should definitely visit one of the many cafes, specially Dylan’s Cafe.

If you choose to stay at the most famous address of Sohra- Polo Orchid then you can just view the seven sister falls from the hotel itself.

Thanks so much for those pearls of wisdom.

Yes, we do plan to visit Dylan's Cafe and ML-05.

Krang Shuri is on the list, missed mentioning it (not a brain fade, just a copy-paste fade!)

Originally Posted by Kandisa

I recently made a road trip from West Bengal to some parts of Meghalaya including some 'touristy' places as mentioned in your tentative itinerary. Just thought to share few pointers from my side.

Thanks so much, will check out the other Living root bridges.

I would have loved to visit some of the off beat, non-touristy locations but being the first trip to the North East I will keep them for another visit.

On the hotels - Ri Kynjai at Umiam, Polo Towers at Shillong and Polo Orchid at Cherrapunji are extremely pricey!

I also read about Ri Kanaan at Umiam being good but unable to find a way to book there, any pointers ?

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by NPV

On the hotels - Ri Kynjai at Umiam, Polo Towers at Shillong and Polo Orchid at Cherrapunji are extremely pricey!
I also read about Ri Kanaan at Umiam being good but unable to find a way to book there, any pointers ?

Yes these are pricey. Check availability at the two properties I have mentioned at Umiam & Cherrapuni, both in 5K range and have very decent add-ons included in the tariff. In Shillong, there are accommodation options around Golf links also apart from the central place Police Bazar area.
Sorry no idea about Ri Kanaan. Try calling at contact numbers available in the internet, but I must say from recent experience, many of the contact nos of various properties are not in service.

[DriverR]

Originally Posted by 5252rpm

Many thanks DriverR. Could you recollect the name of the resort ? It will be of great help. We are planning to stay at Cherrapunji (not Shillong).

Polo Orchids Resort and Jiva Resort are the ones I am aware of. I believe Polo Orchids is good but expensive.

[DriverR]

Originally Posted by NPV

@ABHI_1512, @DriverR, others hope you can help me with planning the itinerary for a Shillong, Cherrapunji trip.
Quoting your posts to get your attention via forum notification system ]

Appreciate your suggestions.

I think ABHI has made good suggestions. The one thing I would like to make is please note that Wards Lake is closed on Tuesdays. ( I made this mistake once and missed seeing Wards Lake that day.)

Also if want to go to Mawsynram, you can do so when you go to Cherrapunji (Sohra) as it is closely.

It would be good to stop by Umiam lake (Barapani) but as mentioned by Kandisa the resorts are expensive. You can instead do a lunch plan there if you wish, when driving back to Guwahati.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by DriverR

Also if want to go to Mawsynram, you can do so when you go to Cherrapunji (Sohra) as it is closely.

Some questions related to Mawsynram:

• What are the places of interest in Mawsynram ? I saw some YouTube videos that mentioned Krem Puri Sandstone caves (treacherous descent and no one around) and Mawjymbuin cave (a stone Shivling idol and some water in the cave).
  Is it recommended just for a drive to the village of Mawsynram ?
  
• If combining with Sohra, google route says it is 80+Km/2.5 hrs+ one way. Is there any other alternate route ?
  Gmaps route for Sohra-Maysynram

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by NPV

Some questions related to Mawsynram:

What are the places of interest in Mawsynram

Instead of Mawsynram, include a visit to Mawphlang Sacred Grove. You have already included Krang Suri falls, so no point going to Mawsynram to see the Krem dam falls and cave. Sacred Grove is one place where you can choose to decide about how much you want to see. Also, do include Garden of Caves in your itinerary. I have not mentioned any treks otherwise there are some incredible treks to do.

[NPV]

Some questions on places to visit:
1. Shillong Peak shows "Temporarily closed" (I think the weekly holiday is Wednesday, but I've been seeing this for the last week or so). Any idea why ?

2. Planning to skip Elephant falls since it is generally very crowded and there are so many bigger and interesting waterfalls en route Sohra/Cherrapunji.

3. If one has to choose between Arwah Caves & Maswmai Caves, which one would be better ?

4. Gmaps has Laitlum Canyon, Laitlum Canyon Ridge and Laitlum View point marked. Are the places marked Canyon & Canyon Ridge motorable ?

Originally Posted by Kandisa

2. There are also two living root bridges at Laitkynsew (Cherrapunji). One involves hardly any trekking. Though not as grand and famous as the double decker bridge still this will give a good idea about how these are formed/ made over years.

5. Google maps doesn't seem to have any root bridge marked in Laitkynsew. Any pointers on how to locate this ? I guess asking locals at the village is definitely an option.

[DriverR]

@NPV

I last crossed Mawsynram about 15 yrs back and did not stop so I cannot say much about how it is currently. That trip we went to Sohra to the Seven Sisters Falls, Nohkalikai falls, and Mawsmai cave. Any cave visit esp in Meghalaya is a unique experience I'd you have not gone to a cave before.the Meghalaya caves have a lot of stalagtites and stalagmites and one has to watch where they walk due to the rocky ground.

In my last visit to Sohra which was about 3 years back, we drove up from Shillong intending to see the Seven Sisters fall (which was closed that day) and Nohkalikai fall which had heavy fog due to rain that day. (We could hear it, but not see it.)