[gunin]

Background:

The three months of January, February and March are the best for travelling in our neck of the woods. Unfortunately, these also form the last quarter of the year which basically means no leaves and sometimes working weekends for me. Come April and I had 3 days in hand and wanted to drive to some new place with my wife and 2 year old toddler. While researching, I came across a nice looking stay option called Domtiewsaw Travellers Nest located at Mawkrywat, South West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. I discussed the plan with my friend, Philip and he suggested a few more places to cover during the trip. It seemed to be the just the kind of trip I enjoy the most -minimum tourists and traffic and maximum beautiful places.

Day 1: Guwahati to Nonglang village, Mawkyrwat, Meghalaya:

Distance: 180 kms

Road conditions:

During the last few road trips, I have relied on Google Maps a lot and find it very reliable. With the location set to Nonglang village, we started at around 8 am from Guwahati. I find driving on the Guwahati Shillong road exceedingly dull, dry and boring and I dread the thought of being stuck in a traffic jam at Mawlai (just before entering Shillong). One silver lining for me on this route is the number of restaurants catering to all kinds of taste buds. We had breakfast at a nice place called Excelencia just after crossing Nongpoh. The puris were fresh, warm and very good.

After crossing the dreaded traffic jam at Mawlai (it wasn’t that bad this time), we felt as if the real trip had finally started. As soon as we moved towards the South West Khasi Hills, the number of tourist vehicles started declining and soon it seemed like we were the only ones there. Perfect!

Some pics:


My kind of place!


River along the way. Saw a lot of people fishing here

I was happy to see my wife and kid enjoying the journey. The traffic was almost non-existent and we enjoyed stopping and soaking in the scenery wherever we felt like it.

We reached Domtiewsaw Travellers Nest, Nonglang at around lunch time and for the two nights we stayed there, we were the only guests there. The location of the stay is very good and we unleashed our two year old who seemed enamoured with the surrounding lake. The rooms were very clean and well maintained.


Nicely located Domtiewsaw Travellers Nest


Even kids can reflect

After lunch and some rest, we went to see the nearby Monoliths. I have read that these monoliths are from the ancient times of Khasi kings and queens. As the only visitors, we had the entire place to ourselves and we pretended what it would feel like to have a meeting here.

Some pics of the monoliths:


Rise!


Board of Directors meeting




My partners


A lovely evening


Run free!

Some more pics of the place. Can't help posting. It is such a wonderful place







As it grew dark, the wind picked up pace and as if on cue, it started to drizzle as well. We returned to our nest for a hot cups of teas and tasty momos. We had an early dinner of pork and rice and retired for the night.


Good night Nonglang!

[gunin]

Day 2: Nonglang to Nongnah (and back)

Distance: 30 kms (one way)

Road conditions: Bumpy with great vistas

I slept soundly with the sound of heavy rains dancing on the rooftop. I smiled with satisfaction at the free wash my Bolero 4wd was being treated to. We woke up to a beautiful morning with the overnight rains applying a thick coat of freshness on everything.


Good morning!


My Bolero 4wd after an overnight wash


Pedal boats at the nest


Lets go see the world


My people




Views are good from the top


Yes!


I might go back just for its location

We went trekking to the nearby places. My son didn't want to go back even when it started raining.





We had a quick breakfast of bread and eggs and got ready for Nongnah.

[gunin]

Day 2 continued:

Earlier, my friend Philip had shared a picture of Nongnah village and suggested me to visit the place and travel all the way to Ranikor bordering Bangladesh. I was unaware of accommodation at Ranikor and therefore travelled only till Nongnah village. Maybe I will travel to Ranikor later during an all-boys trip

It took us nearly 2 hours to cover the 30 odd kms to Nongnah village. The roads are some of the steepest I have come across in Meghalaya. The steep, jutting hills and narrow, broken roads reminded me of travelling in Arunachal Pradesh. And the views! We could see clouds slowly moving across mountains and because of the overnight rains, everything was fresh and the vegetation wore a bright shade of green.


Bright shades of green

At this moment, I will like to mention that the Bolero 4wd is absolutely in its element rumbling along steep, broken mountain roads/ tracks. With its humongous low end torque, great all round visibility and rock solid mechanicals, the Bolero makes me love it even more during such trips.

Some pics:








Bolero 4wd in the South West Khasi Hills


Bangladesh plains??

The picture that my friend had shared of Nongnah was a panoramic one of a flat piece of land forming a table top. We reached Nongnah and started looking for a vantage point to get the view as shown in the picture. We asked the villagers and some kids volunteered to show us the way to the view point. An extremely sweet gesture!

The climb up was steep and tiring. And I was also carrying my kid with me.


We climbed all the way up from down there. Can you spot my Bolero? No?


There you go!

But all that was worth it and how! The view from the top has to experienced. A sense of calm and achievement came over us- even my two year old seemed mesmerised. We shared some snacks and chocolates with the kids who had guided us. A thing which struck me as wonderful was that one kid collected all the wrappers from the other kids and deposited it the nearby garbage bin. Such civic sense from such small kids.


Nongnah Table Top


Viewpoint. Clean and well maintained


Cute, helpful and very responsible kids


Canyons


Gunin and Mandira

We must have spent nearly an hour just relaxing and enjoying the view. We thanked the kids and started climbing down. The trip to Nongnah was a highlight of our trip. We started to drive back to Nonglang village and reached there for a late lunch.


Driving back to Nonglang


Cute pup at the Travellers nest

There are many more places to explore in Nonglang village but as we were tired we slept off till it was dark. We went to the nearby Mawkyrwat market in the evening. A local lady very kindly volunteered to show us the way when we were wandering around. After a dinner of rice and chicken, we retired for the night.

[gunin]

Day 3: Nonglang to Guwahati (via Mairang, Patharkhmah)

The previous night, I was in two minds about the route to take on the way back. I had the following options:

Option 1: Simple, lazy and predictable. Travel back the way we came by and be done with it. Face somewhat unruly tourist cabs and traffic jams.

Option 2: Travel to see the Rohbah Fish Sanctuary on river Rilang. Travel to Mairang via Nongshillong- Pariong road. From Mairang, travel to Rani, Guwahati via an internal road.

By morning, I had convinced myself and my better half that Option 2 was better.

We started from Nonglang without having breakfast to save some time.

Some pics of the route:






No tourists we could spot here




Bolero Lx 4wd DI Turbo

Rohbah Fish Sanctuary: Google Maps was accurate once again and we travelled through some really beautiful places. The fish sanctuary itself is on Rilang river we could see a lot of fishes.

Some pics:













Our son also wanted to walk on the sandy beaches and we let him wade in the shallow water near the bank. It was difficult to get him out of there later- kids love water!

After Rohbah, we started for Mairang via Nongshillong-Pariong road. The road is not in very good shape and we progressed slowly. But the views were very good and the traffic next to non-existent. We started feeling very hungry as we had skipped breakfast in order to start early.

We stopped at this place for a quick bite of biscuits and dry fruits.







After some rough roads, we hit the Shillong-Nongstoin highway and were delighted to be back on this smooth highway. We had previously been on this highway 3 years back on our way to Mawphanlur. We had lunch at one of the dhabas and then drove into Mairang.

We tanked up the Bolero at Mairang as there are no fuel stations all the way to Rani, Guwahati. I had been planning to do this route for a long time and as the heavens opened up, I was grinning from ear to ear. The road condition is pretty good and consists of many twists and turns as can expected from a mountain road. Traffic is again very sparse on this route. Because of the rain, we did not stop much except for a cup of tea at Patharkhmah at a restaurant of questionable hygiene.


Only pic i could manage of the Mairang Rani route

We reached home in the evening after spending a fun filled 3 days in the abode of the clouds. Thanks for reading .

[SmartCat]

Moving thread from Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[Thermodynamics]

Excellent Gunin, Thanks for bringing once again some of the rare gems from north east which otherwise we would never know. Be it the monoliths or Nonglang village or Ronbah fish sanctuary... Fabulous stuff .

Originally Posted by gunin

Some more pics of the place. Can't help posting. It is such a wonderful place

This place looks no less than Stonehenge of England, if not better. Beautiful and well preserved. It appeared like you were the King, Queen and Prince in the assembly.

Originally Posted by gunin

We shared some snacks and chocolates with the kids who had guided us. A thing which struck me as wonderful was that one kid collected all the wrappers from the other kids and deposited it the nearby garbage bin. Such civic sense from such small kids.

Lot to learn from these people, they clearly seem to know the importance of passing values to next generation. It is the kids who will become our future, what we seed is what we harvest.

Originally Posted by gunin

My son didn't want to go back even when it started raining.

Looks like another traveller in making.

Thanks again for sharing such wonderful places. Last but not the least, stunning photographs.

[kaushik_s]

Nice writeup and lovely images there Gunin.

How much time it would take to Nongnah from Shillong? Can a non 4WD car (Creta) handle the roads till there? How much of bad roads are there (percentage wise)?

[shobhit.shri]

This is amazingly beautiful!

I like how little crowded and touristy this place it, but then I realize this is also the reason why I have never heard of this place before.

[gunin]

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

Excellent Gunin, Thanks for bringing once again some of the rare gems from north east which otherwise we would never know. Be it the monoliths or Nonglang village or Ronbah fish sanctuary... Fabulous stuff ...Lot to learn from these people, they clearly seem to know the importance of passing values to next generation. It is the kids who will become our future, what we seed is what we harvest.
Looks like another traveller in making. Thanks again for sharing such wonderful places. Last but not the least, stunning photographs.

Thanks a lot . Feedback like these makes it worth the effort to pen down a log. I have found this dedication to cleanliness in almost all the rural areas of Meghalaya. To see such response from small kids makes me feel optimistic for the future. My little one seems to enjoy his road trips in the jumpy Bolero.

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Nice writeup and lovely images there Gunin.

How much time it would take to Nongnah from Shillong? Can a non 4WD car (Creta) handle the roads till there? How much of bad roads are there (percentage wise)?

Hi Kaushik, thanks for the appreciation. From Shillong, you can reach Nongnah in around 4-5 hours. The road till Nonglang, Mawkyrwat is in good condition. From thereon, there are broken patches in the narrow road to Nongnah. Your Creta will go to Nongnah without any problem. I did not need 4wd at any place on this route.

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

This is amazingly beautiful!

I like how little crowded and touristy this place it, but then I realize this is also the reason why I have never heard of this place before.

Thank you for the kind words. It is indeed one of the least touristy places here. I also came to know about these places only a while back .

[SaGa]

Quick trip to unwind from all the hustle and bustle of life. Great location, good pics, a very capable vehicle. Thank you for sharing!

[nvldvr]

Beautiful pics and lovely write up. All the places in your pics look so serene and beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

And I was also delighted to read about that young boy, collecting wrappers from his friends for throwing into the bin. Infact the whole place itself looked so neat and clean. Just goes to show the great civic sense of the people there. May we have more of such kind. Cheers.

[Chillout]

Great pictures and lovely travelogue, definitely would want to visit this place before it looses it's pristine beauty. North East definitely is a hidden treasure and has friendly people who welcome their visitors.

[rav11stars]

Wow, that's one very refreshing trip and that's my kind of journey too. I like to travel to nondescript, unknown places where raw nature just exists.
All we've got to do is just soak in there in Nature's lap, be responsible, not litter and come back quietly
Thanks a lot for offering us such amazing glimpses.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by gunin

Day 3: Nonglang to Guwahati (via Mairang, Patharkhmah)

We reached home in the evening after spending a fun filled 3 days in the abode of the clouds. Thanks for reading .

Wonderful travelogue there Gunin, many thanks for sharing . As Thermodynamics has said above north east is a hidden treasure, waiting to be explored and given its due worth. Really appreciate you bringing Nonglang and its surrounding places to our notice.

Hope you keep traveling like this, exploring new places and bringing them to our notice. All the best.

[haldar_siliguri]

Awesome post Gunin, and just reinforces my plan for a Siliguri-Meghalaya road trip sometime later. Such off beat routes as you traveled on and shared pics of, are exactly what I always yearn for!

On that note I have an enquiry to anyone with knowledge of the following:

While traveling from Siliguri, after crossing Bongaigaon, what would be the best route to reach Mairang.

1. via Nalbari-Guwahati
OR
2. via Jogighopa-Dudhnoi

I am speaking in terms of better traffic but at the same time not sacrificing the option of decent/91 octane petrol stops as my vehicle will need that as much as possible.

Thanks and warm regards