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Meghalaya's Natural Wonder- The Laitlum Canyons!

Meghalaya has enchanted us with her beauty and we were in love with the sunning landscape, amazing roads and the perfect relaxing environment that the state has to offer. The best experience was undoubtedly our visit to Laitlum Canyons which holds true to it's name "End of Hills." This beautiful location in East Khasi Hills is an amazing hot spot to catch views of the hills of Meghalaya. A 45 minute drive and some 30 odd kilometers from the capital, Shillong, this lesser known destination can be reached via Smit Village.

On a cloudy and misty day, we were the only tourists here barring a few locals who had come there for a picnic. We were taken aback by the beautiful gorges and valleys that this place had to offer. The lush greenery around, mountains hugging each other and a tiny stream flowing between the valley was breath taking. We stood at the edge of the hill soaking in panoramic views.

The tiny settlement amidst the vast green top canyons is a sight to behold. We walked around and climbed down the winding steep rock cut steps leading us down to Rasom village that has about 350 residents in total. This path of around 3000 steps through bamboo plantations and wild orchid groves is probably the only way for these villagers use to commute to the Capital. We came across a rope pulley that is till date used by the villagers to transport food and other commodities to their village. The rope pulley looked very antique and was made of bamboo and we were glad that it was not used to ferry people but only for goods.

We were there on a Sunday morning and the church prayers echoed around the entire valley. Though Nature kept us in tender hooks with mist engulfing the canyons and thick clouds hovering over, intermittently we had stunning views spending around two wonderful hours. It is a perfect place to beat the fast paced life of city. A paradise for nature lovers and trekkers. It would be a good idea to come here early in the morning if you are planning on trekking down all the way to Rasom village.

En route to Laitlum Canyons we were very fortunate to see two bulls slugging it out. We happened to be driving around at the right time. We stopped our vehicle and saw the entire fight with the villagers cheering their favorite bull. Nervous final moments of the fight, one bull literally stomped over the other earning a thumping victory. The villagers do this in order to pick the best and strongest bull for mating. It was a nail biting moment and we were glad to have been an audience to this brilliant moment. This would not fall under "Animal Cruelty" like Matador. Bulls are cared for and loved in India and for ages have been integral part of farming families. Across India many sporting activities take place year round to identify best quality stud bulls for mating and keeping alive excellent and healthy breeds.

There are not many public transport options to reach Laitlum Canyons but taxi rides can be easily arranged from Shillong. A bumpy cab ride to and from Shillong costed us Rs 1100. A meager Rs 20 is collected as entry fee for vehicle. If you want to feel tipsy you can stop en-route and taste the locally brewed rice beer. This place is a blessing for travelers as it is not exposed to commercialism yet.

Revisiting Beautiful Meghalaya Because Once Is Just Not Enough!

Revisiting this wonderland after two years gave us a wonderful opportunity to reminisce the golden days of backpacking across North East India. While a lot has changed over the last two years the good old people remained the same- caring and nice. Our second visit was equally adventurous and serene with a lot more new experiences that made the trip even more memorable.

We were unable to visit the Indian Air Force museum the last time and were pretty disappointed so this time the first thing that we did was head to the Indian Air Force Museum in Shillong. The museum provides a lot of insight into the weapons, technology and the valor of the Air Force. The first thing that gathered our attention was an aircraft ejection seat with a dummy pilot strapped to it. We saw missiles, bombs and other weapons on display. Apart from the pictures from the Indo- China war and Indo- Pakistan war, the museum houses uniform, medals and portraits of Indian Air Force personnel portraying their heroic tales as well. The massive aircrafts on display outside the museum are a delight and maybe the closet that we could get to these beasts. The museum is within the premises of the Indian Air Force Eastern Command, Upper Shillong and also houses a souvenir shop. Do remember to carry valid ID proof for entry into the museum.

Located 12 km from Shillong is the well known and easily accessible Elephant Falls. These falls ere named Elephant Falls by Britishers as there was a stone that resembled an Elephant adjacent to the falls. However, the stone was destroyed later in an earthquake. The local Khasi name for these falls is "Ka Kshaid Lai Pateng Khohsiew" meaning three steps waterfalls. A flight of steps from the parking area led us to the first layer of these falls that are wide and pretty much hidden among the trees. At the second layer, the water levels recede and we crossed a small bridge to reach the third layer which was the most impressive of all with milky white water gushing through on massive rocks and falling in a pool and continuing downstream.

The second day we decided to head to Cherrapunji. En-route was one of the most recent and stunning attraction- "Arwah - Lumshynna" cave to the already decorated and exciting Meghalaya tourist hub- Soraha belt. This massive cave, of which only 3 kilometer is mapped, is a wonder in itself. Compared to the other cave 'Mawsmai Cave' this cave receives very less tourist footfall. This particular cave is a few kilometers away from the highway and these few kilometers are stone paths with no tarmac which serves as a reason for most taxis to avoid visiting it, we would definitely mention that this cave is worth every trouble. Right from the parking area the trek path is beautifully paved and give you a feel of exploring the jungle. The neatly paved stone trek path seemed like a beautifully put jigsaw puzzle and massive greenery surrounding the trek path gave us a feel of walking into the jungle. We could hear the sounds of insects and birds and catching beautiful views of waterfalls around the valley was the icing on the cake. If this was not enough all through the trek path colorful butterflies fluttering their wings and hovering over our heads gave us directions.

There are several water channels that we encountered on our trek path and as we neared the entrance of the cave we spotted small openings that gave us an insight of what lies within the cave and the gurgling sound of water dripping and falling on rocks gave us an adrenaline rush. Upon entering the cave we could see water dripping slowly drop by drop from every opening possible. This cave is very wide with lots of room to walk around and what adds more beauty is the crystal clear water flowing every where and crisscrossing the boulders laid for visitors to venture further into the caves. The best part about this cave was the fresh water creek that kept company leaving us perplexed of its origin. The ice cold water and the magical sound of water dripping from the ceiling and joining into the unknown hidden paths gave us a glimpse of the life of cave explorers and the ray of hope to explore the unknown. The further we went in, the caves opened up stunning views of massive stalactite formations.

There are many deviations in between but be cautioned not to venture into pathways that are not lit as they are not meant for visitors and help maybe a distant dream in case of a mishap. The end point of the mapped path is a narrow path that leads to two massive rocks on either side blocking your path and the only thing that you can hear is water gushing throughout the narrow passages and flowing in full speed further into the unknown. The highlight of the cave lies just near the entrance on to your left. A slippery path led us to a massive but calm and still water body with turquoise blue water. It looked like a river in the cave with tree trunks sprouting out here and there. It reminded us of one of the scenes from the Harry Potter movie. Clearly, it was one of kind experience.

And of course the sigh seeing in Cherrapunji brought back some fond memories. The many cab drivers who took us on lot of tours made sure we had the best of time. Our recommendation from personal experience would be "Norlha" phone 9089616876. A knowledgeable, safe driver with a very comfortable car.

We went to Mawlynnong as well the next day and to be honest the village is beautiful but what was equally important and made us revisit it was the food. Yes, the food that was served in our home stay earlier was so yumm that we could still feel the taste of it linger in our mouths so there was no way we could skip the home stay and we were so glad to have found a room there. The Home stay and the local restaurant there as well serves the best meals in Meghalaya.

On our way back we even visited Dawki and it was fun to experience the beauty again and be content as Meghalaya was one place that we were sure we would definitely revisit and were elated that this wish was fulfilled.

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