Travel
Under the bounties of the rain gods
Falling for the falls
The next two days of my trip was out-and-out for the falls and my travel mode for short distance trips from one fall to another was an exciting combination of up and down hill-walking, hiking and trips by Tata and Bolero jeeps. I paused at regular intervals to discover indefinite places, to snack and take snaps. Unlike the first stay this time my plan was to begin with the falls and I planned to start with the Mawsmai falls leading to Nohkalikai, Dainthlen and Kynrem falls.
Standing on the edge of the Mawsmai Ridge there is an observation tower from where one gets an unforgettable sight of the renowned Mawsmai Falls (also known as seven sisters' falls and Nohsngithiang Falls). The exact location will be barely a kilometre or so south to the Mawsmai village. This is recognized as the fourth highest waterfall in India with an altitude of over 1025 feet. The view of this superb waterfall from the Observation tower standing at the corner of Mawsmai ridge is mesmeric.
Fall with the blue plunge pool
Next in line was the majestic Nohkalikai falls where, one would glimpse a dramatic free leap from a well wooded drainage into a rocky base which, during monsoon, turns out to be a blue pool. During the dry season the pool was observant with moist pebbles, stones and unknown ferns with a thin track of water flow. One thing became apparent on my journey from Mawsmai to Nohkalikai and that was the scale of deforestation and coal mining in the area. I was not sure if this had anything to do with the apparent lack of lush vegetation for a place that was supposedly the wettest place on earth. Nohkalikai leads most of Meghalaya tourism's pride with its image in almost every item. Unlike the rest of the waterfalls, Nohkalikai vicinity included a car park, walkways with a series of fruit and food stands that adds a basic infrastructure for convenient tourism.
A conspicuous series of stairs, opened in 2005, took me to the lower viewpoints of the falls along with some disturbingly high amounts of trash. The stairs end well before it gets to the bottom. The path became increasingly steep with a bit of direction hazards towards the bottom, but I did not hesitate to continue once I saw the stairs end. A small graffiti on one of the big rocks near the pool indicated to the falls. Please be careful since the path is too steep and irregular due to lack of maintenance.
I spent around an hour and half on this route exploration to get closer and lower towards the falls. I'm guessing it would've taken at least an hour or more round-trip to get right down to the base of the falls. The base was mainly a crystal clear plunge pool with flowing water. A sort of addictive desolation was felt. It was the perfect ambiance for a spiritual retreat with views of misty mountains ahead and I did not hesitate to perform my ablution with ice cool spring water and say my prayers on one corner of the dried piece of the uneven rocks.
The serene surroundings in general passed my thoughts with a blaze of a Quranic verse of Sura An-Nahl, which says 'He cast firmly embedded mountains on the earth so it would not move under you, and rivers and pathways so that hopefully you would be guided.'
The three-tiered Kynrem falls located within the precincts of Thangkarang Park. Upon standing before the Railing and bridge on top of this waterfall, I listened to the incessant chorus of cicadas, viewed the Shiva lingam with and the plains of Bangladesh. Here I saw unknown parasites springing up from a thin belt lacking vegetation. However, I was not content with just the background views from the lookout deck. A turning of approximately 6-7 kilometres further down the road led me to the bottom of what is believed to be the seventh largest fall of India.
A noticeable feature of this turnoff down below to the bottom exposed numbers of almost dried up parallel plumes and all of these plumes are enlivened with cascading waters during monsoon.
Among the few designated parks in Sohra, Thangkarang is the most striking of all, situated 12 kilometres down south of the town. The park houses a peaceful little botanical garden containing some benches and picnic areas. From an isolated lookout deck built of small pieces of stone one can get almost an 180 degree view to the plains of Bangladesh. The sight of the plains momentarily stirred patriotism within, for it was an amalgamation of breath-taking beauty mixed with the senses of belonging.
Land of theThe monoliths Road to root bridge
My fourth and fifth day was all set for the renowned root bridges trekking exploration. In a matter of two days I visited the double Dekker root bridge not once but twice. The taxi driver along with the local guide had reached the hotel by 9 sharp. We left in the morning at around 9:30 am and after 40 minutes of uninterrupted drive from the Coniferous resort we reached the starting point for trekking in Umsohphie village, which is closely located to the holiday resort. There are 2 prominent living root bridges in Cherrapunjee followed by many others. Of which one is a single and the other being a double-Dekker. For each of these bridges more than 3 hours of trek, to and fro and we decided to head for the double Decker for a double delight.
The lengthy tiresome trek-cum-hike of over 12 kilometers (Approx.) (6+6) from the starting point is usually hectic for a city dweller from the plains but I made it thanks to my regular jogging habits. At 10.30 am we started our frantic but a truly amazing down-hill hike. The first 3 km of the trail was concrete stairs-cum- footpath track till it reached the threshold of a Khasi village; it's like any other quaint Cherrapunji village. I attempted to count and was exhausted after the 2500th stair which was arranged in descending order with frequent bends to the left and right.
From an adventurer's point of view, half of the excitement of the root bridges is on the trekking part while the other half is on the bridges. As we moved ahead, we came across eye-catching flora and fauna with traditional khasi houses scattered in the midst of a lush green jungle. Here one can spot species of unknown wild orchids and experience the thick jungle smell. I felt like I had dipped my body in a nourishing dry green pool full of life. I'd also forgotten how beautiful it was up here, so remote, so far away from everything. Sign boards located on regular intervals indicated that we were on the right track.
My khasi guide pointed to the top of a hill far behind us to show me our starting point. I felt both happy and snappy, since, I'll have to cover a whole lot distance on my way back. My short lived irritation disappeared when I learnt that we had two more similar hanging bridges to cross to reach the double Decker. Our next and last stoppage was at the Nongriat village, the last village before our final destination. By now we were famished and had a quick lunch before resting. A few minutes later we reached the double Dekker root Bridge.
There is a small waterfall near by the bridge where villagers from distant places take rest en-route to other villages. There were no sign of any tourists apart from the three of us. We were sweating after the long trek and dipped our legs and washed our face into the water to get some respite. The water was cold and all our tiredness was washed away after an hour of resting on top of the rocks of the waterfall. We were able to cover both the bridges and paused for a while before our return.
Rules of the root bridge
My opinion of the root bridge (Both single and double) is that, it's a semi natured-semi altered bridge constructed with the help of home-grown plant roots supported by indigenous technology. The Structure is attention-grabbing enough to observe but not exactly a marvel. The single root bridge and the double Decker Bridge might sound quite amusing but the second one is one bridge grown, stacked and altered accordingly on top of the other. There is also a basic dwelling near the double decker bridge which has 3-4 rooms and is possible to book in advance.
The know-how behind the root bridges are that direction of roots have been harnessed by nature for quite some centuries. These are stem roots of a particular rubber tree and very strong in terms of penetrating and settling through grounds, river banks and even rocks. A particular local technique is used to direct the roots along the banks of the stream (the stream is similar to a plunge pool of the bottom of a waterfall). When these extended and uneven roots reach the other side of the river, they're allowed to take in the soil.The bridges include 4-5 even more base spans followed by two protective railing spans. Lengths of these bridges are somewhere between 50-100 feet. Stones and woods are used to fill the gaps in the base span roots. Some of these bridges have roots brought down from the tree branches joining the middle of the bridge from the top as support spans. These root bridges are quite strong and capable of carrying more than 50 people at a time. It normally takes 20-30 years for the roots to grow enough in length and become strong enough to hold. Given enough time, a sturdy, living bridge is produced. Due to the fact of continual growing, the bridges actually gain strength over timeand some of the root bridges are believed to be over 500 years old.
Upon our return from the double decker bridge the trek uphill was the most physically tiring thing I ever encountered; especially, the last 3 kilometres of steep uphill trek with thick steps squeezed out all my energy. The only lunch that I had was a bowl of noodles in one of the villages near the double-dekker bridge, and it seemed to disappear from my system very fast. We took frequent breaks to support our climb. In nearly 2 hours we reached the top. It was one of the most adventurous travels of my life and the physical labour was worth it.
To Shella and Mawsinram
My sixth and last day in the world's wettest place was fixed for the villages Shella and Mawsinram.
The Meghalayan Plateau is interspersed with river valleys descending sharply to the southern portions of the state. Therefore, both deep and shallows gorges and ravines are formed in Mawsynram and Shella-Bholaganj which borders the scenic north-east of Bangladesh. The climate here was warm and tropical. The late noon glimpses of shella portrayed a peaceful, quiet and an orderly village located on the banks of Ichamoti River (a perfect place for angling).Parts of Shella is surrounded by the West Khasi Hills District on the west and the Jaintia Hills District on the east. The entire village is criss-crossed with concrete walkways and embankments constructed by the Lafarge cement company. A hand built suspension bridge connects the wilderness of Mawsynram with Shella. It is located 48 kilometres far south of Shillong town.
Mawsynram is located about 15 kilometres north west of Cherrapunji and currently holds the record of the highest rainfall in the world. Its altitude is about 1400 metres above sea level. Among Mawsynram's natural landmarks, the cave named Mawjymbuin is worth a visit. Inside this cave there is a pair of distinguished speleothems breast-shaped stalactite over a massive stalagmite which is shaped by nature into a Shivalingam and another is a loaf-shaped rocky dome with almost a flat top among the hillocks known as 'Symper' Rock. Mawsynram is also a known pilgrim location. Most of the Khasi Hills are loaded with monoliths one would witness these Khasi monoliths erected firmly extended through out the entire south of Meghalaya.
Thus my interlude within nature and blissful waterfalls came to an end. But the last message is --- if someone is looking to get away from the cacophony of urban living within a budget then Cherrapunji has to be top of the list. It's quiet, friendly, hospitable, opulently natural and, of course, has plenty of waterfalls and strong roots if you decide to play the role of Tarzan. By the way, whether you bring Jane or find one here is up to you.
Cherrapunji fact files
Cherrapunji, which has an average annual precipitation of about 450 inches (11,430 mm) the monsoon season, is from May to September and the winter being from October to March. An average Temperature any where below 15 degrees are observed In the winter months so one should come prepared. It also receives the northeast monsoon showers which are irregular. Rainfall at Cherrapunji varies from heavy to medium and medium to light, with majority of rainfall occurring during the night. However, highest rainfall occurs at Mawsynram, a village located west of Cherrapunji, where rainfall totals to 700 inches, Cherrapunji has a mild subtropical highland climate. For the Bangladeshi traveller it is easier to travel by road from Sylhet city to Tamabil checkpost Taxis and CNG's are available. Upon crossing the border one can share a ride with the Tata Sumo jeep to Sohra at the cost of 50-60 rupees or board a taxi for 800 Rupees(most of the drivers ask for somewhere between 1000-2000 rupees).for the travellers from other parts of the world can take the Road from Guwahati (181 km) is the nearest motorway to Cherrapunji. You can either take a bus or hire a taxi from the Paltan Bazaar bus stand in Guwahati or hire a taxi from police bazaar shillong for Cherrapunji. The distance is hardly 55 kilometres.
Apart from three there aren't many hotels worth mentioning in Sohra and they are the Holiday resort, Coniferous resort and Hotel Mika Park.Cherrapunji doesn't have renowned restaurants but Cherrapunji Circuit House, Dak Bungalow and Holiday Resort are some of the tried and tested eat outs.
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