Shillong's 'Mawasynram' - A Village On Clouds

Mawsynram is a village in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya state in northeastern India, 65 kilometers from Shillong. Mawsynram receives the highest rainfall in India. Located in the Khasi Hills, Mawsynram is famous for its rains. The rains of Mawsynram are so powerful that the villagers use a thick layer of grass in order to sound-proof their homes. The village derives its name from the megaliths found in the Khasi Hills.

Have you ever fantasized of living in between the clouds, then how would it be, how would the day start, how would the mornings look like? If you are a nature lover and love to explore, love landscapes as I do, then you dreamt of it. I always love to be a part of nature and always want to see and feel each corner of this world.

I think there is another pleasure one could get through traveling even in his or her tough times. And this addiction to exploring dragged me to the village of clouds.

The year was 2018 in the middle of summer. We planned for the Mawsynram trip. I think the plan was one of the best plans till now which I did two years back. Forgoing to Mawsynram you have to break down your journeys, which we exactly did. We first landed in Guwahati railway station and from there we hired a 4-wheeler and started our journey to Shillong which is also known as Scotland of East.

The journey! It was so beautiful. The roads were clean. The green jungle beside the roads just narrates the peace of the place all around. After reaching Shillong we went to our hotel. Keeping the luggage in our room we went to the police bazaar, the biggest market in Shillong, as you know I love to observe new places and I don’t waste time in a hotel room.

The next morning we again started our journey to our destination, Mawsynram. This time the journey was a little bit different. The roads were clean, green woods were cheering us to listen to their songs of nature. The clouds sometimes came into our car through the window and blew our minds.

I never had touched clouds with bare hands and that was my first time when I could feel that I was living in a fairyland. The rain-drenched Khasi hills were telling their stories in each of the turns throughout the journey from Shillong to Mawsynram, a village in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.

After a long drive of 60.7 km which took almost 2 hours, we finally reached our dream destination. Trust me Mawsynram is not less than any fairyland from any pinch. The clouds were playing everywhere. It seemed like a playhouse of clouds and this is their home, where they live, where they sleep, and where they play with green rain-drenched woods all the time. Reaching there, I stepped out of the car, and as usual, I started to observe their local people.

I observed that their culture is very different from here. Women are specified for business and men of the housework as a tourist guide or work as a tourist driver, as their lives are based on tourism. The ladies of the house are quite professional to their field of Business of many kinds, one of them is handcrafts by which they narrate their daily story of living in the lap of clouds and their culture.

In Mawsynram you can’t find any hotel rather you can stay there by booking homestay. There are so many options to book a homestay at a very low price and don’t hesitate, you will not regret it. We stayed here for 2 nights and I think those 2 nights were probably the most memorable nights of my life.

I could feel every suspense of that night that nature created. After reaching there I took a shower and got fresh. The owner of the homestay was so nice to us. For getting fresh they also gave us a scented towel and sandalwood soap. After getting fresh and finishing my meal. I had nothing to do for that day so I started to roam around the homestay cottage.

The cottage was nicely situated in a gap of two huge stones and from one side of the building, you can see a beautiful flower valley which is covered by clouds most of the time. A small river flows side by side to the ground of flowers and it seems like the play valley of clouds. I also saw some women with their children doing some household work in the river.
They were caring for their children on their back in a very unique way. Somehow, they wrapped their children in colorful clothes and tied them on the back of their shoulders. Anyway, that evening passed in the homestay as we had planned nothing for that day.

The next morning, I woke up early. Believe me, the morning there was like a fairy-tale. I woke up then I got fresh and went for breakfast. They cooked some chapatis and chicken in their traditional way for us. Ahh! the food, it was so mouth-watering. Seating beside my room’s window and watching that small flower valley where clouds were playing with the blossoms and having mouth-watering traditional food was like a heavenly moment. After finishing our breakfast, we were out to visit local spots.

Meghalaya has so many caves and waterfalls which was quite adventurous for us. Our driver first took us to the Mawsmai cave. It is a huge cave having a Shivalinga (a god of Hindu religion) in the center of the cave. It is believed as a holy cave and the locals worship here for their loved ones.

Then after spending some time here we went to visit Nohkalikai falls, also known as Mawsmai falls. It is known as the fourth highest waterfall in India. It is located a little away from Mawsynram and this waterfall is active all the year. The view of Nohkalikai falls is spectacular. Mysteriously the water of the waterfall gathers down in a shallow concave area and there the color of the water is deep blue.

Here you can spend some quality time with a jaw-dropping view and also click some insta-worthy photos along with the beautiful falls in your frame just for zero cost. Next, we were out for our second last destination which is Ritmawksir viewpoint. The place is free for enjoying beauty. It is a viewpoint with a spectacular view of the green valley which is the nursery house for clouds.

After enjoying some breath-taking view, we were out to go to our final destination which was Mawlygbna. It is the place rich in fossils and natural geysers. Overall, the place is pretty good for piece loving ones just like me. Sitting here you can feel the songs of the small colorful birds.

I never thought I would enjoy that much in a valley where the population is so less that you can actually count each and every people. The hospitality was so good and the people were very much interesting like their nature.

Overall, the trip to Mawsynram is one of the best trips of my life. If you want some adventure with a mystery of nature then you should go to Mawsynram, the rainy village of India. Trust me you can find the mystery of nature in every corner of Mawsynram. #KhabarLive #hydnews