Dec 2024
Meghalaya & Assam
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Route
Guwahati → Shillong → Mawphlang Sacred Forest → Laitlum Canyon → Sohra (Cherrapunji) → Tyrna → Dawki → Darrang → Shnongpdeng → Jawai → Ummulong → Nartiang → Umiam → Guwahati → Manas National Park → Guwahati Highlights Shillong's Christmas-New Year streets and cafes; Mawphlang Sacred Forest and Laitlum Canyon. Trekking from Tyrna to the living root bridges, and the crystal-clear Wah Umngot (Dawki river). Jaintia Hills limestone mines and the mysterious Nartiang Monoliths. Bodoland's rivers and bamboo groves; Manas National Park - elephant-back safari, rhinos, wild water buffalo. Food Along the Way Hot rice, pooris, parathas and omelettes for breakfasts on the road. Assamese, Khasi, Naga and Bodo thalis - especially the Khasi thali at Trattoria, Shillong and the Bodo thali at Abo, outside Manas. Maggi at Michelin-star locations; chai all along the road; hot thukpa on cold evenings. Hot chocolate at Dylan's Cafe; momos in a Shillong dive bar; an apple strudel in Guwahati. Source Original thread on X, archived below. |
Notes from the Ride
Meghalaya is built out of water. It falls, sits, runs and cuts, and almost everything worth stopping for on this ride was made by water doing one of those things for a very long time.
Seven days out of Guwahati over the new year, 1000 km, solo, with Shillong as the base for the first half of it.
The root bridges near Tyrna are the obvious case — they are not built, they are grown, ficus roots trained across a stream over decades until they will take a person's weight. Dawki is the other: the Umngot runs so clear that the boats on it appear to be sitting on nothing at all, which sounds like an exaggeration right up until you are standing over it.
In between there was a sacred forest at Mawphlang, a canyon at Laitlum, monoliths at Nartiang, limestone country through the Jaintia hills, and a night camped by the river at Darrang.
The plan came apart once, on day five, which was meant to reach Manas and got as far as Guwahati. Manas got its day anyway: a jeep into the Bansbari range turned up bison, rhino, elephant, two kinds of langur and more birds than I could name, and an elephant safari at first light the next morning before the ride back and a flight south that night.
The other thing worth recording is that a hunt for momos in Sohra ended, correctly, in a dive bar.
Tweets from the Road
In the last week of 2024, I spent a few days riding in Meghalaya and Assam. I started riding out of Guwahati and here are my notes and highlights from the trip.
   Rode along Nongkhyllem wildlife sanctuary and Unsaw forest between Guwahati and Shillong.
  Loved the Christmas-New years vibe of Shillong's streets and cafes in December.
    Rode to the Mawphlang Sacred Forest and the Laitlum Canyon around Shillong.
   Got caught in a fog riding on a cold morning. And although the temperature was only 8C, my hands froze within 30 mins of riding.
   Found this fire at the next village. Luxury resorts are all fine .. but have you ever tried hot chai and a god-send fire on a freezing morning.
   An hour later, the sun burst through the pine trees and brought some much welcome heat as I rode through the Khasi Hills of Shillong Plateau to Sohra (Cherrapunji).
   Trekked from Tyrna village (12 kms from Sohra) through forest-covered hills to see the incredible living root bridges.
    The living root bridges are handmade structures made by shaping the aerial roots of rubber fig trees. The Khasi and Jaintia peoples of this mountainous terrain have been doing this for centuries and a single bridge can take many generations to take shape.
   Rode through Dympep valley.
  Watched kids play football in the hills.
  Rode through remotes villages of Khasi Hills to see the Dawki River on Indo-Bangladesh border. Rode further to Darrang and Shnongpdeng villages, tucked in gorgeous evergreen hilly forests on the banks of the river.
   The Wah Umngot (Dawki River) is a thing of beauty. The amazingly clear waters where you see the riverbed 40 feet below - you'd almost mistake it for see-through glass.
   Spent the night in a camp on the riverbank near Darrang village and woke up to a beautiful sunrise.
   Rode through limestone mines and villages of Jaintia Hills; and saw men, women (and unfortunately kids too) were work their way through the winter.
   Took an impromptu detour to see the Nartiang Monoliths. The origin of this fascinating park, probably built between 1500-1800 AD, is shrouded in mystery. Some believe menhirs (for men) and dolmens (for women) were erected to honour the departed kings, queens and warriors.
   And then there are folklores that say a giant was challenged and he used one of the stones as an umbrella in the rain. Whatever be the story, this is a fascinating archeological park. And it may not be grand, but it is unlike anything I've seen.
    Took a moment to soak in the local architecture and the lovely colours.
   Crossed this crisp pine tree forest near Ummulong, rolling ghats of Jaintia Hills, Umian Lake near Shillong and the Umsaw and Nongkhyllem forests of as I rode back to Guwahati.
    Crossed Brahmaputra on a foggy morning as I rode in it's northern plains from Guwahati to Manas National Park.
  Rode through Bodoland - muddy rivers and bamboo groves, mustard fields and bamboo fences. (Also read up on the Bodoland conflict and the three accords in 1993, 2003 and 2020 during riding breaks).
    My favourite scene was mothers cycling through farm roads and tea plantations; and their 5 year old kid in school uniform perched behind them on carriers.
  Manas National Park, a world heritage site since 1985, is a terrific wild life sanctuary between the Bhutan Himalayas and the plains of Brahmaputra River. Manas is known for its exceptional biodiversity, scenery and variety of habitats.
   And as if the conflict between humans and wildlife wasn't enough, at Manas we have a conflict where woodland is encroaching on grassland; and in response, trees are being girdled so that they die a natural death.
   Saw a herd of wild water buffalos at dusk on the banks of Beki river, flowing through Mathanguri on Indo-Bhutan border. And what a gorgeous sunset it was!
   The forest changed hues at dusk.
  Went back into the jungle at dawn on elephant back.
   Saw these two gorgeous rhinos strolling down the road.
  Back to Guwahati and that was a wrap. 1000 km in 7 days. Guwahati - Shillong -- Mawphlang Sacred Forest - Laitlum Canyon - Shillong -- Sorah - Tyrna - Shillong -- Dawki - Darrang - Shnongpdeng - Jawai - Ummulong - Nartiang - Umiam - Guwahati -- Manas -- Guwahati.
And like all other road trips, enjoy the food the road had to offer. Hot tasty rice, pooris, parathas and omelettes for breakfasts.
    Delicious Assamese, Khasi, Naga and Bodo thalis of smoked, curried and fried meats with an array of vegetables, dal and rice.
    Especially the Khasi thali at Trattoria in Police Bazaar, Shillong.
  Or the Bodo thali at Abo outside Manas National Park.
  The humble Maggi at Michelin-star locations.
   And all the chai along the road.
    That ginger tea of hot water poured over dry powder at Laitlum Canyon touched the soul. And that black tea with a piece of cake beside the fire unfroze my bones on my way to Sohra.
  Hot thukpa on cold evenings.
  This hot chocolate at Dylan's Cafe was literally a warm hug in a mug.
  Searched for the best momos in Shillong using Google reviews and ended up in this dive bar. Even the aunty running the place was surprised to see me. Must be a teenager in the house who hacked the reviews. At least the momos were good.
   Some things in Guwahati are ridiculously priced. Like this apple strudel and a black coffee for a grand total of 90 rupees.
 
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