The Seven Sisters of Meghalaya

What is with the name Seven Sisters and the North-East? Sikkim has a famous waterfall by the same name and so does Meghalaya (ML).  

We had booked a cab from a tour operator in Guwahati for Rs 8000 for 2 days. Day 1 Shillong and Day 2 Cheraapunji. Day 3 plan of Dawki River was canceled due to landslide and road closure that had happened a day before. How unfortunate! 

Our driver had told us that tomorrow is a big day, with lots of places to see, the first place - the cave - opens at 9, so be ready at 8:00 a.m. We enjoyed the first rains of Cherrapunjee lashing at our windows and slept in great anticipation of what the next day would bring. 

We were ready at 8:00. He dropped us at the cave at 8:03! Turns out, it was just a 3-minute-drive from our homestay. We could have practically walked to the place. Urgh!

For breakfast, we were at the mercy of the only restaurant that was open at the time. 

The lady was so rude, that I thought one of the customers, who had come in a group of 5, would beat her up. He, however, decided to bite his tongue and eat his long-delayed roti quietly. 

Like most other helpless tourists, who were woken up early and mercilessly dropped off here, we too ordered the only two safe options available in this part of the country - Maggi and Bread omelet. We were scared to ask the lady to give us another omelet lest she scolds us for ordering repeatedly (yes, that is a legitimate feeling here) and not making up our minds the first time around. 

After a long wait, she decided to tell us the amount we had to pay. I mustered the courage to ask her what cost how much. She gave a death stare. That instantly shut me up, and we paid up without another word. 

Below is the pathway leading to the cave. 

The picture below shows the interior of the limestone cave with the lights on, which, according to me, made it look ugly, though, I guess it was necessary. 

Do the cave only if it hasn't rained the previous night, which is highly unlikely as this is Cherrapunji, the wettest place on earth and it practically rains here every day. In our case, it had rained all night (mid-May was supposedly peak summer) and the cave was flooded in places. With elderly people or small kids, it can be difficult to explore it due to the uneven footing, and the claustrophobic atmosphere.  

I was least excited about the cave. In fact, I wanted to do the Wei Sawdong Falls instead of the Cave. But our taxi driver refused to oblige saying the roads are not good for "small cars". We were in a Swift Dzire which he was driving at the speed of 40 km/hr.

We set off to the next item on our list. The Nohkalikai Falls which I have described in this post. 

Next up was the Seven Sisters, also called Mawsmai Falls or Nohsngithiang (if you can pronounce that. Now I get why they simply call it Seven Sisters. Easier on the tongue of the tourists). This is one of the tallest waterfalls in India with a height of 1000 feet. We were exploring the East Khasi Hills.

This is one of the rare waterfalls where we can actually stand and experience the place from where it begins and descends into the valley.  Most falls you view from a distance and can never actually approach the drop point of the falls. However, in this case, a bridge is built right over it so you get a really close view of the drop. 

The bridge of the Ecopark is visible from a distance.

The drop off point up close

The valley covered in mist

Cottages are being built in the Ecopark overlooking the falls. Scenic view from inside the rooms

The view of the falls from the main road. 

Day 2 of the tourist itinerary comprises the Mawsmai Cave, the Nohkalikai Falls, the Seven Sisters Falls, the Eco Park, and voila, you are done for the day. Time to return to Guwahati.

By 11:00 a.m, we had covered everything in the itinerary and the only thing left was to return to Guwahati. We realized that the Day 2 program was barely 3 hours! 

We insisted the driver take us to Wei Sawdong. Did he take us or did he continue to make excuses that the road is not good? 

In the next post.