Welcome to explore the top 9 Cherrapunji tourist places that you shouldn’t miss any way on your Meghalaya trip.

I have seen many people stay in Shillong and allocate only a single day to explore Cherrapunji. Most of them start their journey very early in the morning, cover only the commercial spots in Cherripunji, and get back to Shillong in the evening.

To be honest, with such a hectic plan you can’t cover even 20% of the top places in Cherrapuji; you’ll experience only the overcrowded commercial spots, but you can’t enjoy the real beauty of the place.

I strongly suggest, you should cut off such short trips from your mind, rather plan to stay at least 3 days in Cherrapunji (if you really want to explore this evergreen destination). I’d say, 4 days should be much better; you can cover everything in a fully relaxing mood.

Let’s explore Cherrapunji step-by-step.

How to go Cherrapunji?

Cherrapunji is situated in the southern part of Meghalaya and known as the wettest place in the world. So, you must keep rain gears in your backpack when you are visiting Cherrapunji.

I’d say, Shillong is the best starting point for reaching Cherrapunji. Some people plan to reach Cherrapunji directly from Gawhati airport, but I don’t suggest making the journey so hectic when you are on a leisure trip. The distance from Guwahati to Cherrapunji is too long.

After you land at Shillong airport or Guwahati airport you should stay overnight in Shillong, get some rest there, and start your journey towards Cherrapunji the next morning.

The distance from Shillong to Cherrapunji is only 56 km, and this may take 2-2.5 hours maximum. But, I’d suggest a break journey so that you can cover on-road spots.

You should start from Shillong early in the morning and plan to reach Cherrapunji by evening after covering all the spots on the way, such as Elephant Waterfalls, Mawphlang Sacred Forest, Duwan Sing Syiem View Point, Wah Kaba Falls, Mawkdok Dympep Valley, etc.

Top 9 Cherrapunji tourist places you must visit

I am gonna show you the 9 best places in Cherrapunji that you shouldn’t skip under any circumstances, stay stick to your plan, and enjoy the place completely.

You know, Cherrapunji is the wettest place in the world, so, keep rain-gears such as umbrella, lightweight raincoat, water shoes/ waterproof shoes, quick-drying shocks, quick-drying undergarments, etc., in your backpack.

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Double Decker Root Bridge

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I’d keep the “Double Decker Root Bridge” at the top of the list among all cherrapunji tourist places. This one is not situated exactly in Cherrapunji, but you can visit this place from Cherrapunji. Trip to Double Decker Root Bridge is very exciting, especially if you love hiking.

It takes around 1 hour to reach Tyrna village from Cherrapunji. After then, it’s a full day hiking trip through the evergreen forest of east Khasi hills. If you are an adventure lover you shouldn’t miss this amazing journey. During this trek, you’ll be passing through several living root bridges, wooden bridges, and wired bridges, and you’ll experience melodious songs from unknown birds and insects.

It needs 2.5-3 hours to reach the Double-decker root bridge depending upon your speed. I guess you have never seen anything like this one in the past. It’s a two-storeyed living root bridge made of hanging roots of rubber trees.

The top floor of the bridge offers a splendid view of the surroundings – the waterfall, crystal clear stream water, lush green hills; it’s really an amazing place.

You may take a bath at the waterfalls to get refreshed; the stream water is very clean and cool.

Explore more here: Double Decker Root Bridge – An Awesome Trekking Experience into the Forest of Cherrapunji

Many people return back after watching Double-Decker Root Bridge, but if you hike ahead you may experience something more beautiful.

After a short hike for another 40 minutes, you’ll reach the Natural Swimming pool. Amazingly clean blue shaded water and a live waterfall offer a magnificent photogenic view at the Natural Swimming pool. Indeed, the place is perfect to take a shower, though swimming is not recommended unless you are very good at it.

If you hike ahead, after 1.5 hours you’ll reach the most pleasant place of this hiking route, the Rainbow Waterfalls.

Most of the tourists avoid hiking for so long, but Rainbow falls is one of the best waterfalls in Meghalaya. Do you know what’s the most exciting part of this one? – A live rainbow image appears over the waterfall on a rainy afternoon.

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Garden of Caves

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Not many people know about the Garden of Caves, and this is mainly due to ignorance of local travel agents; it may be because of the off-route or distance of this place from Cherrapunji town.

But I personally believe, a Cherrapunji trip remains incomplete without visiting the Garden of Caves.

Situating around 15 km away from Cherrapunji town, Garden of Caves is wonderfully organized by nature herself, decorated with 5 unconventional waterfalls, evergreen forest, and caves. Manmade architectures connected every spot in a perfect manner that offer you complete joy on a sunny afternoon.

If you visit the Garden of Caves in the afternoon session you may experience the golden sunset from the top of the region. I’d suggest you don’t visit this place in a hurry, rather take your time and feel the beauty sensationally. In general, it takes 1.5-2 hours to cover everything in the Garden of Caves, while reaching this place from Cherrapunji requires another 30 minutes.

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Seven Sister falls

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Seven Sister Waterfalls is considered among the popular and commercial sightseeings in Cherrapunji. The local name of this waterfall is Nohsngithiang Falls.

You can have a wide-angle view of these pictersque waterfalls from a roadside viewpoint; there is no way to get closer to it unless you plan for a hiking trip.

Being the combination of 7 different streams, the Seven Sister Waterfalls cover a very wide area. During full winter you may not experience the complete beauty of Seven Sister as some of the waterlines get dried in that particular season. However, in the early and mid monsoon, more than 7 streamlines appear to make it more sightful.

This part of Cherrapunji is very wet, and most of the time it remains cloudy. So you may not get a bright photo snap; still, you shouldn’t skip the chances to become an eye-witness to Seven Sister Waterfalls; it is an extremely beautiful sight that you can rarely find elsewhere.

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Nohkalikai Falls

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This waterfall is not as popular as Seven Sister, but the good thing is, you’ll not even experience a huge crowd here as in Seven Sister’s viewpoint. The reason is probably the distance and avoidance by the travel agents. The viewpoint of Nohkalikai waterfalls is away from the center of Cherrapuji town, and thus travel agents from Shillong or Guwahati simply skip this place, rather they only focus on the popular commercial places of cherrapunji.

The first thing I’d like to mention is the splendid roadside beauty that you’ll experience on your trip towards Nohkalikai. It takes around 25 minutes to reach there, and definitely, it’s an ever picturesque driving experience!

The magnificent landscapes all around the road will take you to the dreamland; It’s amazingly green all the way, curved vivid valleys spread over miles after miles, floating clouds over the green valley follow you all the way – I must say, mother nature decorated this place by her own hands.

Similar to Seven Sister waterfalls, you can’t get close to the Nohkalikai waterfalls; you have to watch it from the viewpoint that situates far top. But still, it’s an amazing sight, especially on a sunny morning.

Nohkalikai is the tallest and fastest waterfall in Meghalaya. The massive landing of white waterfall onto the deep blue water bed offers one of the best photogenic views that you achieved in life.

If you are on a longer holiday, you may plan for a full-day guided trek to reach closer to the Nohkalikai waterfalls.

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Arwah Cave

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There are 4-5 caves in Cherrapunji; as per my personal judgment Arwah Cave is the second best after the “Garden of Caves“. Arwah Cave is a newly discovered cave with some amazing natural sculptures.

I like Arwah Cave mainly due to 3 reasons,

• This cave is not just stalagmite-based; inside the cave, you’ll see some amazing fossils.
• Arwah cave is not a tourist hotspot, and thus less crowded; you can watch everything peacefully.
• To reach the cave entrance, you have to walk a long distance through the silent nature; on one side a deep shaft all the way, and the other side is situated with steep hills.

I suggest must visit this cave even though you skip some other caves in Cherrapunji.

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Eco Park, Sohra

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The main attractions of Eco-park are —

• Floating clouds all around you.
• Hidden waterfalls.
• A wide view of Bangladesh.

From the edge of Ecopark, you can have a widespread view of the lush green plain land of Bangladesh. Watching the underground waterfall might be a new experience for you. It is small, though I find this one pretty interesting.

You must not forget to keep your rain gears in your backpack; Ecopark is one of the wettest places in Cherrapunji, rain may appear anytime here without any prior sign.

You’ll get very tasty food in the food markets at Ecopark. Due to the high volume of tourists from Bangladesh, one of the restaurants is dedicated to pure Bengali thalis at reasonable prices. You’ll get continental food in another restaurant.

I’d suggest, plan Cherrapunji sightseen accordingly so that you can complete your lunch at Ecopark.

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Mawsmai Cave

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Mawsani cave is a very popular one as it is situated just in the middle of the town. The natural architectures inside Mawsani cave are very beautiful; all the natural sculptures are mainly based on stalagmite/ limestone.

Due to high popularity, you may face a heavy crowd in Mawsani cave, which you may not like. This cave is a commercial spot in Cherrapunji, and thus it’s a targeted destination for travel agents from Shillong and Guwahati, and for the same reason, Mawsmai Cave remains highly populated by conventional tourists.

Recently, a new stalagmite cave has been discovered just beside the old one which is relatively peaceful.

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Kynrem Falls

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Kynrem waterfall is another beautiful viewpoint in Cherrapunji. This one is situated a little away from the town. You have to drive to the south.

It’s a very tall multi-storeyed waterfall, located inside the forest; you can’t reach very close to the falls, but a parallel view is beautiful enough.

Don’t plan to visit here during the afternoon session, because the place is inside the forest where evening appears early. A low intensity of sunlight won’t let you take bright photo snaps. You may visit Kynrem waterfall on your return trip from Tyrna village (Double Decker Root Bridge), if it is morning or early afternoon.

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Mawmluh Caves

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This cave is also situated in the middle of the town, a little away from Mawsmai cave. The stalagmite architectures are not as good as in Mawsmai cave, but the crowd is also limited here.

If you don’t like to visit another similar cave, you may simply skip this one. But the good thing is, you can enjoy this cave peacefully in comparison to Mawsmai cave.

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Apart from all the above-listed spots, there are few other tourist places in Cherrapunji, which are also worth visiting. If you have enough time or you prefer a 4 days tour plan in Cherrapunji, you may cover all these places perfectly. Just check the following list:

• First Presbyterian Church
• Thangkharang Park
• Dain-Thlen Falls
• Ka Khoh Ramhah – it’s just a growing stone beside the road.

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Let’s wrap up

That’s the full list of  Cherrapunji tourist places, and I strongly suggest not to miss any of those during your Cherrapunji trip.

I know, many people are a bit skeptical about the time to visit Cherrapunji, probably due to the wet climate. One thing I’d say, Cherrapunji is a place to enjoy the rain, people from all over the world visit there to experience the evergreen hilly forests in a rainy background. So, if you are planning to visit Cherrapunji, you should be prepared accordingly.

I am not suggesting to visit there during full monsoon, but I also tell you to avoid full winter.

The best time to visit Cherrapunji is from mid-March to May, and from mid-September to mid-November. I’d suggest you avoid visiting there in the months of December to February, because most of the waterfalls become dry in these months.

I hope this information help you to make a perfect plan for your Cherrapunji trip. If you need any further help please let me know, I’ll try to help you from every angle.

Have a nice trip!