Shillong is the capital of Meghalay. It is a hill station having beautiful water fall and natural beauties. I visited Shillong twice during my stay at NIT Silchar.
Journey to Shillong: Shillong is at a distance of 220 km from Silchar and can be reached from Silchar by bus. It took approximately 10 hours to reach Shillong due to bad road condition. It takes 2 hours from Guwahati and the road communication between Guwahati and Shillong is very good. Shillong can also be directly reached from Kolkata by flight.
The bus left from Inter State Bus Terminus , Silchar at 6 pm. The ticket price was 500 INR from Silchar to Shillong. The bus passed through the narrow road through the mountain. It was night while traveling and both side of the road are looking dark. The dropped me at Civil Hospital Shillong at 4 am. It was the month of Oct and it was extremely cold. After waiting for 1 hour in front of the Hospital, I walked to the Police bazar which is at distance of 2 km from the Hospital. It is better to catch a Shillong bus from Silchar which has stop at Police Bazar Bus stop. Shillong public transport service bus deport is located at Police bazar. All the bus to other cities is available here. After reaching there I stayed in a hotel near the Police bazar. At 7 am I went to the Meghalay Tourist Information Center which is located just in front of the bus stop and booked an one day tour package for Shillong.
Exploring Shillong: One day sight seeing package with a tourist bus is the most convenient way to explore Shillong in one days. The bus started from Meghalay Tourist Information Center at 8 am. First, the bus went to the elephant falls. Elephant falls lies nearer to the eastern Indian Air force headquarter. The entry fees for the elephant fall was 50 INR per person. The falls was very beautiful. It is three stages fall. Well maintained paths and facilities are made for tourist. At the entry point of the fall there is small stall which show cases the Meghalay costumes and photography can be done wearing the these costumes at a nominal price. Near the ticket counter there are many souvenir shop and snack stalls.
Shillong viewed from Shillong peak.
At Shillong city.
Police Bazar, Shillong.
Shillong.
Elephant falls: After spending approximately 45 minutes at the falls, the bus took us to the Shillong peak. The whole city is viewed from the peak. At this peak there is a telescope to view the city more closely. We spend approximately 30 minute at this point.
Entry to Elephant falls.
Third stage of Elephant falls.
Foot bridge at Elephant falls.
From the Shillong peak we came to Laitumkhrah Cathedral. It is the largest church in the Northeast. It has a big central prayer hall. We spend 30 minutes here before moving to our next destination.
Laitumkhrah Cathedral.
Laitumkhrah Cathedral.
Laitumkhrah Cathedral.
Wards lake: Wards lake is the most beautiful lake in the Shillong. We spend approximately 1 hour of time at this lake. There is a well maintained park surrounding the lake. The park is always crowded with tourist. Boating facilities are available at a price of 50 INr per boat. The wooden bridge connecting both side of the park has a beautiful view of the park.
Wards lake.
Wards lake.
Wards lake.
Umiam lake: After the Wards Lake, we had our lunch and traveled to Umiam lake. On the way to Umiam lake, the bus stopped at Golf club. We spend 20 minutes in visiting the club. Then we headed toward Umiam Lake. We spend approximate one hour and 30 minutes time here. The entry ticket was 20 INR per person and 50 INR per camera. The Lake connected by a park. There are many facilities for children in the park. We spend few minutes in the park. Lots of boating facilities are available in the lake. I purchased a boat ticket at 120 INR and got into the boat. The boat sailed for 45 minutes in the lake. The lake is very vast. Sailing through the boat had a good experience. We are around 12 people in the boat. After the boat ride, we returned to the gate and traveled to Meghalay State museum in the tourist bus.
Umiam lake.
Umiam lake.
Umiam lake.
The state museum is the best place to get knowledge about the tradition of Meghalay. All the costume, dance form, ancient ornaments and past history are displayed in the museum. We spend more than 1 hour in the Museum. Then we returned to the Meghalay Tourist Information center. After dinner, I came back to my hotel.
Traveling in Shillong was a beautiful experience in understanding the culture and tradition of Meghalay. Traveling in the winter is the best time to explore Shillong.