A Week in Shillong: Rock Music, Root Bridges, and Rain
I gave Shillong a week because everyone who'd been told me the same thing: "You'll need more time than you think." They were right. Here's the journal.
Day 1: The Drive That Sets the Tone
Guwahati to Shillong. 100km. If you're combining northeast destinations, pairs perfectly with Shillong for a 10-14 day trip. Shared Sumo taxi from Paltan Bazaar stand. 200 INR per person. 2.5 hours of increasingly dramatic scenery.
The moment that hooked me: cresting a hill and seeing Umiam Lake spread below — a massive reservoir surrounded by conifer-covered hills, reflecting the sky in deep blue. The driver stopped without being asked. "Everyone stops here," he said.
Shillong itself feels unlike any Indian city I've visited. Pine trees. Clean streets. Rock music posters on lamp posts. A Khasi woman in traditional dress walking past a guitar shop. The Scottish-colonial architecture mixed with tribal identity creates something that doesn't exist anywhere else in the country.
Checked into a guesthouse near Police Bazaar (900 INR/night). Walked the bazaar — chaotic, steep streets lined with shops selling everything from tribal jewelry to imported denim. Found a music store selling vinyl records of local Shillong bands. Bought one for 400 INR.
Day 2: Don Bosco and the Blues
The Don Bosco Museum of Indigenous Cultures is one of Asia's finest ethnographic museums and I spent three hours there (entry 100 INR). Seven floors of galleries covering all of northeast India's tribal communities — headhunting traditions, weaving, musical instruments, burial practices. The skywalk gallery on the top floor has panoramic Shillong views.
Evening: Cloud 9, a live music venue on GS Road. A local band — four guys in their twenties — played blues covers with the kind of raw skill that made me wonder why they weren't famous outside Meghalaya. Entry 300 INR. The crowd knew every song. Shillong's relationship with Western rock music started in the 1960s and it's only gotten deeper.
Day 3: Elephant Falls and Shillong Peak
Elephant Falls: 12km from town, three-tiered waterfall named by the British after a now-destroyed elephant-shaped rock. Entry 20 INR. The main fall drops 30m into a misty pool. The path down through fern-covered forest is well-maintained. Allow 1-1.5 hours.
Shillong Peak: The highest point in Meghalaya at 1,964m. An Air Force-controlled area (carry ID). Clear-day views extend across the Khasi Hills in every direction. Free. The drive up passes through pine forest.
Afternoon: tried jadoh at a local Khasi restaurant near Police Bazaar — rice cooked with pork blood and spices. The flavor is iron-rich, earthy, and honestly not my thing. But tungrymbai (fermented soybean chutney) alongside it was surprisingly good — funky like miso, sharp with chili.
Day 4-5: The Root Bridge Trek
The big one. Drove to Tyrna village (60km from Shillong, 2.5 hours) and started the descent to Nongriat village.
3,500 stone steps down. Let me repeat that: 3,500 steps DOWN. And then, eventually, 3,500 steps back UP.
The double-decker living root bridge at the bottom is worth every single step. Two levels of bridge, grown from the aerial roots of rubber fig trees by the Khasi people over 15-30 years. The roots have been trained across the river, intertwined, and strengthened until they form a living bridge that actually gets stronger with age.
I stayed overnight at a Nongriat village homestay (600 INR with meals). The guesthouse had no electricity until 7PM (solar). The evening was candles, dal and rice, and the sound of the river below the bridge.
The climb back up on Day 5 took 3 hours and every muscle in my legs registered a formal complaint. But the waterfall near the bridge — a turquoise pool surrounded by jungle — was worth the bonus stop. Guide: 700 INR.
Day 6: Mawlynnong and Dawki
Day trip. Mawlynnong — Asia's cleanest village, 90km from Shillong. And it genuinely is immaculate. Every path swept daily. Bamboo dustbins on every corner. Community gardens maintained with pride. The bamboo skywalk offers treetop views. A single-root bridge is nearby (much shorter trek than Nongriat). Village homestay: 500-1,000 INR if you wanted to stay.
Dawki River: The crystal-clear border river with Bangladesh. Boats (500-800 INR for a 30-minute ride) appear to float on air — the water is so transparent you can see the riverbed 15 feet below. Best October-March when the monsoon sediment has cleared.
Combining Mawlynnong and Dawki as a day trip is long (200km+ round trip) but doable. Hire a taxi for the day: 3,000-4,000 INR.
Day 7: The Quiet Day
Walked the Ward's Lake area (entry 20 INR). Old colonial gardens, a Japanese-style bridge, and a greenhouse. Not spectacular but peaceful.
Afternoon at Umiam Lake. Kayaked for an hour (200 INR). The water was still. The hills reflected perfectly. A cormorant dove and resurfaced 20 meters away with a fish.
Evening: final visit to Police Bazaar. Bought kwai (betel nut, the Khasi social ritual — 10 INR for a small packet) and tried chewing it with a local's guidance. My mouth turned red. I felt mildly dizzy. The local laughed. "You'll get used to it," she said. I did not get used to it.
Would I Go Back?
Without hesitation. But next time: two weeks, covering Mawsynram (the actual wettest place on Earth), the Laitlum Canyons (which I ran out of time for), and ideally timing it for the Nongkrem Dance Festival.
Total spend for 7 days: approximately 15,000 INR (~$180). That includes transport, accommodation, food, guides, and one blues bar.
Verdict: Shillong isn't like anywhere else in India. For other unique Indian experiences, the salt deserts of Kutch and the temple beaches of Gokarna are equally singular. Not the northeast, not the Himalayas, not the south. It's its own thing — Khasi traditions, Western rock music, living architecture grown from tree roots, and the kind of rain-washed landscapes that make you understand why they called this the Abode of the Clouds.
