Discovering Cherrapunji: Tea Gardens, Exploring the Arwah Caves and the Nohkalikai Waterfalls and the Seven Sisters Waterfalls.

16 Nov, Sat:

Shillong and Cherrapunji:

Discovering Cherrapunji: Tea Gardens, Exploring the Arwah Caves and the Nohkalikai Waterfalls and the Seven Sisters Waterfalls.

Another day in Meghalaya saw us explore an area about which every single one of us has studied in high school Geography classes—Cherrapunji, a place that receives the world’s highest rainfall, year after year. It is known to the local people as ‘Sohra’. I’m not sure why the British changed its name to Cherrapunji. As you can imagine, this is also the greenest place on earth. But while a country like Ireland, which receives rain almost every single day of the year, can boast at least forty shades of green, there is just one uniform green in Sohra.

b>Breakfasting and Setting out:

By this, our third day, we had become quite familiar with other members of our group and had learned names as well. This made breakfasts a very congenial meal with most of us sitting around two tables and feasting on hot, buttered toast and omlets, poha or puri bhaji, and fruit. There was butter and jam at the table, so those inclined towards toast alone, also had their needs met. We found the wait staff extraordinarily obliging. Lucky, a young star among the staff was quite tireless and met every demand (and there were several). He was calm, polite and extremely helpful. Indeed, the people of this region are wonderfully simple and quite charming indeed

However, on this day, Llew and I chose to stay in our rooms and eat the Chinese meal that our lovely tour guide, Anita, had most thoughtfully left for us. All we’d had the energy to do on the previous evening was throw ourselves on our bed and crash (as we had reached our hotel at 4.00 am). And so the food she had laid out for us (rice, noodles, chicken, pork) had been left untouched. We thought it would be a shame to waste it and so we ate the previous night’s dinner at breakfast-time—which was actually quite cool. This allowed us to join the rest of our group at the junction, a good hour later, rather than in the breakfast room.

A Visit to the Tea Gardens:

Assam, in the minds of most people around the world, is synonymous with tea and tea gardens. When the large state was divided in the mid-1970s I believe, it was partitioned into Assam (North) and Meghalaya (South). Hence, some of the tea gardens fell within Assamese territory, others in Meghalaya. Since we were en route to the Arwah Caves and were actually passing by a tea ‘Farm’, that was where we made a stop.

Now tea gardens are delightful visual expanses of greenery that slope down hills in the form of short, plump bushes. The ones at which we stopped were no exception. They were exceedingly pretty and we were told that we had about twenty minutes to dally amidst the bushes, take pictures, buy tea at the small shop, if we wished, and would then get back in the bus.

But, inevitably, if you have a stop, you will have delays. Some needed washrooms, others needed to do shopping, still others needed to feed local stray dogs--the activities were varied and every single one of them took time. Still, although Llew and I have posed in tea gardens in Darjeeling and in Munnar in Kerala, we posed one more time amidst these emerald rows under the bluest, most cloudless skies. And after everyone had accomplished the varied tasks they wished, we were back in the bus and whizzing away to the Caves.

A Stop in the Mawkdok Valley:

En route to the Caves, we made an impromptu stop at the Mawkdok Valley partly because there was a small issue with the engine of our bus that needed to be addressed. We were told to take a walk so that our driver could deal with the problem. We found ourselves on a bridge called the Duwan Sing Syiem Bridge overlooking the pretty Mawkdok Valley where we stretched our legs. Llew and I felt fortunate to finally find ourselves some Kit Kat chocolate bars—not even the larger stores seemed to stock them. These became our dessert after every meal.

With the bus engine issue addressed, we were off again and heading off along mountainous bends to the Mawkdok Valley. We passed by delightful scenery, beautiful rows of hills that disappeared in blurry, grey lines in the distance. And, eventually, we arrived at Sohra/Cherrapunji. It was very clear we were at an extremely high altitude as it had become distinctively chillier and because we could see low-hanging clouds swirling above us—in other words, we were actually above the clouds. But first, before we went out on an expedition, we needed lunch!

Lunch at Orange Roots Vegetarian Restaurant:

We stopped for lunch at a vast restaurant called Orange Roots which was probably the only vegetarian restaurant around for miles as it was simply packed to the rafters by Gujaratis who are strict vegetarians and will not deviate from their preferred diets and restaurants, no matter where in the world they might be. Hence, we were placed at tables overlooking the Ramakrishna Mission Buildings in the distance as thalis were placed in front of us. Only this time it was a pure vegetarian thali with no non-veg side dish accompanying it. It was very tasty though and very clean—so no complaints at all. The food was very clean and seconds, or even thirds, were freely available, should one have a ravenous appetite. I enjoyed the meal, but even more, I enjoyed the fact that there were clean Western style toilets that I could use at the end of the meal.

Off to the Arwah Caves:

The Arwah Caves were a complete revelation to me and quite easily, one of the highlights of my trip. Llew and I have explored caves and caverns in different parts of the world (Poland, Slovenia, Virginia) and they often merge in one’s mind without any kind of distinction. Still, it is always a thrill to get down into the bowels of the earth and to explore the subterranean worlds with all the mysteries that they carry. Anita had informed us that these caves were once submerged under water—in prehistoric times, probably—which is why it is not unusual to spot marine fossils on their walls. Now how cool is that?

So once we alighted from the bus, we began the long trek along a clearly marked path, overhung with tropical vegetation that reminded Llew and me very much of the hiking we had done in the Rain Forest in Costa Rica and Brazil. In fact, I took pictures and sent them to our English friends, Sam and Mary (whom we had met in our group in Costa Rica and with whom we have become very close friends) so that they could see how similar our walk in these Cherrapunji forests were to the hikes we had taken in Arenal in Costa Rica.

Once we arrived at the mouth of the Caves, we posed for pictures and then began our descent into the depths below. And believe me, nothing could have been more exciting. The caves are dimly (but adequately) lit, there are stepping stones that help you negotiate your way around dry land to avoid the flowing stream that ran the length of the caves. Within a very short time, we spotted the famed fossils and I was super excited at our find. Further ahead, the cave roof hung really low and we had to bend our heads to avoid getting bumped. Luckily, there were absolutely no bats in the cave—nothing can be more creepy, believe me.

So on we went, minding our steps and enjoying the eerie atmosphere of the caves, the echo generated by the close proximity of the walls, the manner in which nature has cut these wandering paths that take you to a dead end, after which you have no choice but to turn back. We paused as a group to take pictures with those members who had braved the long trek down and the long hike in the caves. It was truly exciting and filled me with a sense of Indiana Jones Adventure.

When we’d had enough of cave-exploration, we made our way back to the mouth of the cave and then began the long trek along the narrow hillside path to get back to our bus. Each of these excursions, I must add, are physically daunting and take a whole lot of energy and enthusiasm—but they are fully rewarding and is the reason we travel as much as we do, isn’t it? I have to tell you that this cave excursion was simply phenomenal, in my opinion, and I would heartily recommend that everyone do it, if they get the opportunity. It remained one of the highlights of my trip.

Two Iconic Meghalaya Waterfalls:

There were two other sites we had to cover before the day was through: both waterfalls, they are cited as the most visited venues in the state. The privilege of having a wonderful driver who can take hairpin bends on endless mountains in his stride cannot be underestimated and we were lucky to have Steven. He made his way along curving, narrow mountain highways to the Nokalikai Falls first, where we were led to a lookout to gaze over a steep drop. There we saw a narrow ribbon of water snake its way down a steep escarpment and fall into a pool at the base. These falls have a rather gory legend attached to them—about an abusive husband who threw the body of his stepdaughter down the valley in jealousy. His wife, haunted by his cruelty, is said to linger amidst these falls. They are also the tallest single plunge waterfalls in India and I was glad that we were able to take a couple of clear pictures. Because, just ten minutes later, the clouds had descended from the heavens and completely engulfed the valley. The falls were no longer visible as a thick shroud of grey appeared before us.

Those who’d seen the falls earlier, then began lingering by the shops as they bought spices, trinkets and other souvenirs. Others bought refreshment in the form of really lousy tea and coffee. After unnecessary lingering aimlessly, we finally moved on and alighted at our next stop: the Severn Sisters Waterfalls.

Well, as this is not the monsoon season, water falling down this steep granite wall is only just a trickle. Instead of manifesting itself as seven separate skeins, there was just one, rather thin thread visible. Hence, it was nowhere near the impression it is supposed to create. Still, these must-see sights are always a part of a tour itinerary of this sort and I was glad we stopped here too.

Back to Shillong:

All that was left then was to get back to Shillong where we knew we’d be stuck in the customary traffic that enters and exits the city along a single dual-carriage artery that leaves no room for deviation into any other minor lanes. Our jovial tour operator, Savio, composed a song with a single word, “Jam. Jam Jam” and burst into song every time we encountered these bottle necks! It created a light-hearted spirit of fun in the bus and brought a smile to all our faces. Finally, we did get to our junction from where we began the ascent to our hotel.

Dinner was at 8.30 pm and on this night, it was a Manipuri Meal. It contained all the components we had grown to expect: rotis, rice, papad, vegetarian and non-vegetarian options and dessert (caramel custard—which was simply awesome). After eating our fill, we bid each other goodbye and returned to our rooms to call it a night.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.