Meghalaya - An Adventure Paradise Experience | CampMonk - August

If you grew up in these villages of Meghalaya, you would never need an amusement park in your life. From serene spots in the jungle to exciting river activities and picturesque lakes, they have it all. Go find a pair of swimming trunks! 

With abundant activities like river canyoning, kayaking, zip lining and lots of swimming, this trip is meant for those with an adventurous spirit. 

A trek that takes you right to the heart of the living root bridges where you live amidst nature’s wonder and then move to challenge the waterfalls of a Khasi village as you trek along its course while jumping, sliding and scrambling. There will be more relaxed times like when you kayak over still waters and enjoy nature walks and camp around a bonfire. Once the adventurous soul in you gets its kick move on the city of Shillong where you can chill in cafes and shop to your heart’s desire if you wish 

Activities during the experience: Camping, Hiking, Trekking, Jungle, Canyoning

Itinerary

Day 1 - Welcome to an authentic Meghalayan village

Mawphanlur can be described as the most multi-dimensional place for leisure seekers. It just engulfs you in all its simplicity. The minimalism of the place with three simple cottages, one kitchen area and dining set up is a perfect example of letting nature do what it does best, mesmerize people. They have also thrown in a few kayaks and pedal boats in one of the many ponds where family, friends and even enemies can relax and chill over still waters. If you aren’t someone who enjoys water then just take a walk around the village guided by the faint sound of cattle bells. If you are into photography or have been waiting to try your hand at poetry and enjoy diving into nostalgia, you might want to stay back forever. Mawphanlur is one of those frames that you see hanging by people’s walls and you get to enter that frame. 

Overnight at a cottage in Mawphanlur.
Total drive time from Guwahati to Mawphanlur will be 5 hours. 

Day 2 -  Lunch  beside Asia's second largest river island 

If visiting a river beach only discovered as late as 1996 by a bunch of meandering school boys, sounds fun to you, then you are in for a real treat. This river island, ostensibly the second largest in Asia has much more to offer besides the aura of it being an island with barely 11 huts. It has three amazing waterfalls! We will be hiking to one of them.

 We drive to this island after breakfast and head for a hike to Kshaid Weenie (waterfall). After lunch, we drive to a village(Mawlyngbna) where once dinosaurs walked. For today, you only need to know this much. 
Hike duration: 45 minutes one way for slow walkers
Hike difficulty: Easy (it's a walk across meadows)
Total drive time from Mawphanlur to Nongkhnum island will be 1 hour Total drive time from Nongkhnum to Mawlyngbna will be 4 hours. Overnight stay at Mawlyngbna Camp/ Cottage 

Day 3 - A day full of river canyoning 

To describe this destination, we have come up with an analogy, see if it makes sense to you.
 If you grew up in Mawlyngbna, you would never need an adventure park in your life and we say this because of the river canyoning activity that the river in Mawlyngbna offers!

Beyond canyoning, the village is filled with serene spots in the jungle and some interesting fossils. Mawlyngbna is our favorite summer/ monsoon retreat. River canyoning your way to the ‘Um Kha koi reservoir will be the highlight of the day. 
- Jumping off rocks, crawling, scrambling, sliding over others, basically trekking over the river’s route is what river is canyoning is all about.
- Once the canyoning is over, get your kayak and relax over the still waters, then go ziplining, and if you have energy left then dive into the waters of the Um kha koi.
- Overnight stay at Mawlyngbna Camp/ Cottages 

 A small trek to Lew Luri Lura will start the day.
 According to local folklore, Lew Luri Lura was a marketplace for animals thousands of years back, during a time when animals could speak. The depressions are believed to be footprints of the large animals.
 
P.S. One doesn’t have to be a swimmer to participate in this activity.
 Unless someone has a phobia of water the activity can be enjoyed by everyone. 

Day 4 - A trek to remember - walking over living root bridges 
 

This is a big day. 
We need to wake up early.
 After breakfast drive to Tyrna village, the start of the famous Double Decker living root bridges trek. 

On the way, the guide will try and let you pluck some local fruits that grow during that season if you wish(we take permission from the villagers before plucking anything and even compensate them for it). 
This trek is nothing like a typical trek as you need to climb down a staircase, similar to walking from the top floor of a 100 story building. Your knees will start to give in and you may find your thighs shaking and you will be drenched in your sweat but you will recover every drop of that sweat when you reach your destination. After you reach the end of the stairs and finally see the Double Decker living root bridge, take a dip and freshen up. Because there is another trek(the next day) to go! This one will lead us to the Rainbow Falls. Trust us, if you need to hit the gym right away because you think you can’t handle this. Do that. You don’t want to miss this. 

P.S. We will be only carrying a small backpack for the 2 days that we will be staying down in the village below. Specific instruction regarding the same will be given once you sign up for the trip. 
Overnight at Nongriat Guest house 

Day 5 - A day spent in a tropical paradise

Waking up early(6 am) will ensure that you get to spend quality time near the Double Decker living root bridges before day trekkers start pouring in while getting a natural fish pedicure at the pool in front of the bridges. Ideally, by 8 am, you should start the trek back to Rainbow Falls. This trek is more akin to a trek on a rugged stony trail.

 This takes an hour from the homestay(which is near the Double Decker living root bridges). 

Come back in time for a swim in the pool in front of the Double Decker bridge before heading back to the homestay.
 A packed lunch will be had near Rainbow Falls. 
Overnight at Nongriat Guest house 

Day 6 - The last trek and a musical evening in Sohra

Today we need to head back up to the top where our vehicle awaits to what would be now considered a luxury. Beds in a hand-picked resort! yes! The ascend can take up to 2 hours.

 Upon reaching your resort give yourself the well-deserved rest and sleep. Time to put on your rock concert clothes in the evening as our dear friends and talented musicians belt out some classic rock! 

Overnight at Sa-i-Mika resort in Cherrapunjee (Sohra). 

Day 7 - Bidding Northeast India adieu 

Drive to Guwahati post an early lunch and bid goodbye to the Northeast, but only until your next visit. For those who wish to visit Shillong and other places around can extend their stay by a day and we will assist them in arranging for the same. 

Inclusions

• Stay in comfortable, clean and hygienic accommodation(twin/triple sharing) 
• Transport to and from Guwahati airport in Swift Dzire/Innova/ Force Traveller 
• Breakfast & Dinner on all days 
• Lunch on day 4 and 5 in Nongriat 
• Tour leader 
• Parking and toll charges 
• Driver allowance, food, and accommodation 
• River canyoning, zip lining, kayaking in Mawlyngbna 

Exclusions

• Airfare charges 
• All food & beverages cost apart from the ones mentioned above 
• Any camera fees 
• Hotel & driver tips (since the locals earn low wages, your tips will show your appreciation) 
• Entry ticket fees to Museums, Parks, etc. 
• Any personal expenditure (Toiletries, medicines, etc.) 
• Cost incidental to any change in the itinerary/ stay on account of flight cancellation due to bad weather, ill health, roadblocks and/or any factors beyond control. 
• Anything not specifically mentioned under the head "Inclusions". 

Cash vs cards: 
ATMs will be hard to find once we move out of Shillong and drive towards Mawphanlur hence it is advisable to carry cash for that leg of the tour. ATMs will be available in Cherrapunjee(Sohra.

Network connectivity: 
In Meghalaya, all network service providers have good coverage, however, Jio would be the only connection that can support 3G browsing speed while. Mawphanlur has no network connectivity, or very little, so you need to be prepared accordingly and inform family/ well-wishers accordingly. A Vodafone sim card can be deemed useless in Northeast India.