Wanderyn
Shillong
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
city · India

Shillong

Recommended stay: 3 days
Getting around: Shillong is compact enough for its central Police Bazaar area to be walkable, but the city's hilly layout and spread-out sights (Ward's Lake, Elephant Falls, Shillong Peak) mean taxis or app-cabs are needed for most itineraries. Reaching the famous living root bridges near Cherrapunji or Mawlynnong requires a car and, for the bridges themselves, a fair amount of walking or trekking down steep valley steps — some, like the double-decker root bridge, involve a strenuous multi-hour round trip.
Hours: Living root bridge treks are best started early morning to allow enough daylight for the return climb, and are best avoided or approached very cautiously during heavy monsoon rain (June-September) when steps get slippery and streams can swell; Ward's Lake and Shillong Peak keep standard daytime hours.

Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya and was historically the administrative center for the whole of British Assam, which left it with a hill-station character — colonial-era bungalows, a golf course, and a climate cool enough to have earned it the nickname Scotland of the East. It has a distinct cultural identity within India, shaped by the matrilineal Khasi people (property and lineage pass through the mother's line), a strong local rock and folk music scene, and a genuinely different food culture from the rest of India, with pork, smoked meats, and rice-based dishes central to Khasi cuisine.

The wider Meghalaya region around Shillong is what draws serious travelers: Cherrapunji and Mawsynram nearby are among the wettest places on Earth, and the region's signature attraction is its living root bridges — bridges grown over generations by training the roots of rubber fig trees across streams, a living engineering tradition unique to this part of the world. Reaching the most famous ones, like the double-decker bridge near Nongriat village, requires a genuinely demanding trek down and back up thousands of steps, so plan for a full, physically active day.

Shillong itself is worth a day or two for Ward's Lake, the local markets, and its live music scene, but the real reason most visitors come to this region is the day trips and overnight excursions into the surrounding Khasi Hills — caves, waterfalls, and the root bridges — which require more time and physical effort than a typical hill-station visit elsewhere in India.

Shillong FAQs

How difficult is the trek to the living root bridges?

It varies — some are a short walk from a road, but the famous double-decker bridge near Nongriat involves thousands of steep steps down and back up, taking most of a day and requiring reasonable fitness.

How far is Cherrapunji from Shillong?

About 55 km, roughly 1.5-2 hours by road, and it's the usual base for exploring the root bridges and waterfalls in that part of Meghalaya.

When is the best time to visit Shillong and Meghalaya?

October to April offers the driest, clearest weather; the region is among the wettest in the world during monsoon (June-September), which makes trekking to root bridges harder, though the waterfalls are at their most dramatic then.

What food should I try in Shillong?

Khasi cuisine centers on pork and smoked meats with rice, quite different from mainland Indian food — jadoh (a rice and meat dish) is a good place to start.

Is Shillong a good base for exploring Meghalaya?

Yes, it's the natural hub and has the region's airport, but expect to spend significant additional time on day trips or overnights to Cherrapunji, Mawlynnong, and Dawki for the region's real highlights.

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