India
Meghalaya
Living root bridges, waterfalls and hills that take some of the heaviest rain on earth.
- DestinationMeghalaya
- CountryIndia
- TypeDomestic holiday
Overview
About Meghalaya
Meghalaya means 'abode of clouds', and the name is earned. The southern hills catch the monsoon coming off the Bangladesh plain and record some of the highest rainfall measured anywhere. Water is the landscape here — waterfalls off the escarpment, limestone caves beneath it, gorges cut down through it.
The root bridges are the region's own answer to that rain. Living rubber-fig roots are trained across streams over decades until they will carry weight, and unlike a timber bridge they grow stronger rather than rotting.
Good to know
Worth Knowing Before You Go
- Mawsynram and Cherrapunji record among the highest annual rainfall anywhere in the world.
- Living root bridges are grown from trained Ficus elastica roots and take decades to become usable.
- The double-decker root bridge at Nongriat is reached on foot down a descent of some three thousand steps.
- Meghalaya holds some of the longest cave systems in the Indian subcontinent.
You may also like
Places of a Similar Kind
- India5N / 6DKashmirA high valley of lakes, meadows and deodar forest, ringed by the western Himalaya.Explore Kashmir
- IndiaLeh LadakhA high-altitude desert of Buddhist monasteries, mountain passes and the shifting blues of Pangong Tso.Explore Leh Ladakh
- IndiaManaliA pine-forested Himalayan valley on the Beas river, with the snowfields of Solang close by.Explore Manali
Tailor-made experiences
Your Destination. Your Way. Our Expertise.
Prefer something different? Change the pace, the length, the places — or start from a blank page.
Plan your trip
Plan your Meghalaya journey
Tell us your dates, who's travelling and the kind of experience you're after. We'll shape the rest around it.
