The ultimate guide to visiting Dawki, Umngot River, and Mawlynnong in Meghalaya

In an earlier post, I described the Cherrapunji and Nongriat sections of Meghalaya that I visited. In this post, I”ll talk about the rest of the places I saw in Meghalaya. For your reference, here is the map of Meghalaya again, and it outlines perfectly the routes we took and the places we saw.

So, first up, let’s go to one of the furthest points we ventured into.

Dawki – India Bangladesh border

Dawki is the border crossing between India and Bangladesh, and I was pretty excited to visit this place, as this is the first time I would visit any of India’s borders. In my head, I was thinking of the Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan, which is a must-visit because of all the pomp and ceremony.

However, the border crossing at Dawki seemed so very simple. Nothing indicates that this is an international border, and the jawans operating the area were all relaxed. There was no border fencing, and it seemed more like an inter-state border than an international one. It was interesting to see because I have always heard that there is a lot of undocumented crossing that happens from Bangladesh to India. But if there is, it seems to be on pretty friendly terms – at least judging from the demeanor of the people there.

The lack of drama at the border was a bit of a disappointment. The drive there was beautiful, though. Unfortunately, because it was a very long and winding road from Shillong, we moved very slowly because the roads were so bad. Our driver advised us that stopping for photos would delay us.

As we neared the border, we crossed a picturesque bridge from where we could see the river dividing India and Bangladesh. The flat expanse of Bangladesh was so different from the hilly terrain we were on.

Here too, we were banned from taking photos because of security restrictions 😔 .

So that was the Dawki border crossing. It’s one of those places where the drive to it was more beautiful and impressive than the actual place.

Umngot River

After crossing the border crossing off our list, we went to the Umngot river. This river is famous for its crystal-clear, glass-like, emerald-green waters. The water is so clear that you can see the river bed 12 feet below. This may not be significant for other countries, but considering how polluted our rivers are, this is a huge attraction.

The river’s surrounding area is also very beautiful and scenic, making it a lovely place to linger. There were hardly any tourists around, giving it a very unspoiled atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the lack of tourists also means the place isn’t very developed. We had to climb down to the river from the road. It’s not a steep climb but watch your footing. Catching the boat meant climbing over rocks and wading into the water. The pebbles in the river bed were very slippery and I stumbled and fell into the water.

I just about managed to keep my camera above my head, but after this experience, I decided it was safer to pack up the camera and enjoy the beauty of the place.

In any case, photos don’t do enough justice to this place.

We took a boat further up the river to a beach at the opposite end, where we set camp and decided what to do. There are some options for adventure sports – kayaking and zip-lining across the river, and I think if you’re into fishing, you could do that as well.

We opted for the zip-lining, for which there was another climb up the hill to the zip-line point. This was my first time zip-lining and I was pretty nervous. But the experience was beautiful, not scary at all – though you must remember to brake as you approach the rocks on the other side. I was zooming very fast, and I had a hard stop.

We also kayaked for a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Nishita Kumar (@nishitak) on Nov 6, 2017 at 6:41pm PST

The kayaking was fun and perfectly safe as the river was very still. It’s an excellent place for novices (like me) to try out some kayaking skills.

We probably spent too much time there, but it was such an idyllic place that I don’t mind that one bit.

I do regret stopping for lunch at the shack beside the river. It was probably the worst food I ever had. We ate there because we had no choice- no other eating joints on the road. However, if you’re going there – take a packed lunch and make it a picnic by the river.

We went to this river in early November, just after the monsoon ended. The river was clear, but I believe it gets better further on in the season (Dec-Apr). The months from May to October are the monsoons. The river gets flooded and isn’t suitable for sightseeing.

Mawlynnong – Asia’s cleanest village

The sun was starting to set by the time we finished lunch (the sunsets in Meghalaya are ridiculously early), and it was a mad rush to get to Mawlynnong before dark. We had planned only three days in Meghalaya and were pressured to complete all the places we had in mind to our satisfaction.

Mawlynnong was a two-hour drive away, so we reached there around 4:30, well past dark. It was tough to see anything much. It might not necessarily be the cleanest because I wonder what the standards are set and who is scoring these villages, but it’s undoubtedly immaculate and well-tended. But I found this the case anywhere I went in Meghalaya. There were plenty of dustbins all through the highway. Many times, I also saw the locals cleaning up the roads – removing the trash left behind by the tourists. Apart from the village, there is a world-famous living root bridge just a 10-minute hike away from the village.

Unfortunately, we were too late. We didn’t have torches or anything, and it just did not seem safe to attempt anything after sunset.

Instead, we chatted with the villagers, enjoyed the tea and biscuits, and made friends with the local kids.

Many tourists were staying the night in the village. Quite a few villagers were running homestays, and I think it makes sense to stay a night here. Since we hadn’t planned properly, we had another long drive to look forward to back to our hotel in Shillong.

So, this was one day in Meghalaya, people! Was it a rush? Not really. If I had to do it again, I would probably have started earlier, spent a little less time at the border crossing, and spent the night in Mawlynnong. The next morning, we could have visited the living root bridge nearby, then saw Cherrapunji and returned to Shillong.

Still, I have no complaints about our day!

Coming up: A photo post with some travel pics that didn’t make it into my travel blog posts so far, and another post summing up our entire itinerary and where we could have improved a bit.

Hope you liked hearing about my travels!