As the temperature continued to soar in New Delhi, the capital city of India, I took a call and chose to escape the Delhi heat by spending a week in Shillong, Meghalaya. These 5 reasons compelled me to take the trip and should inspire you all too, to head out to the Scotland of the east – Shillong.

1. The Awesome Weather

The joy of witnessing a Double Rainbow

After the soaring Delhi heat which averaged at around 40-45 deg C, we experienced the temperature in Shillong at 18 – 20 deg C on an average. Dark clouds hovering above us, and infrequent short spells of showers throughout our week-long stay in Shillong, was a wonderful experience. The joy of waking up to grey mornings, with a little bit of chill in the air, was one of the best I had in a long time.

2. Proximity to Cherrapunji - The Wettest Place in the world

The beauty of the Double Decker Living Root Bridge 

The town of Cherrapunji, locally known as Sohra, has been declared as one of the wettest places in the world and boasts of some mind-blowing, untamed natural surroundings. From the world-famous Noh Ka Likai falls, Seven Sisters falls, and the double decker living Root Bridge, the town has it all. Moreover, Meghalaya is an upcoming adventure destination for caving enthusiasts, and one can get the first-hand experience of traversing through the 200 m limestone caves (Mawsmai Caves), right near Cherrapunji.

3. The Unmatched Beauty of the Roads

We landed in Guwahati and then headed out to Shillong which is a 4-hour drive from Guwahati. The moment we were out of Guwahati, I fell in love with the scenic beauty and the wonderful drives along the hills. My love for the roads further increased in the subsequent days when we headed out to Cherrapunji and Mawlynnong, both 4-5 hour drives from Shillong.

4. One day trip to Mawlynnong – The Cleanest Village in Asia

Walking along the lanes in 

One of the other compelling reasons was to visit the cleanest village in Asia – Mawlynnong, which is also around 3-4 hour drive away from Shillong. Like Cherrapunji, Mawlynnong also boasts of having a living root bridge, but a single layer one. Having seen many army cantonments throughout my life, my first opinion about Mawlynnong, on my first glance was that it looks like a well maintained army cantonment, which is remarkable, considering that all the work is done by the villagers themselves, and the villagers maintain proper cleanliness too.

5. The vibrant food culture in Shillong.

The last and the most compelling reason was the vibrant food culture in Shillong. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” – This saying was proved true when I relished different types of local food options from different cafes spread all around Shillong. However, I hogged onto the yummy Momos, on a daily basis apart from checking out the Cafes.

If these 5 reasons could compel me to convince my parents to go on a week-long family vacation to Shillong, which was enjoyed thoroughly by all 4 of us, you should also check it out and escape the Delhi heat by taking a trip to the North East.

Already been to Shillong? Do share your experience in the comments and do add in your recommendations too.

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