Home › Destinations › Meghalaya
North East India · India
Meghalaya
Living root bridges grown over two centuries, the wettest place on earth, and three thousand steps down to reach them.
Photo: Madhumita Das, CC BY-SA 4.0
Meghalaya's root bridges are not a viewpoint — they are at the bottom of a gorge, down three thousand wet stone steps, and the village at the bottom has no road. That is why the double-decker bridge at Nongriat is still worth seeing and the ones you can drive to are not. Stay overnight in the village; everyone who day-trips it regrets the climb back up in the afternoon heat.
Instead of Kerala in the monsoon. Best for solo travellers, couples and groups. Best months: Jan–Mar, Jun–Dec.
When to go
October to April is clear and dry. June to September is the monsoon this place is famous for — the waterfalls are extraordinary and the trails are genuinely dangerous. September, when the rain eases but the water is still high, is the sweet spot.
Getting there
One-way ticket price per person — double it for the return, which is what the cost example below uses. The cheapest sensible option is marked.
| Option | Notes | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flight + shared taxi → Guwahati (GAU), then 3 h to Shillong | Shared sumos leave Guwahati airport and Paltan Bazaar all day. | 2 h + 3 h | ₹9,000 one-way |
| Train + shared taxi CHEAPEST → Guwahati, then 3 h | Guwahati is the rail head for the whole North East. | varies + 3 h | ₹3,600 one-way |
| Flight to Shillong → Shillong (SHL) direct | Limited services and weather-dependent. Guwahati is more reliable. | varies | ₹11,000 one-way |
| Shillong → Cherrapunji Shared sumo, 2 h | From Bara Bazaar. Leaves when full, all morning. | 2 h | ₹200 one-way |
What it actually costs
Example for a couple, 7 days, mid-range, starting from Guwahati. Return transport, a bed each night, three meals a day, local travel and entry tickets are all included. This is one example, not a quote — use the live planner to price your own dates, party size and budget style.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Return train + shared taxi (Train + shared taxi one-way ₹3,600 × 2 × 2 people) | ₹14,400 |
| Beds, food, local travel & tickets (7 days, mid-range) | ₹25,256 |
| Total for the couple | ₹39,656 |
Getting around
| Option | Notes | Suits | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared sumo | The North East's entire transport system. Fills and goes; no timetable. | Solo, Couple, Group | ₹200/trip |
| Private taxi | Necessary for the Cherrapunji viewpoint circuit if you're not on a sumo schedule. | Family, Group | ₹3,000/day |
| On foot | Nongriat has no road. Everything below Tyrna is walked. | Solo, Couple, Group | Free |
| Motorbike hire | Available in Shillong. Wet roads for nine months of the year. | Solo, Group | ₹1,200/day |
Where to sleep
| Tier | Notes | Suits | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village guesthouse Basic room · Nongriat (bottom of the gorge) | No road, no booking site, limited electricity. Staying here is the whole trip. | Solo, Couple, Group | ₹700/night |
| Homestay Khasi family home · Cherrapunji / Sohra | Home-cooked Khasi food included at most. | Couple, Family | ₹1,300/night |
| Dorm Hostel · Shillong | Shillong has a proper backpacker scene and live music most nights. | Solo, Group | ₹600/night |
| Hotel Mid hotel · Shillong / Police Bazaar | Central, convenient, and the traffic is dreadful. | Family | ₹2,400/night |
Eating
Meghalaya is meat-heavy and pork-centric, and vegetarians should say so clearly and early. Shillong caters well; the villages will cook rice, dal and a vegetable without complaint but there is little variety. Carry snacks for the Nongriat descent.
| Tier | What | Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹120 | Jadoh — Khasi rice and pork | The regional dish. Eat it at a jadoh stall, not a restaurant. | ₹120 |
| ₹90 | Rice, dal and vegetable | Every village. Simple and enough. | ₹90 |
| ₹200 | Shillong café meal | Police Bazaar has a good café culture and excellent bakeries. | ₹200 |
| ₹50 | Tea and pukhlein at a roadside stall | Sweet fried rice cake. You will eat four. | ₹50 |
What to actually do
| Activity | Notes | Takes | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double-decker root bridge, Nongriat | 3,000 steps down from Tyrna, and 3,000 back. Sleep at the bottom. | 1–2 days | ₹100 |
| Rainbow Falls | An hour past the double-decker and far emptier. The better waterfall. | 3 h from Nongriat | Free |
| Mawlynnong village | Marketed as Asia's cleanest village. Pretty, small, and very much on the tour circuit. | Half day | ₹100 |
| Dawki & the Umngot river | The famously clear water. Go in winter — monsoon runoff makes it brown. | Full day | ₹900 |
| Laitlum Canyon | The best free view in the state. Empty on a weekday morning. | Half day | ₹50 |
| Mawsmai & Arwah caves | Lit, walkable, and genuinely impressive. Arwah has fossils. | 2 h | ₹100 |
| Living Root Bridge at Mawlynnong | The accessible one, if the Nongriat steps are not realistic for your group. | 1 h | ₹50 |
More of Meghalaya
What goes wrong here, and how to do it cheaper
What goes wrong:
The 3,000 steps are not a figure of speech. People with knee problems should not attempt the descent.
Monsoon trails are slick and there are falls every year. September is the compromise month.
Permits are not required for Meghalaya, but neighbouring Nagaland and Arunachal need Inner Line Permits — plan that separately.
How to do it cheaper:
Sleep in Nongriat. Everyone who day-trips it does the worst climb of their life at two in the afternoon.
Rainbow Falls, an hour further, is better than the bridge everybody photographs and has a tenth of the people.
Shared sumos cost a tenth of a private taxi and are how the entire region actually moves.
Nearby
| Place | How | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaziranga, Assam 300 km | Sumo to Guwahati, then bus east | Onward | ₹800 |
| Dawki & the Bangladesh border 82 km | Shared sumo from Shillong | Full day | ₹300 |
| Mawphlang sacred forest 25 km | Sumo from Shillong | Half day | ₹100 |
| Nartiang monoliths 65 km | Sumo via Jowai | Full day | ₹200 |
Money & connectivity
| Notes | |
|---|---|
| Cash | Nongriat and the villages take nothing else. |
| Card & UPI | Shillong only. |
| Mobile signal | Fine in Shillong and Cherrapunji, nothing in the gorge. |
| ATMs | Shillong and Cherrapunji. Draw before you descend. |
When is the best time to visit Meghalaya?
Jan–Mar, Jun–Dec is the best window. October to April is clear and dry. June to September is the monsoon this place is famous for — the waterfalls are extraordinary and the trails are genuinely dangerous. September, when the rain eases but the water is still high, is the sweet spot.
How do you get to Meghalaya?
The cheapest sensible option is train + shared taxi (→ Guwahati, then 3 h), around ₹3,600 one-way per person.
How much does a trip to Meghalaya cost?
For a couple travelling mid-range for 7 days from Guwahati, budget roughly ₹39,656 total — return transport, stay, food, local travel and entry tickets. Shoestring and comfortable budgets run lower and higher; use the live planner on tripunder.com to price your own dates and party size.
Plan your own Meghalaya trip
Set your dates, budget and party size and see the real cost — no packages, no commission.
Open the planner →Costs are indicative ballparks for budget travel and change with season and demand — always check live fares and rates before you book; the live planner links straight to where you'd book each piece. Photographs are sourced from Wikimedia Commons, credited above and in full at /credits/. Trip Under features underrated destinations only, is reader-planned, and takes no affiliate commission on any booking link.