The sprawling Ward’s Lake in Shillong Photographs by author

Cherapunjee charms with its breathtaking landscape

A glimpse of the Khasi Hills

The stunning Nongkalikai Falls

You don’t need a visa to go to the Scotland of the East. And yet, in just a three-hour drive from Guwahati you’re practically in another country. Even though the Northeast boasts a very different culture from other parts of India, Shillong is unique, marrying local quaintness with the bustle of a metropolis.

Its traffic jams and the recent spate of concrete buildings, are, it must be said, fast wiping out the charming tin-roofed earthquake friendly bungalows. Nevertheless, Shillong with its sparkling clean streets and fashionably dressed people, sitting pretty at a height of about 4,500ft on the Khasi Hills, juts out of the Indian map in more ways than one.

It’s not a typical tourist hill station, as is demonstrated by the curious and sometimes not so welcoming stares of its population to ‘outsiders’. But Shillong still offers a charming getaway when planning an extended weekend away from the smog and chaos of metropolitan India.

What especially floored me at first sight is its cleanliness. Even though there is a very strong kwai or paan-eating culture among the local population, for example, one doesn’t encounter streams of betel leaf juice painting the town red!

Even the way this little offering is served by roadside vendors, neatly wrapped in clear plastic with a dash of lime and a special fermented betel-nut, proves this point. I was pre-warned to take it easy on the fare, for the fermented nut can leave a first timer feeling quite dizzy. I, however, quite enjoyed the heady feeling and got into a paan-chewing habit through the trip.

As if to compensate for my paan-stained teeth, I thought of carrying home some souvenirs. And I think I saved some of my friends a foreign shopping extravaganza, for a trip down mall road unearthed a plethora of unique clothing, shoes and accessories that just doesn’t seem to make it to the malls of Calcutta or Bombay.

In fact, the street fashion in Shillong is very Southeast Asia. Young boys and girls walking the streets seem to have popped straight out of a punk comic strip! Adding to the diversity are the more traditionally dressed Khasis, their women sporting a checked full-length cloth, tied diagonally over one shoulder on top of a skirt and a blouse. And the more well-heeled local women are seen in a very elegant attire called the jainsem, worn like a gown.

Once I had my fill of soaking in the sights and sounds of the Shillong streets, I decided to head off on the usual tourist trail. I found the sprawling Ward’s Lake in the heart of the city a good option to while away a lazy afternoon. Built by the British for their families to enjoy high tea, the man-made lake, swarming with ever hungry trout that gobble everything from potato chips to popcorn, is surrounded by picturesque, undulating gardens and lush lawns with a little footbridge to boot. It took me another day’s legwork to take a look at other attractions like Shillong’s sprawling golf course, churches, museum and the zoo.

Come evening, however, and I was left with nothing much to do except head to call it an early night. Despite its famed rock ‘’ roll culture stretching over decades, the current political turmoil of the region forces the town shut by 8pm.

The intrepid explorer in me, however, decided to take the opportunity to rise early the next morning and drive down to Cherapunjee, that once boasted the highest rainfall in the world. And it’s the hour-long drive from Shillong to Cherapunjee that reveals the true meaning of the epithet — Scotland of the East. Endless stretches of lush, green, rolling plateau landscape along the way transports one into the Scottish Highlands, straight out of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel.

The real beauty of Cherapunjee, however, lies in its breathtaking waterfalls, pouring down from jaw-dropping heights. Monsoons are the only time when one can truly get to witness the splendour of these falls. Ironically, however, the region is cloaked in heavy fog during the season, making it near impossible to catch a clear glimpse, especially of the famed Seven Sister Falls.

I was exceptionally lucky though, and according to some locals ‘blessed’, for just as I was about to walk away after staring for a few minutes into the face of the foggy wall that hid the falls, Mother Nature slowly but unmistakably started to left her veil and offered me a glimpse of the wonder in a slow motion slide show! The close by Nongkalikai Falls offered a clearer view, named after a girl called Likai, who is said to have jumped off the spot in anguish when jilted by her lover.

There were more treasures to unearth along the way like the 4.5-km-long limestone caves flanked by ‘sacred’ forests, made more interesting by the myths and lore surrounding them. The forests are religiously protected and it is forbidden to pluck any fruit or flower off it. If local stories are to be believed, once a man ventured to pluck a fruit from the forest and eat it. He instantly dropped down dead! If one cares for an explanation, it is said that the forests actually don’t exist in this world and belong to another realm!

It left me wondering on the way back if the forests perhaps held the key to the secrets of teleportation or time travel. When I ventured to share this conjecture with a co-traveller, I was asked to go easy on my bundle of kwai. But with so much to chew on, it only helped whet my appetite to discover more of the Northeast that still remains shrouded in countless mysteries.

» Ready reckoner

Getting there: Shillong is well connected by road. It’s a three-hour drive from Guwahati, the nearest railhead and airport.

Best time to visit: October to March is the best season to go to Shillong.

Eating there: Go for jadoh — a traditional Khasi meal of rice and meat; momos; pork and beef dishes.

Must buy: Orange blossom honey.