Our motorcycle trip into Meghalaya in February 2023 was one of most enthralling experiences of our lives as we visit the Living Roots Bridge, Dawki and Sohra.
After having completed our unforgetable adventure through Bhutan, my friend Kiran and I continued on our motorcycle trip through Assam and into Meghalaya - a beautiful state located in the northeastern region of India. It is known for its rolling hills, lush green forests, cascading waterfalls, and rich cultural heritage.
It was day 8. Our friend Vish had started early, exited Bhutan and was already on his way to Siliguri (West Bengal, India). Meanwhile it was 11 am when Kiran and I crossed the Bhutan border at Samdrup Jongkhar after filling up our fuel tanks. Bank in India, we rode on cobbled roads through small villages until we reached the highway at Barama. We stopped at a small restaurant by the highway for brunch. It was at this point that we decided to change our plans and ride towards Guwahati instead of continuing on to Siliguri. We realized that shipping our bikes from Guwahati and flying back to Bengaluru from there would be practical.
We continued riding past Guwahati and towards Shillong. The ride was scenic, with lush green hills and beautiful valleys surrounding us on all sides. As we neared Shillong, The highway here on had lots of twisties and that had me grinning from time to time. We reached the homestay in the evening, bit tired but happy after a long day on the road.
On day 9, we woke up early and rode up to the village of Dawki. Unfortunately, we found the roads to be quite bad with road work going on for several kilometers and the river had less water than we expected. Disappointed, we headed back and rode to Cheerapunji, which is famous for its rainfalls. After reaching our booked place of stay, we spent the rest of the evening exploring the local area.
Day 10 was one of the most memorable days of our trip as we visited the Nongrait double-decker living roots bridge. The path to the double-decker root bridge is three kilometers (nearly two miles) long. It has approximately 3,500 stairs and descends 2,400 feet. The figures can be daunting, but it was well worth the effort. Took us an hour and 10 mins to get to the bridge. It was an exhilarating experience to walk on the bridge, which was made entirely out of living roots and was over a hundred years old. We spend about half an hour there just sitting on the large rocks and taking in the magnificent view of the bridge in front of us. It took us both about 1 hour 40 minutes to get back up to the hilltop, not bad considering we were men in our mid-40's. Satisfied having completed the trek, we got back to our hotel by evening. Having freshened up, we went out for a walk and then had dinner at the hotel somewhere along the way.
On day 11, we left Sohra early in the morning and reached Guwahati by 3 pm. We checked into a hotel at Garchuk on the national highway as it was located close to the logistics office from where our motorcycles would be shipped back to Bengaluru.
On day 12, we dropped our motorcycles at the logistics office and then spent the rest of the day exploring the town of Guwahati.
Finally, on day 13, we left Guwahati and took the flight back to Bengaluru.
Although we covered just a small part of Meghalaya, the memories of our trip will stay with us forever. The likelihood of exploring more of Meghalaya another time is high up on the list and yet we cannot wait to explore more of India on our motorcycles.
- Guwahati formerly rendered Gauhati is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India.
- Shillong is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in north-eastern India.
- Dawki is a town located in the West Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, India. It is situated on the border between India and Bangladesh and is known for it's cleanest village in Asia and environmentally conscious community. The Umngot river in Dawki is one of the cleanest rivers in India.
- Sohra (a.k.a Cherrapunji) is a scenic town located at an elevation of 1,430 m (4,690 ft), of East Khasi Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. Known as the wettest place on Earth, Sohra is famous for its beautiful waterfalls, lush greenery, and stunning natural landscapes. Sohra is also home to the unique living root bridges.
