Treks and travels

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Treks and travels

A day in Shillong

Posted: 22 Feb 2016 08:48 AM PST

During our recent visit to Meghalaya, a day was spent sightseeing Shillong. At 5,000 ft above sea level, it has a very cool climate and some nice places to see. Unlike Ooty or Kodaikanal it is more known as capital city of Meghalaya than tourist destination. Interestingly it has the second highest vehicle to human population, first being Mumbai. Hence traffic jams are quite common.  Below you will see a compilation of the places we saw in Shillong. It is not a comprehensive of "place to visit" in Shillong.
Shillong view point
Our day started with the visit to Shillong peak. Since the place could get crowded, we decided to visit it before the people start trickling in. Known as the highest point in Meghalaya, this place is under Indian Air Force.  While cameras are allowed in the view point, it is not allowed to take pictures while passing through Air Force locality.

The view of Shillong town is amazing and it worth the visit. It reminds me of Dodda Betta in Ooty.
Chaya and Tanu in Khasi dress at Shillong view point
Elephant falls
After Shillong peak, we went to the Elephant falls nearby. The first question we had was why it was called as "Elephant falls". It was named by British as the rock in the falls resembled Elephant.  But it was destroyed in 1897 earthquake but the named remained.
It is a three step falls. Steps are constructed to descend to the bottom of the falls.

Lady Hydari Park and Wards Lake
Lady Hydari Park is nice to spend some time lazing around. The nearby wards lake is good for paddle boating. Even during Christmas time, the place was not crowded.  

Don Bosco museum
It is a private museum that depicts the culture of North East. I think it is a good place to get an overview of North Eastern culture which we barely get to know in other parts of India.
Golf course
Our last point of the day was Golf course. Looking at the state of it, I believe it is not widely used!!

Umiam Lake

One of the beautiful places in Shillong. It is a man made but a big lake. A speed boat ride on this lake is fun. It is also a famous picnic spot for locals.