Shillong Travel Guide: What to See, What to Eat, and What to Skip

Shillong is where nearly every Meghalaya trip sleeps for a night or two, and most of its value is as a base: Laitlum, Mawphlang and Umiam Lake are all within an hour, and Sohra is two. The town itself deserves a full day.

It rarely deserves three.

At around 1,500 metres it stays cool all year. Colonial writers called it the Scotland of the East, which says more about the writers than about Shillong. It has a music scene, a big Christmas, and one of the more particular food cultures in India. It also has some of the worst traffic of any hill town in the country.

What's worth your time

Don Bosco Museum

If you want to understand who actually lives in the Northeast, spend two hours at the Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures in Mawlai. Seven floors cover the region's peoples, their dress, tools, religions and houses. Most visitors give it twenty minutes and leave having learned nothing. Give it two hours. It's also the right answer to a wet afternoon.

Laitlum Canyon

About 23 km out of town, the Khasi plateau simply stops at Laitlum and falls away into a valley. Go in the late afternoon, when the cloud tends to lift and the light turns gold across the drop. There's a long flight of steps down to the village at the bottom. The view from the top needs none of them.

Mawphlang Sacred Grove

A forest the Khasi have protected for centuries on religious grounds. Nothing may be taken out of it, not even a fallen leaf, and a local guide walks you through and explains why. Go in the morning, when it's misty and quiet.

Umiam Lake

A large reservoir about 15 km north of town, on the Guwahati road. Most itineraries treat it as a photo stop on day one. It's better at sunset, and better still if you spend a night beside it.

Ward's Lake and Police Bazaar

Ward's Lake is a small colonial-era lake with a footbridge, right in town. Police Bazaar, a few minutes' walk away, is the commercial centre: shops, street food, hotels and most of the traffic. Walk both one evening. Neither needs more than that.

Shillong Peak

The highest point around the city, with a view over all of Shillong. It sits inside an Indian Air Force radar station, so carry photo ID for the gate, and private cars aren't allowed past it: you go up in one of the permitted local taxis. It has been reported closed on Wednesdays, so check before you plan a morning around it.

What to skip

Elephant Falls, if you're short of time and going to Sohra anyway. It's a pleasant three-tiered fall about 12 km from town, with steps down to the lower tiers, and it's busy. The waterfalls on the Sohra road are simply on another scale, and you'll see them the next day.

Skip, too, the idea of doing everything from Shillong. The Sohra road is two hours each way. Day-tripping it means four hours in a car and a rushed Nohkalikai. Sleep in Sohra instead.

What to eat

Khasi food is built on pork, rice and fermentation, and it's worth eating properly instead of defaulting to hotel North Indian.

• Jadoh. Rice cooked with meat, usually pork, sometimes chicken or fish. You'll see it everywhere, and it's the everyday dish.
• Dohneiiong. Pork cooked with black sesame into something dark, rich and slightly smoky. If you only order one Khasi dish, order this.
• Tungrymbai. A fermented soybean paste, strongly flavoured. People love it or can't finish it. There's very little middle ground.

Vegetarians eat well in Shillong itself, where North and South Indian restaurants are easy to find. It gets harder in villages and homestays, so tell your accommodation ahead of time.

The evenings

Shillong has a real music culture, rock and blues above all, with live sets in cafes and bars through the week. It's one of the few hill towns in India where going out in the evening is a reason to stay rather than a way to pass the time. Solo travellers in particular tend to find the cafes easy to sit in alone.

Sundays are different

Meghalaya is majority Christian, and a lot of Shillong closes or slows right down on Sunday. Shops shut, some restaurants don't open, and Police Bazaar goes quiet.

Use it. Sunday is a good day to drive to Laitlum or Sohra and a bad day for shopping.

Christmas

For the same reason, Christmas is the biggest week of the year. The town lights up, the churches fill, and it's a good time to be here. Hotels also book out well ahead of the New Year rush, so plan early. There's more on that in Meghalaya in December.

Where to stay

Police Bazaar is central, walkable and noisy. Laitumkhrah, a short drive away, has more cafes and quieter evenings. If you have a car and don't need to walk out at night, somewhere on the edge of town gets you quiet and a view for the same money.

The traffic

Shillong's roads were never built for the number of cars on them. Crossing town at 5pm can take longer than the whole drive in from Umiam. Plan sightseeing so you leave early and get back before the evening jam, and don't schedule anything in the centre for late afternoon.

How long to stay

One full day for the town, plus a night either side of Sohra, suits most trips. Use Shillong for Laitlum, Mawphlang and Umiam, then move on to Sohra for the waterfalls and the root bridges. The itinerary guide shows how those days fit together.