Cherrapunjee
Tourism
Believe it or not, while the whole world knows of Cherrapunjee as the wettest
place on earth, very little is known of Meghalaya the state it is in. You will
be surprised they have not even heard of a state called by the name Meghalaya
and when they meet our people in the big cities of India, they think that we
are from the other parts of the world especially the Far East. Funny isn't it?
Well, to tell you the truth, despite the tremendous tourism potential in the
state we have not been able to take full advantage of the world famous Cherrapunjee
as the prime tourist spot and place the tiny state of Meghalaya in the global
map of tourism. Well it has been publicised as the wettest place on earth but
that was all. Very few people know the real potential of the place apart from
its geographical fame.
What I am trying to convey is how much of Cherrapunjee do you know? For we have
come to know that when tourists come to Meghalaya and opt to go and see Cherrapunjee
many tourist taxi drivers and even some tourist guides have taken them only
as far as Noh-sngithiang and Noh-kalikai falls; tell them rather brusquely "
this is Cherrapunjee" and bring them back to Shillong. You can well imagine
how disappointing it must be to some of the tourists who come all the way from
across the globe only to be shown just one or two places.
It is for this reason that I want to let you know that there are much more to
Cherrapunjee than rains and waterfalls as many people assume. I will endeavour
to take you step by step starting from Shillong and 1 bet you will be pleasantly
surprised to know that indeed Cherrapunjee deserves to be number tourist destination
in the state, also to be placed prominently in the global map of tourism.
Once you are already in Shillong, there is no dearth of accommodation facilities
ranging from star category hotels to budget hotels at affordable reasonable
rates. And for a visit to Cherrapunjee there are tourist taxis and sumo services
easily available on hire, or if you prefer you can avail the daily bus trips
organised by M.T.D.C.
Cherrapunjee is just 56km in distance from Shillong and will take hardly 90
minutes of pleasant drive to reach on a clear day. However during monsoon when
the swirling clouds are thick you have to drive a bit more cautiously and the
journey may take just a little longer.
