Hello, Lovely readers. Hope you are doing fine. Well I am very busy these days as classes are going on in full swing. We also have an upcoming interesting weekend trip planned, but lets see if all goes well we can go for the trip. I really find these weekend trips very exciting, after a whole week of hectic schedule these trips become a source of ultimate fun and pleasure. I and my husband , we are in constant search of those places which we can cover within two or three days especially towards the weekends. Well Northeast is a store house of scenic beauty and places of charm and there are so many place in my bucket-list that I don’t know whether I shall get a chance to cover even half of them. Of it one of of the place that I wanted to visit is Mawlynnong. 

A Day in Asia’s Cleanest Village- Mawlynngong

Meghalaya is one of our most favourite places of all, and we visit this place quite often, its very near to Guwahati and a one day trip can be planned easily. Though the journey may be quite hectic but the sights that you will get to enjoy are worth all the pain. Do read my other posts on my weekend trips to various places in Meghalaya. Sharing Link HERE. So this place is about our visit to Mawlynnong which is a village located in the East Khasi District of Meghalaya state of India. Mawlynnong is also popularly known as “God’s Own Garden”. And its also tagged as the Cleanest Village in Asia.

True to each words its indeed a lovely place. We started our journey from Guwahati quite early in the morning at about 6am because we have to cover a long distance. This place is approx 173km from Guwahati and 90km from Shillong and travel time is approx 4hours 32 minutes if you are driving without any break. But I suggest its better to take small tea-breaks in between. And definitely take a break to enjoy the Barapani lake from the view-point.

So it was quite a long drive from Guwahati to Mawlynnong. We reached the village at around 2pm. It was the month of January and Orange laden trees, full bloomed flowers, pollution free air altogether created a charismatic atmosphere and we seemed to get absorbed into it completely.Our daily life has become so complicated these days ,that there is hardly so time left to enjoy the beauty around us. But these places make me realize what we miss the most. 

The village was spotlessly clean. There are lots of greenery everywhere. Along with the cleanest village, a trek to the nearest village Riwai is famous for the “Living Root Bridge”. Yes you heard it right, there is a river and just above it the thick roots of the Ficus Elastica trees have tangled to form a sturdy bridge form of structure which has the capacity to hold several people at a time. The roots are alive and continuously growing there gaining strength everyday. It must be really strong as I saw lots of tourists enjoying a walk across the bridge. On trekking some more distance the village offers breathtaking view of the Indo-Bangladesh border.

There is also a bamboo made watch tower or small tree-house in the top of a tree. The view from there is indeed breathtaking, well also got a chance to climb a tree though in an indirect way!

A stroll around the village is a must,the well built houses, the villagers make all possible effort to keep the surrounding clean. Bamboo made dustbins in every nook and corner of the village also encourages every tourist to use them. During the monsoon Mawlynnong is the best place to enjoy the picturesque beauty of nature with lush green plants, various kinds of orchids dangling from tress, small waterfalls paving the way to small streams, everything seems immersed in the beauty of nature.

There is also a natural balancing rock, which is in itself a marvel of nature.I wonder how it remains so intact. Well there is so much you can enjoy there. By the time it was around 4pm and we were really hungry. There are small tea shops here and there. But we needed real food. There are home stays run by local khasi ladies of the village where you can enjoy warm food both veg and non-veg. Each plate charged at Rs. 100 .Food quality was okay, it was neat and hygienic. After enjoying a sumptuous meal we decided to take another stroll around the village. While we were enjoying our walk we were carried away at the sound of a carol being sung at the Sunday prayer service conducted in a neighborhood church, it was all so much enchanting. There is definitely special reasons that Mawlynnong is called as “God’s Own Garden”.

Since it was a one day trip, we left the village at 4.30pm because we had to travel back Guwahati as soon as possible. You can also stay in Shillong, there are many good hotels/resorts/Homestays and enjoy Mawlynngong and other surrounding places. There are also Homestays in the Village itself, but I am not sure about there service and hospitality. From Shillong you can book cabs and pay a visit, it is very reasonable and best way. From Guwahati you can reach by shared Taxis or Reserved cabs/taxis. To reach Guwahati you can take a train/flight. Guwahati is well connected with other parts of our country. Communication is definitely not a hurdle to reach Meghalaya.

The stream which flows below the root bridge 

Some of the images I have collected from google.com and I have also put the link in there. Hope you liked this post. Do share you views too if you also have visited this place. Also if you have anymore information regarding this place than just feel free to drop in your comments here.

Posted by-Ishani Nath