Meghalaya Tour from Chennai: Flights, Days and Costs

Chennai and Meghalaya get their big rains at opposite ends of the year. When Chennai is under the northeast monsoon in November, Shillong is clear, cool and at its best. That single fact makes Meghalaya one of the most natural holidays for Chennai travellers.

We plan many trips for families and couples from Chennai. This guide covers flights, how many days to take, what to eat, what to pack and the routes that work best.

Chennai and Meghalaya: opposite seasons

The practical message: if Chennai's own rains are keeping you indoors, it is exactly the right time to be in Shillong.

Getting there from Chennai

Schedules change by season, so check current status before you travel.

Flights

The Chennai to Guwahati non-stop is shorter than most people expect: about 2 hours 15 to 2 hours 25 minutes, less than the Mumbai or Bangalore flights to the same airport. The catch is frequency. There are fewer non-stops a day than from Delhi or Mumbai, and they fill up in holiday weeks.

Booked four to six weeks ahead, we typically see one-way economy fares of about ₹7,000 to ₹10,000 per person, rising around Pongal, Christmas and summer holidays. These are indicative. If non-stop fares jump, a one-stop via Kolkata is often cheaper and still gets you to Guwahati the same day.

From Guwahati airport, Shillong is about 120 km, roughly 3 to 3.5 hours by road. An arrival before 1 pm gets you to Shillong in daylight in most months. Our how to reach Shillong guide explains the road, shared taxis and the small Shillong airport at Umroi.

Trains

Trains linking the Chennai area with Guwahati take roughly 50 to 60 hours and run on limited days. They are a travel experience rather than a practical holiday option.

How many days to plan

Given the flight time and cost from Chennai, we suggest four nights as a minimum.

The four-night route, day by day

This is the trip we recommend to most first-time visitors from Chennai. It follows our four-night Shillong, Cherrapunji, Dawki and Mawlynnong itinerary, from ₹16,500 per person.

Day 1: Guwahati to Shillong. Land in Guwahati and drive about 3 hours up to Shillong, stopping at the Umiam lake viewpoint. Evening walk around Police Bazar.

Day 2: Shillong Peak, Elephant Falls and Sohra. Morning views from Shillong Peak at about 1,965 m, a short walk down at Elephant Falls, then on to Sohra for the night, with Mawkdok valley and the Seven Sisters falls along the way.

Day 3: Nohkalikai and Mawlynnong. Nohkalikai falls in the morning, when the gorge is clearest, and Mawsmai cave. Then drive about 3 hours to Mawlynnong village for the night and walk to the Riwai living root bridge.

Day 4: Dawki and back to Shillong. An early boat on the Umngot river at Dawki before the crowds, when the water is clearest, then back to Shillong.

Day 5: Shillong to Guwahati. About 3 hours to the airport for an afternoon flight home.

For more detail on each stop, read our Meghalaya 5-day itinerary.

Longer trips from Chennai

If you have more time, two directions work well.

Go deeper into Meghalaya. The six-night complete Meghalaya tour, from ₹23,500 per person, adds a Laitlum canyons sunrise, a full day for the Nongriat double decker root bridge trek and Krang Suri falls in the Jaintia Hills.

Add Kaziranga. The seven-night Assam and Meghalaya highlights trip, from ₹30,000 per person, adds Guwahati, a Dawki and Mawlynnong day and two nights at Kaziranga for rhino safaris. Kaziranga opens in phases from October, with the best months from mid-November to April; check current status before you travel.

Rules worth knowing before you land

Meghalaya is one of the simplest states in the Northeast for paperwork, but a few rules catch first-time visitors.

• No permit, no state entry fee. Indian and foreign visitors do not need an Inner Line Permit for Meghalaya.
• Guest registration. Since June 2025, every hotel, homestay and resort must register guests on the state tourism app. Keep photo ID for every adult handy at check-in. The state has also announced plans for registration at entry points; check current status before you travel.
• No self-drive rentals. Renting private cars to tourists for self-drive is not allowed, so book a car with a local driver.
• Small gate fees in cash. Village sights such as Mawlynnong, Nohkalikai and Mawsmai charge small fees, typically under ₹100 per person, plus parking.
• Boats priced per boat. At Dawki, fares are per boat rather than per person. Agree the fare at the ghat before you step in.
• Plastic. Several villages restrict single-use plastic. Carry a steel bottle and take rubbish back with you.

Making the Kolkata connection work

Because Chennai has fewer non-stops to Guwahati than Delhi or Mumbai, many of our Chennai guests fly via Kolkata. Done right, it costs only a few extra hours.

Choose a connection with at least 90 minutes between flights if both are on one ticket, and three hours or more if you book them separately. Kolkata to Guwahati is only about 1 hour 15 minutes in the air, with flights through the day. A few flights a week also go from Kolkata straight to Shillong's small airport at Umroi; they save the Guwahati drive but are weather-sensitive, so keep a road plan as a backup.

A useful trick for the return: if your last night is in Shillong and the non-stop home leaves Guwahati early, a later departure via Kolkata can save you a pre-dawn start down the hill.

Families and senior travellers

Chennai families often travel with grandparents, and Meghalaya is one of the easier hill trips in India for them. The highest point on the usual route is Shillong Peak, below 2,000 m, so altitude sickness is not a concern. Most drives are under three hours.

A few adjustments help:

• Choose the Meghalaya family holiday, from ₹19,500 per person, over the four-night classic for a slower pace: two nights each in Shillong and Sohra, then Mawlynnong.
• For older travellers, the easy-pace Northeast for seniors includes Guwahati's Kamakhya Temple and Kaziranga with gentle days.
• Skip the Nongriat trek. The Riwai root bridge near Mawlynnong needs only a short walk.
• Ask for hotels with lifts in Shillong. Some older properties have steep stairs.
• Carry regular medicines, since pharmacies are limited outside Shillong.

Eating well as a Chennai traveller

Food is one of the most common questions we get from Chennai. The short answer: you will eat well in the towns and simply in the villages.

Shillong and Guwahati have plenty of vegetarian restaurants serving North Indian thalis, and a few places serve dosa and idli. Rice is the staple everywhere, which most Chennai travellers find reassuring. For the adventurous, Shillong's Khasi dishes such as jadoh (rice cooked with meat) and Assamese fish curries are worth trying; our Shillong cafes and food guide lists where to go.

In Sohra, Mawlynnong and along the Dawki road, menus shrink to rice, dal, vegetables, omelettes and Maggi. Carry curd rice podi, pickle, snacks or ready-to-eat packs if your family prefers familiar tastes on long days. Tell your hotel in advance about any Jain, no-onion-garlic or strictly vegetarian needs.

What it costs for two from Chennai

Indicative ranges for two adults on a four-night Meghalaya trip, for budgeting only.

Hotels are dearest from mid-October to early January, which overlaps the best weather. The cheapest months on the ground are June to September, but that is Meghalaya's heavy monsoon, with mist on the viewpoints and muddy water at Dawki. For most Chennai travellers, February and early March are the value sweet spot: the weather is still dry and clear, the Christmas crowds have gone, and hotels are easier to book at short notice. If your dates are flexible, shifting a trip from late December to mid-February can save a noticeable share of the hotel bill. For a full breakdown, see the Meghalaya trip cost guide.

Packing from a warm city

Chennai travellers are the most likely to underpack for the cold. From November to February, Shillong's daytime can feel pleasant at 15 to 18°C but average lows are about 6 to 7°C, colder on clear nights, and hotel rooms without heaters feel colder than the number suggests. Pack a proper jacket, a sweater, thermals, socks and a woollen cap. In every season carry a rain jacket and shoes with grip; Sohra can rain even in the dry months. Add motion-sickness tablets for the winding roads.

How we'd plan it

For a Chennai family of four travelling in the December holidays, we would book the non-stop to Guwahati as soon as dates are fixed and keep a Kolkata connection as a backup. Day one to Shillong with a stop at Umiam lake. Then the four-night classic route, but with a rest afternoon in Shillong on the last day and an evening at Police Bazar for shopping. We would choose hotels with heaters and ask for dinner timings that suit children.

For a Chennai couple in April or May escaping the heat, we would take the six-night complete route, with the root bridge trek on a cool morning and a Laitlum sunrise.

For retired parents travelling over Pongal in mid-January, we would slow everything down. Five nights instead of four, hotels with lifts and heaters, no drive longer than about three hours, and the Riwai root bridge instead of Nongriat. We would also skip the dawn boat at Dawki in favour of a late-morning ride, when the January chill has lifted and the light on the Umngot river is still clear. January is also when the river is at its most transparent, so the timing works in their favour.

Start with our four-night Meghalaya classic and we will time the days around your Chennai flights.