Meghalaya Photography Tour

• Shillong
• 1,525 m
• 115 km · 3.5 hrs with stops
• Dinner

Our driver meets you at Guwahati Airport for the 3 to 3.5 hour drive up NH-6 to Shillong. The first stop is the Umiam Lake viewpoint 15 km before the city, where the reservoir's arms reach between pine hills; the afternoon light here is soft and side-lit. After check-in, head out in the evening to Police Bazar and the Khyndailad area for street scenes, food stalls and neon under light rain if you are lucky. Your guide briefs you on tomorrow's early start, sunrise time and what to carry: a wide lens, a tripod, a warm layer and a head torch. Dinner is early, since the car leaves before dawn.

• Sohra
• 1,480 m
• About 90 km · 3 hrs in total
• Breakfast, Dinner

We leave Shillong about an hour before sunrise for the 25 km drive to Laitlum Canyons. From the rim, which faces south and south-west, the first light picks out ridge after ridge while cloud often sits in the gorges below, especially in October and November. Walk down the stone steps toward Rasong for a lower angle. After breakfast in Shillong or a packed one at the rim, we drive south to Sohra, stopping at the Mawkdok Dympep viewpoint. After lunch we set up at Nohkalikai Falls, a 340 m plunge from the plateau into a turquoise pool; afternoon light falls across the cliff. From December the flow thins to a ribbon.

• Sohra
• 1,480 m
• About 50 km in total · 2 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

Wei Sawdong is a three-tier waterfall a short drive from Sohra, reached by a steep 20–30 minute path with bamboo railings and rough steps; wear shoes with grip. Morning is best, before other visitors arrive and when the pools are in shade, which suits long exposures with an ND filter. Nearby, Dainthlen Falls runs over flat rock carved with shapes from a Khasi legend. After lunch we go into Mawsmai Cave, a short lit limestone cave with narrow squeezes, where a fast lens and high ISO are essential; tripods are awkward inside. We finish at the Mawsmai viewpoint for sunset over the Seven Sisters cliffs and the plains of Bangladesh below.

• Mawlynnong
• 750 m
• About 90 km · 3 hrs via Pynursla
• Breakfast, Dinner

We drive east across the plateau through Pynursla, with views south into deep valleys, and reach Mawlynnong by lunch. Day visitors fill the village from late morning, so we use the afternoon for the Riwai living root bridge, a 2 km drive and a short walk down to a single-span bridge of rubber-tree roots over a stream. The Sky View bamboo platform gives an elevated look across the forest toward the Bangladesh plains. After 4 pm the buses leave, and the village's flower-lined lanes, conical bamboo bins and stone steps are quiet and warm in the evening light. We stay in a Mawlynnong homestay tonight, with a simple Khasi dinner.

• Shillong
• 1,525 m
• About 120 km · 4 hrs in total
• Breakfast, Dinner

Walk Mawlynnong at dawn before breakfast, when households sweep the lanes and mist hangs in the trees. We then drive 30 km to Dawki and reach the Umngot by 9 am. From mid-morning, the sun is high enough to light the stony riverbed through the clear water, which is what makes boats look as if they float. Hire a boat at the ghat, priced per boat, and shoot from the suspension bridge as well. We then go about 8 km upstream to Shnongpdeng, where the water is often clearer and quieter. After lunch by the river, we drive back to Shillong, about 2.5–3 hours, arriving in the evening.

• Departure
• 55 m
• 100 km · 3–3.5 hrs
• Breakfast

If your flight allows, we leave Shillong early and stop at Umiam Lake shortly after sunrise, when the water is still and mist rises from the arms of the reservoir; the dam end and the viewpoint on the highway both work. From there it is about 2.5 hours down to Guwahati. For afternoon flights, you can instead spend the morning at the Don Bosco Museum in Shillong, whose top-floor Skywalk looks across the city. The driver drops you at Guwahati Airport at least two hours before departure. Before you go, back up your cards; we would be glad to see your best frames on WhatsApp.