Cherrapunji, Root Bridges and Waterfalls
We got up early by 5:30-6 am. It was still cold but plenty of sunshine. In North East, sunrise happens early, just as that of sunsets. By 6am, it was all sunshine. We were to visit Wei Sawdong waterfall, Nohkalikai waterfall and climb down to Nongriat village by end of the day. Overall, it was action packed day with some travel.
By 8-8:30 am, we had breakfast. It was Aloo Paratha and tea/coffee. We packed our bags, hopped into tum-tums and started our short journey towards Wei Sawdong waterfalls. By 9, we got down. We had to climb down some steps, little trail of 10mins to reach the view point of waterfall. The left path goes towards the view point and right sided path goes down to the base of waterfall.
We took the left and reached the viewpoint in 2-3 mins. And we were awestruck! What we had seen earlier in the Instagram posts, YouTube videos, was just infront of us. Cameras or videos or blogs would not be enough to describe the view! and little did we know it was the starting! No one, literally no one wasted even a single moment and everyone were busy clicking the waterfall from every possible angle. And taking selfies with Wei Sawdong in the background.
 |
| Wei Sadong view from top |
A 3 step waterfall, with some small cliffs, blue waters and surrounded by trees! We headed towards the right sided path to climb down to the waterfall. It was a small trail, supported by wooden ladders. We reached the base in about 10 mins.
We dropped our bags, removed footwear, climbed the cliffs and took a dip into the water. And it was freezing! And I mean it. My hands were numb! I took a dip again and I was done. I was better soaking up the sunshine instead to get some warmth 😅. Kshtij, Dhruv and others were still in the waters, enjoying that freezing cold waterfall! I climbed down, took up my Canon camera and shot some photos from base the of the waterfall. By 11.30 am, we started out return, this time, the climb up.
 |
| Wei Sawdong view from base |
We hopped into the tum-tums and headed towards the Nohkalikai waterfalls. This was more of a view point than actually going near the waterfall. By 12 noon, we reached the viewpoint. This is a typical tourist spot as it is easily accessible, unlike the earlier one. The Nohkalikai waterfall is the tallest plunge waterfall in India, meaning, the fall drops vertically without touching any cliffs. There is a legend of lady named Likai. The waterfall from which she leaped was named Nohkalikai Falls as a grim reminder of the tragedy that had befallen the unfortunate Ka Likai (Source : Wiki)
 |
| Nohkalikai Watefall |
By 1 pm, we had our veg lunch, a thali type lunch, at Orange Roots restaurant and now, we marched towards Tyrna village to climb down some 3000 steps to reach Nongriat village, where we would stay for next 2 nights.
We reached Tyrna village just around 4 pm. It was almost sunset and getting dark. On the trek from Tyrna village to Nongriat village, you have to climb down some 3000 steps. The trek is mix of small steps, steep steps, some gradual descend, small stream crossing. It took around 2 hours to reach the Nongriat and most of us were drenched in sweat! We had dinner at our Serenity Homestay. It was dal-rice, chicken, some vegetables and some salad.
Next day, we were ready by 8:30 am to head towards the double decker living root bridge and then rainbow falls. Tummies full after breakfast of bread-omelette, we started walking towards our first destination. It was hardly 5 minutes away from where we were staying! And it was stunning!! Just like what I had seen in photos. This bridge is more than 100 years old, still sturdy, and which is made of roots of trees! It was made to cross the streams, specially in rainy seasons when water levels are high.
 |
| Double decker living root bridge |
After getting ample of photos and videos, we resumed on the trail. Now the destination was the rainbow waterfalls. The trail passes through thick forest, some more suspension bridges, some root bridges but small ones, small steps to climb and overall well marked trail. This tests your fitness as it took us around 2 hours to reach here at rainbow falls from the double decker living root bridge. And what view it had to offer!
Water gushing down from the large boulders, sunrays hitting the waterfalls and creating the perfect curved rainbow! It was huge! The force of water was so powerful that it was sprinkling the drops up to 15-20 feet long! and the pond at the base of the waterfalls? Crystal clear water! It was cold, but not freezing. We took dips in it and enjoyed to the fullest! and when you have GoPro with it? Loads of videos!
 |
| Rainbow falls |
By 1 pm, we started back our on our trek. On the way, there was a small lagoon, where we climbed down to. Had our packed lunch of fried rice and noodles, took some rest and again went into the blue waters of this lagoon! Needless to say, what followed was taking dips into it and shooting underwater videos using GoPro 😁.
Since we knew sun would set by 4 pm, we resumed our way back by 3 pm. Again following the same trail which we walked in the morning. By 4-4:30 pm, we reached the double decker living root bridge, had tea and biscuits, had natural pedicure fish spa in nearby pond and reached our homestay by 5:30-6 pm.
No points for guessing, we were exhausted. It was hell of an adventure. 2 hours trek one way, double decker living root bridge, rainbow waterfalls, blue lagoon and what not. Thanks to Subhashini and Pragati, the seasoned marathon runners, we did some light stretching exercises to relieve some strain from muscles. Again, had a homemade dinner of dal rice, chicken, vegetables and salad.
Slept early as we had to start our day at 4:30 am, this time, climb up all those 3000 steps!
Adventure awaits
To be continued
0 Comments