Incredible India
7 Things to Do in Cherrapunji, One of the Wettest Places on Earth
Also known by its older Khasi name, Sohra, this Meghalaya hill town is built around record monsoon rainfall, living root bridges grown by hand over decades, and some of India's tallest waterfalls.
Sep 25, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Cherrapunji, more commonly called Sohra by locals, sits on the southern edge of Meghalaya's Khasi Hills, where moisture-laden monsoon clouds sweeping up from Bangladesh's plains are forced upward and wrung out, giving the area some of the highest recorded rainfall totals anywhere on Earth. That extreme climate has shaped everything here, from limestone caves carved out over millennia to living bridges grown, root by root, across fast-flowing streams. Here are seven things to do, each with a direct map link.
1. Nohkalikai Falls
India's tallest plunge waterfall, dropping several hundred metres in a single unbroken fall, Nohkalikai is at its most dramatic during and just after the monsoon, when the falls swell considerably, and considerably thinner in the dry winter months.
2. Double Decker Living Root Bridge, Nongriat
Grown over generations by training the aerial roots of rubber fig trees across a stream, this two-tiered bridge near the village of Nongriat is the best known of the region's living root bridges and the reward at the end of a steep multi-hour trek down and back up thousands of stone steps.
3. Mawsmai Cave
A show cave developed for visitors with a roughly 150-metre lit passage through chambers of stalactites and stalagmites, Mawsmai offers an accessible introduction to the limestone cave systems this region is known for among cavers, without requiring specialist equipment.
4. Seven Sisters Falls
A cluster of seven segmented waterfalls dropping down the same escarpment face, best viewed from the Mawsmai or Ecopark viewpoints and, like most falls in the area, at their fullest and most striking during the monsoon months.
5. Single Decker Living Root Bridge, Riwai
A shorter, considerably easier walk than the Double Decker bridge, this single-tier root bridge near Riwai village makes for a good introduction to the region's root-bridge architecture for travellers without the time or stamina for the longer Nongriat trek.
6. Ramakrishna Mission and museum
Set close to Nohkalikai Falls, the mission's small museum holds an eclectic collection covering the region's geology, flora, tribal artefacts and rainfall records, a useful stop for context before or after the more physical parts of a Sohra itinerary.
7. Mawkdok Dympep Valley viewpoint
A dramatic gorge viewpoint on the road between Shillong and Sohra, offering wide views over a forested valley and, for those wanting more than a photo stop, a zip-line strung across the gorge itself.
Traveller tips
- Sohra is roughly a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Shillong, the nearest city with an airport connection via Guwahati.
- The Nongriat trek to the Double Decker bridge involves several thousand steps down and back up; budget the better part of a day and carry water.
- The monsoon months bring the heaviest rainfall of anywhere in India; waterproof layers are essential between June and September, when trails can also turn slippery.
- Winter (November to February) offers the clearest, driest conditions for cave visits and viewpoints, though the waterfalls are noticeably thinner.
Where this is
Cherrapunji (Sohra), Meghalaya