Living Root Bridges Trek

• Sohra
• 1,480 m
• 155 km · 5–5.5 hrs
• Dinner

We meet you at Guwahati Airport or the railway station and drive up the highway through Jorabat and Nongpoh to Shillong, then take the Sohra road without going into the city centre. Lunch is on the way, and on a clear day we stop at the Mawkdok Dympep valley viewpoint. You reach Sohra by late afternoon. Your guide visits in the evening to check shoes, bags and fitness, and to explain the plan. Pack a light overnight bag for Nongriat: a change of clothes, a torch, a towel and any medicines. The main luggage stays at the Sohra hotel.

• Nongriat
• 600 m
• 30 min drive, then trek 3 km · 2–3 hrs down
• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Drive 30 minutes to Tyrna and start down by 9 am with your registered guide. About 3,500 concrete steps descend steeply through areca and betel groves, past the single root bridge at Nongthymmai and across two swaying steel-wire bridges over the Umshiang stream. You reach Nongriat around noon. Check into the homestay, eat lunch, then walk to the double decker root bridge, two levels of living rubber fig roots with natural pools below. Late afternoon is quiet after the day hikers leave. Dinner is rice, dal and local greens at the homestay. Electricity and phone signal are patchy.

• Sohra
• 1,480 m
• Trek about 6 km · 5–6 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

Start at 6.30 am for Rainbow Falls, about an hour each way over rocks, streams and a couple of smaller root bridges. On sunny mornings between October and March, the spray over the blue pool catches a rainbow, which gives the fall its name. Back in Nongriat by 9.30, collect your bag and begin the climb. The 3,500 steps take most people 1.5 to 2.5 hours with rest stops; drink water at each village shop. The car waits at Tyrna. Return to Sohra by early afternoon, have a hot shower and rest your legs. The evening is free.

• Sohra
• 1,480 m
• Local sightseeing · about 40 km
• Breakfast, Dinner

Start at the Nohkalikai viewpoint at 8 am, before cloud builds; the 340 m plunge is India's tallest. Then drive to Dainthlen Falls, where a Khasi legend says a giant serpent was killed. A short distance beyond, your guide leads the path down to Wei Sawdong, a three-tier fall that pours into a series of blue pools. The last section is steep, with a bamboo ladder and muddy patches, so allow 20 to 30 minutes each way and use your hands. Swimming depends on the water level and local rules. After lunch, rest or visit Arwah Cave, a 1 km walk along the cliff.

• Mawlynnong
• 500 m
• 85 km · 3 hrs
• Breakfast, Dinner

Leave Sohra after breakfast, drive back to Laitlyngkot and turn south through Pynursla, where the road runs along a ridge with views towards the plains. Reach Mawlynnong by noon and check into a homestay. After lunch, walk 20 minutes down to the Riwai living root bridge, a single span over a stream, much easier than Nongriat but just as old in style. Back in the village, walk the lanes to see the bamboo dustbins and flower gardens that won it the cleanest-village tag. Climb the bamboo Sky View platform if it is open. Dinner is simple home cooking.

• Departure
• 55 m
• 180 km · 5.5–6 hrs
• Breakfast

Leave Mawlynnong by 8 am after breakfast. The route runs back through Pynursla to the Shillong bypass and then down the Guwahati highway via Umiam and Nongpoh, with a lunch stop on the way. You reach Guwahati by about 2 pm, depending on traffic near Jorabat. Please book flights after 4 pm or trains after 4.30 pm. If you have an extra night, we can drop you in Shillong instead and arrange a separate transfer the next day. Your driver drops you at the airport terminal or station entrance.