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Meghalaya Travel Guide

Meghalaya, one of the smallest states in India, occupies the plateau and rolling hills between Assam and Bangladesh.It is the home of Tribals who were influenced by the Hindu culture. They established the tribal district council and the tradition they followed were the kingship. The Tribals who inhabited here were the Khasis, Jaintias, Garo, Mikirs and the Cacharis. They inhabited the region before the start of the Christian era. These tribes is said to have evolved from the migrants who belonged to the Indo-Chinese linguistic family, the Tibeto-Burman and the Mon-Khmer. The sub- families of the Tibeto-Burman`s were the Naga, Kukichin and Bodo. The Bodos were
divided into small groups as Garo, Kachari, Mechs, Dimasa, Tippea, Lalung, Rabha, Chutiyas. The Garo Hills were occupied by the British in 1872. These tribes had their own kingdoms, until they came under the British administration. Presently people of Meghalaya are predominantly Christians. The state has a high literacy rate along with mostly English medium teaching.

The British authority in Meghalaya was a blessing in disguise as it led to the improvement of the landscape and the development of roads. The British included Meghalaya into Assam in 1835. Thus the region enjoyed a semi-independent status by virtue of the Treaty relationship with the British crown. Before attaining full state hood, Meghalaya was given a semi-autonomous status. When Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal on 16 October 1905, Megahlaya became a part of
the province of ` Assam and East Bengal`. When the partition was reversed in 1912, Meghalaya became a part of Assam. At the time of Independence of the country in 1947, Meghalaya consisted of two districts of Assam and enjoyed limited independence.

In pursuance of Section 52A of the Government of India Act of 1919, the Governor declared the areas in Meghalaya, other than the Khasi States as backward areas. However the Government of India regrouped the backward areas into two categories as `excluded` and `partially excluded`. The Assam Reorganization( Meghalaya) Act accorded an independent status to Meghalaya. The Act came into effect on April 2nd1970 and thus an autonomous state of Meghalaya was created. The autonomous state had a Legislature in agreement with the Sixth schedule of the Constitution. In 1971, the Parliament passed the North-Eastern Areas Act, 1971, which offered full statehood to Meghalaya. Meghalaya attained statehood on 21 January 1972. Meghalaya was evolved in 21 January 1972 by the carving of two districts of the state of Assam evolved Meghalaya.

Geography of Meghalaya
The word `Meghalaya` means the abode of clouds. Meghalaya is about 300 km long in the east west and 100km wide with a total area of about 22,429 km square. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country.It is most covered with lush forest area and rich orchids plantations.The forests are notable for their biodiversity of animals, birds and plants. These Blue hill catch the main force of the monsoon-laden winds of the Bay of Bengal and are among the wettest places on earth. Among the Blue hills are the intriguing traditional Sacred forests that are steeped in spiritual belief and held in great veneration. These forest represents the ancient eco-system.The state is bounded by Assam on the North and Bangladesh on the South.

Transport in Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a land locked state with a large number of small settlements in remote areas. Road is the only means of transport within the state. Major portion of the roads are un-metalled.Shillong, the capital of the state is relatively well connected while the road connectivity in other parts of the state is relatively poor. It has a small airport at Umroi, about 40 km from Shillong on the Guwahati-Shillong highway. The small size of the  airport does not allow the operations of large aircraft and only  small aircraft operate from Kolkata and Agartala.

For tourists visiting Meghalaya , the nearest airport is at Borjhar in Assam which is about 124 km from Shillong, the capital city of   Meghalaya. The flights that touch down in Guwahati originates from   Delhi and Calcutta and besides the Indian Airlines, several private airlines are also operating on a daily basis. From Borjhar Airport to Shillong, tourists can benefit the services of private tourist
bus and taxi operators. So far as rail transportation is concerned,   there are several trains, which are connected with Guwahati from   major cities of India. From there, rail passengers can travel to   Shillong by Meghalaya Transport Corporation Buses and private tourists buses and taxis.

Districts of Meghalaya

Costumes of Meghalaya

Festivals of Meghalaya

Folk Dances of Mizoram & Meghalaya

Museums Of Meghalaya

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