Meghalaya Tour Package, 5 Nights 6 Days from Guwahati

What does this Meghalaya tour package cover?

This Meghalaya tour package is 5 nights and 6 days. It starts in Guwahati and ends in Guwahati. You sleep three nights in Shillong and two nights in Sohra, the town most people still call Cherrapunji. Every day has one main job, so you never rush.

On the first day you drive up, with Umiam lake on the way. Day 2 is for Shillong and the hills around it: Mawphlang, Shillong Peak and Laitlum. Next you move to Sohra for Nohkalikai, Mawsmai cave and the Seven Sisters falls. The fourth day is only for the walk to the double-decker root bridge at Nongriat. On Day 5 you take the border road to Mawlynnong, Riwai and the Umngot river at Dawki. On Day 6 you see the Don Bosco museum and drive back to Guwahati.

Most packages put Nongriat on the same day as three other sights. We give it a full day and a second night in Sohra. That one change makes the walk safe and calm, even for a slow walker.

If you only have three or four days, see our shorter Guwahati Shillong Cherrapunjee tour. If you want Kaziranga too, the Assam Meghalaya tour joins both states in one trip.

Do you need a permit or registration to visit Meghalaya?

Indian citizens do not need an Inner Line Permit for Meghalaya today. The ILP states of the North East are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur. But Meghalaya now has new tourist rules, and they matter for your trip.

• Hotels must register you (since June 2025). In June 2025, after a murder case in Sohra, the state government told every hotel, homestay, resort and even private landlord to register all guests through the tourism app. All India Radio reported the order on 18 June 2025. Lodgings now upload guest details and ID copies every day on the official provider portal. So keep your photo ID ready at every check-in.
• A visitor registration system is planned (2026). In July 2026, the tourism minister said the state plans a registration for all visitors, like the ILP but without a permit. The first centre is planned at Umling in Ri-Bhoi district, the district you drive through on the way up from Guwahati. It was not running as of that report. We check the latest rule before you travel, and we tell you if anything changes.
• Foreign nationals and OCI card holders. Your hotel records your passport and visa, and files the C-Form for you. This is part of the same daily upload. Carry your passport, visa or OCI card every day, not just a photocopy.
• Rented cars and scooters. Since August 2025, anyone who rents a car or two-wheeler to tourists must register with the Transport Department. Please do not take a self-drive vehicle from a person on the street.

Carry one government photo ID for each adult, with two photocopies.

What are the new local rules for tourists in Sohra and other sites?

Meghalaya is working hard to keep its hills clean. A few rules came in during 2025 and 2026, and most travel pages do not mention them yet.

• No roadside cooking in Sohra (since 3 August 2026). The Sohra Sub-Divisional Magistrate has banned cooking, fires and gas stoves on roadsides, viewpoints, parking areas and forests. You must carry all your waste away, including bottles and plates. Breaking this order can lead to prosecution. So please do not plan a picnic stove at a viewpoint.
• A refundable green deposit for plastic. A news report from May 2025 says the state runs a green deposit at chosen eco-tourism sites. You pay a small deposit for plastic bottles and wrappers, and you get it back when you show them on the way out. Confirm the current rate at the site.
• Village rules come first. In Mawlynnong, smoking and plastic bags are not allowed. In the Mawphlang sacred grove, you may not take away anything at all. Each village Dorbar Shnong (village council) runs its own site, so follow the signs at the gate.

Is the taxi dispute at the Assam Meghalaya border a problem?

In September 2025, the local tourist taxi association in Meghalaya asked that taxis from Assam only drop guests at Shillong. Some roads were blocked for a short time, and some trips were cancelled. In December 2025, the state government said it cannot ban vehicles from outside Meghalaya under the law. It will instead ask hotels and agencies to prefer local taxis.

For you, this means one thing. Book one car and driver for the whole trip, from Guwahati back to Guwahati, through a planner who knows the current position on the ground. We plan your car this way, so you are not asked to change vehicles halfway. If the rule changes again, we tell you before you leave home.

How hard is the Nongriat double-decker root bridge walk?

This is the question families ask us most. The honest answer: it is a hard walk for the legs, but it is not dangerous if you go slowly in dry weather.

The walk starts at Tyrna village, about 12 km from Sohra. The Meghalaya tourism department says you go down about 3,000 stone steps. Other guides count 2,600 to 3,500, because the path goes down and up again in parts. Lonely Planet says the way down takes about 1.5 hours, and the climb back about 2 hours. You cross two metal suspension bridges over rushing streams on the way.

The double-decker bridge is two root bridges, one above the other, grown from the roots of the rubber fig tree (Ficus elastica). Khasi families shaped these roots over many years. In 2022, the living root bridges of Meghalaya went on India's Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage, as Jingkieng jri.

Who should not do it? Anyone with knee, heart or breathing trouble, and anyone who finds 20 floors of stairs hard at home. For them, we plan a gentle Sohra day instead, with Arwah cave and the Sohra viewpoints. Please be honest with us when you book. The climb back up is the hard part, and there is no other way out.

What is the best time to visit Meghalaya?

The easiest months are October to April. The steps are drier, the views are clear, and the Umngot river at Dawki is at its clearest. The state tourism department suggests snorkelling there only from November to March.

• June to September: the monsoon. The waterfalls are full and loud. The Seven Sisters falls look best in these months. But fog hides the views, the Nongriat steps get slippery, and hill roads can slide. On 11 July 2025, the district administration asked people to avoid the Shillong to Dawki road through Pynursla, because of landslide risk between Laitlyngkot and Lyngkyrdem.
• December to February: cool and dry. Days are clear, but Nohkalikai and the Seven Sisters carry much less water. Nohkalikai is fed by rain on the plateau above it, so it gets thin in the dry months.
• Winter is busy. The state tourism department advises booking stays early in winter, as it is the busy season.

If you must come in the monsoon, keep one spare day, and let us move the Dawki day to the driest morning. We watch the weather with you each evening.

Can you visit Shillong Peak, and what are the entry rules?

Yes, in most weeks. Shillong Peak is about 1,965 m high and about 10 km from the city. It is the highest point in Meghalaya. On a clear day you see the whole of Shillong below you.

The viewpoint sits inside an Indian Air Force radar station, and the only road goes through the station. Every adult must show a valid photo ID at the gate. The state tourism page also says cameras must be handed in at the gate, so please check the rule on the day. Never photograph the radar or the base.

The Air Force can close the peak to tourists at short notice, for security or for a VIP visit. This happened in January 2016 after the Pathankot attack, and again for a defence minister's visit. If the gate is closed, we take you to Laitlum or Elephant falls instead.

What should you eat in Meghalaya?

Khasi food is mild, with little chilli, and it often uses black sesame, turmeric and ginger. Most of it is pork based. The Incredible India site names jadoh as the signature dish of Shillong. It is rice cooked with pork, chicken or fish.

• Dohneiiong: pork in a black sesame gravy. Look for the roadside stalls at Mylliem, on the road from Shillong to Sohra.
• Dohkhlieh: a pork salad with onion, ginger and chilli. Cafe Cherrapunjee in Sohra is a good place to try it.
• Tungrymbai: a fermented soybean gravy. The smell is strong, but the taste is milder than it smells.
• Pure veg choices: ask for ja stem (turmeric rice) and dai sboh (dal with black sesame). In Sohra, Orange Roots is the best known pure veg restaurant.

In Shillong, Trattoria, a small family canteen in Police Bazaar, is a well known place for jadoh. For a North Indian meal, Police Bazaar also has sweet shops and veg thali places. Please tell us in advance if you eat only Jain or pure veg food, so that we can choose hotels with a veg kitchen.

What should you buy in Meghalaya?

The best things to take home are food and crafts. Lakadong turmeric from the Jaintia Hills got its GI tag on 30 March 2024. It has a high curcumin level, about 6.8 to 7.5 percent. Buy sealed packs that name the source, and look for the GI label.

Sohra is known for its honey and its oranges. For crafts, go to Purbashree, the government emporium in Shillong, where prices are fixed and there is no bargaining. Bamboo crafts and handloom from the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills are sold near Police Bazaar. In Bara Bazaar (Iewduh), the old market, ask the price in two shops before you pay.

How do you add Kaziranga, Arunachal or Krang Suri falls?

Meghalaya joins well with Assam. Many families add two nights at Kaziranga after Shillong, for a jeep safari to see the one-horned rhino. See our Kaziranga National Park tour or the full Assam tour package.

If you want the snow and monasteries of the high hills, add Tawang with our Arunachal Pradesh tour package. For a longer plan across the seven sisters states, see our North East vacation page.

Krang Suri falls is in West Jaintia Hills, about 91 km from Shillong and about 30 minutes from Jowai. Its plunge pool is open for swimming, and life jackets are given on rent. It is too far to add to the Dawki day, so add one night near Jowai if you want it. The state tourism department says the best months are October to May.

How is this Meghalaya tour package different?

We read the top pages for this search before we wrote this one. Most of them give the same list of places. Very few tell you how to do the trip safely, or what has changed since 2025.

• The 2025 hotel registration rule and the planned 2026 visitor registration, in plain words.
• The Sohra roadside cooking ban of August 2026, and the green deposit for plastic.
• The Shillong Peak entry rule inside the Air Force station, and what we do if it is closed.
• The Nongriat walk with honest step counts from three sources, and a real plan for elders.
• A full day and a second Sohra night for Nongriat, not a rushed half day.
• The taxi dispute of 2025, and how one car for the whole trip avoids it.
• The Don Bosco museum's Sunday closure, built into the plan.