Cherry Blossom Festival Shillong: Meghalaya in Full Pink Bloom

Day 1: Guwahati to Shillong, Umiam Lake and Elephant Falls

Your local Khasi guide meets the group at Guwahati Airport or Railway Station and stays with you through the week. As the plains give way to pine country, your guide introduces the landscape and stops at Umiam Lake before continuing to Elephant Falls. On reaching Shillong, the first blossom check begins. Your guide reads the colour across the city and shares what the recent weather means for the days ahead. Check in by evening, meet the group over dinner and keep the first night slow.

• Meet Your Local Khasi Guide
• Umiam Lake
• First Blossom Check

• Umiam Lake: The first big viewpoint of the trip, a wide reservoir framed by pine covered hills on the Guwahati Shillong road.
• Elephant Falls: A tiered waterfall on the edge of Shillong, reached by a short flight of steps with views of each level.
• Shillong Check In: Settle into your Shillong stay with a hot dinner and time to rest after the drive.

• Meet the local Khasi guide travelling with you all week
• Panoramic views over Umiam Lake
• Short walk around the levels of Elephant Falls
• First cherry blossom update from your guide

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Stay in Shillong

Day 2: Mawphlang Sacred Forest and Shillong Highlights

After breakfast, your Khasi guide leads the day beyond the blossoms and into the culture that shaped these hills. At Mawphlang Sacred Forest, walk with a local forest keeper and listen to the community stories connected to the grove. Return towards Shillong for the Air Force Museum, Shillong Peak, Ward's Lake and the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians. As the light softens, the focus returns to the cherry blossoms. Your guide chooses the streets showing the best colour that day, subject to the natural bloom, rather than following one fixed viewing point.

• Khasi Stories
• Shillong Peak
• Guided Blossom Viewing

• Mawphlang Sacred Forest: A protected Khasi grove with ancient trees, monoliths and a guided nature walk led by a local.
• Shillong Peak and Air Force Museum: The highest point around Shillong with sweeping city views, paired with a short museum visit.
• Ward's Lake and the Cathedral: A calm lake garden in the centre of town and Shillong's best known church.

• Khasi forest stories shared by local guides at Mawphlang
• Panoramic views from Shillong Peak
• Slow afternoon at Ward's Lake and the Cathedral
• Cherry blossom viewing chosen around the day's colour and light

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Stay in Shillong

Day 3: Laitlum Canyons to Jowai

Check out after breakfast and follow your guide east from Laitlum Canyons into the Jaintia Hills, a region that adds depth to the days between Shillong's blossom viewings. The route continues to Krang Suri Waterfall and Phe Phe Falls before reaching Nartiang. Here your guide helps place the monoliths and the Durga Temple within the history of the Jaintia kingdom. Drive through the Jowai countryside to your stay, with the route and stopping time managed by someone who knows how quickly light and weather change in these hills.

• Guide Led Jaintia Hills Day
• Krang Suri Waterfall
• Nartiang Monoliths

• Laitlum Canyons: Wide canyon viewpoints along a grassy ridge, best for landscape photographs.
• Krang Suri and Phe Phe Falls: Two Jaintia Hills waterfalls, one with a striking blue green pool and one with a wide rocky fall.
• Nartiang Monoliths and Durga Temple: A field of standing stones from the Jaintia kingdom and a centuries old temple close by.

• Canyon views at Laitlum
• Two waterfall stops in the Jaintia Hills
• Jaintia history at Nartiang with your local guide
• Quiet evening in the Jowai countryside

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Stay in Jowai

Day 4: Jowai to Dawki, Mawlynnong and Cherrapunji

Leave Jowai after breakfast with your Khasi guide and descend towards the Umngot River at Dawki. River clarity changes with weather, so your guide sets expectations on the day and keeps the stop unhurried when conditions are good. Walk together to the Dawki Tamabil border area, then continue to Mawlynnong for a guided village walk, the viewpoint and Balancing Rock. Along the way, your guide connects village customs and everyday Khasi life to the places you are seeing. Reach Cherrapunji for check in and dinner.

• Local Guide Throughout
• Umngot River
• Mawlynnong Village

• Umngot River, Dawki: Clear green water between the hills, with time by the river and optional boating at your own cost.
• Dawki Tamabil Border Area: The India and Bangladesh border crossing point with views over the plains.
• Mawlynnong and Balancing Rock: A clean Khasi village walk, the village viewpoint and a naturally balanced boulder.

• Riverside time at the Umngot
• Views across the India and Bangladesh border
• Mawlynnong village walk interpreted by your Khasi guide
• Evening arrival in Cherrapunji

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Stay in Cherrapunji

Day 5: Exploring Cherrapunji

Spend a full day around Cherrapunji with your guide turning viewpoints into stories rather than a checklist. Begin at Nohkalikai Falls and hear the local account connected to its name, then continue to the Seven Sisters Falls viewpoint and the limestone passages of Mawsmai Cave. At Eco Park, your guide helps the group read the plateau, valleys and changing cloud cover. The pace stays relaxed, with photography stops chosen around visibility before returning to the hotel.

• Khasi Stories
• Nohkalikai Falls
• Mawsmai Cave

• Nohkalikai Falls: India's tallest plunge waterfall, dropping into a turquoise pool far below.
• Mawsmai Cave: A lit limestone cave with narrow passages and formations, an easy walk for most travellers.
• Seven Sisters Falls and Eco Park: Seven streams falling over one cliff, and a park on the plateau edge with wide views.

• The local account of Nohkalikai shared by your guide
• Easy walk through Mawsmai Cave
• Scenic viewpoints and photography stops
• Relaxed return to the hotel

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Stay in Cherrapunji

Day 6: Cherrapunji Waterfalls and Caves, Back to Shillong

Check out after breakfast and follow your guide to Dainthlen Falls, Arwah Cave and Wei Sawdong Falls, subject to weather and accessibility. The drive back to Shillong brings the trip's blossom story full circle. Your guide has been watching the trees and conditions through the week, so the final evening is spent where the colour and light look best that day. This is guided scenic viewing, subject to the natural bloom, with no festival programme or activity included.

• Dainthlen Falls
• Arwah Cave
• Final Blossom Evening

• Dainthlen Falls: A wide waterfall linked to an old Khasi legend, with rock carvings nearby.
• Arwah Cave: A cave with fossils visible in its limestone walls, reached by a scenic path.
• Wei Sawdong Falls: A three tiered waterfall with a blue pool, visited subject to weather and access.

• Khasi stories at Dainthlen with your guide
• Fossil spotting inside Arwah Cave
• Scenic photography stops across Cherrapunji
• Final guide chosen cherry blossom viewing in Shillong

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Stay in Shillong

Day 7: Shillong to Guwahati and Departure

After breakfast, check out and begin the drive back to Guwahati with the guide who has travelled beside the group all week. Use the road time to ask the questions that came up along the journey and revisit the week's blossom photographs. Your guide coordinates a refreshment stop and times the transfer around the group's flights and trains. Reach Guwahati Airport or Railway Station for departure with seven days of local stories and Shillong in pink.

• Morning with Your Guide
• Scenic Drive
• Airport or Station Drop

• Shillong to Guwahati Drive: A scenic return through the hills with a refreshment stop en route.
• Guwahati Airport or Railway Station: Group drop timed around flight and train schedules, with departure assistance.

• Last scenic drive through Meghalaya
• Refreshment stop en route
• Assisted drop at Guwahati

Meals: Breakfast