The surrounding mountainside ski & sports grassy moors justify Meghalaya s over-played Scotland of the East tourist-office soubriquet, although they re dotted with Khasi monoliths and scarred by quarrying. Much more impressive is the series of grand canyon valleys that plunge into deep lush chasms of tropical forest sprayed by a succession of seasonally inspiring waterfalls. The Nohkalikai Falls, mountainside ski & sports fourth highest in the world, are particularly dramatic, especially in the monsoon when their capacity increases mountainside ski & sports 20-fold. You can see them easily enough without quite entering the official viewpoint (admission/camera 10/200; h8am-5pm), 4.4km southwest of Sohra market.
Eastern and central Meghalaya are mainly populated by the closely related Jaintia, Pnar and Khasi peoples, originally migrants from Southeast Asia. Western Meghalaya is home to the unrelated Garo tribe. Despite their different ethnic backgrounds, these two groups use a matrilineal system of inheritance with children taking the mother s family name. A good time to be in Meghalaya is when the four day, state-wide, Wangala festival takes place. This Garo harvest festival is renowned for its impressive traditional dancing.
Two kilometres east of Hajo is a mosque sheltering the tomb of the multi-named Hazarat Shah Sultan Giasuddin Aulia Rahmatullah Alike who died some 800 years ago. Muslims mountainside ski & sports need to walk (the less pious may drive) 4km up a spiral road to reach the mosque, which is architecturally unremarkable.
Bustling Jorhat is the junction for Majuli Island. Gar-Ali, Jorhat s commercial street, meets the main east west thoroughfare Assam Trunk (AT) Rd (NH37) in front of a lively mountainside ski & sports central market area. AT Road is also home to an SBI ATM and the Netizen Cyberspace ( 20 per hr; h9am-8pm)
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