Are you fond of going offbeat in your travel but wondering if you can do that with kids in Meghalaya? Answer is YES.
Khasi hills in Meghalaya are perfect for doing long walks with kids , kid suitable caves, very very interesting treks, and untouched jungles to wander in.
Offbeat in Shillong with Kids
Instead of travelling in a taxi for the whole day, visiting one waterfall after another, just stay at the hotel near Umiam Lake.
The Lum Nehru Park near Umiam lake is big enough for kids to run and shout. Plenty of birds which appear frequently there and kids can take secret spots to peek at them. The park is also good to plat Peekabu there.
The bank of Umiam lake that visitors throng to is not the end of Umiam lake experience. Take a boat and ask them to drop you at the other end. It is a long stretch of wild grass and wild flowers, with gradual slopes to the lake. They can throw as much twigs and pebbles in lake as they want, dip their feet and spray water on each other.
Read more about Umiam Experiences here.
Having a Leisure walk in untouched woods of Sacred Groves of Mawphlang.
Meghalaya had a large number of sacred groves where no trees were ever cut, no twig was ever taken out from its boundary, no flower carried out for ornamenting, no medicinal plucking was ever done. You could use the forest produce in the forest but could not take anything out from there.
Only a handful of sacred groves remain now. The one at Mawphlang is such a grove where community gives you a guide to take you inside.
We spent more than half a day inside walking with kids. Read about those adventures here.
Read about Mawphlang Sacred Groves adventure here.
Cave Burrowing in Mawsmai caves near Cherrapunji
Meghalaya has a large number of caves open to tourists for exploration with varying levels of difficulty and danger.
Mawsmai cave is 6 kms away from Cherrapunji. It is a long cave but only a small section is open to public and it is very safe for kids. We did it with our five and eleven year old kids.
Stalactites and stalagmites have various forms and shapes to stretch your imagination. It is well lit with enough of adventure for kids where they have to crawl and duck and squeeze through. Kids loved it.
Double Decker root bridge trek
Settle yourself in Cherrapunji for this trek. It starts from village Tyrna in Cherrapunji and you do not need a guide as it is safe and well marked. However we did it with a guide to make it manageable with kids as young as five and eleven.
Trek goes down and down for 2500 ft, through thick jungles, streams, wire bridges, single root bridges and three villages. It is an easy trek but a long one. You have to climb down some 3000 stairs and come up again if you don’t want to stay in the community center at the end, near a pool. Rooms at community center are clean and safe and you have to book in advance.
We came up the same day and it was tiring but not very difficult to manage. My kids were used to walking so it was ok.
Read about how we did this trek with kids -here.
Bathing in Roadside waterfalls and Walking in rain
Whole of the Meghalaya has exceptionally beautiful waterfalls. However in Cherrapunji, we stayed with Laitkinsew Resort and there were many small to medium waterfalls near it. Kids loved to go there to bath and just fun n frolicked in water, without any worry for waiting taxi or binding of time.