Mawphanlur: A Little Known Paradise in Meghalaya

Mawphanlur Village

We stepped down from our car and rushed towards a narrow paved road rolling upwards on the hill. The winding road took us through few huts and small lakes with bamboo bridges. In a short time we reached to the hill top. It was a breathtaking view-an experience out of this world. After all, we do not get to see the paradise quite often. As far as eyes could see, there were undulating hills, magnificent forests, gorgeous valleys and small villages perched in between. Welcome to Mawphanlur- a tiny hamlet of Meghalaya, hiding from the external world. It is one of the Meghalaya’s little known secret. The village is also famous as the land of seven lakes.

Meghalaya is a vast canvas of nature with such a overwhelming number of beautiful places that it always surprises you with new and unexpected corners, no matter how many times you have already visited the state. There are many attractions for the visitors in the typical tourist circuit of Shillong, Cherrapunji and Dawki.

However, Meghalaya includes many spectacular destinations that don’t lie on the famous tourist circuits. During the weekends, it offers a lot of relief to visit such little known places nestled in the peaceful pristine environment. Mawphanlur is such a hidden destination. In fact, it is so unpopular we were the only visitors until we returned at 2 PM on that particular day. This turns out to be a good thing to preserve the serenity of the village and also, less crowd is always better for the natural surroundings. Perhaps, this is why it looks so mesmerising and refreshing.

While at Mawphanlur, we kept walking on the rolling hills back to back with no particular destination, from one paradise to another. There were no tourists, no hawkers, no shops, no cars. On that day, the splendid beauty of nature including miles of grassland, beautiful hills, gorgeous valleys and small lakes belongs to us only. It was a kind of trip we could only dream of, but there at that tiny village, we were enjoying it in reality.

The village is inhabited with five to six families only. It was always hiding behind the tourist scene due to the bad approach road from Markasa, until recently when the road got repaired and Mawphanlur started receiving the attention of offbeat travellers. The tourist infrastructure is still undeveloped in many parts of the North East India, so at this village.

From a tourist point of view, there are no specific activities to enjoy in the village except walking in the middle of green surroundings. It appears that time stands still there, where a person can just sit in a peaceful environment to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. If one hill looks boring, walk to a lake and play with the water. If that does not sound good, walk towards another hill to enjoy the next valley down the slope. Simple hiking and walking are enough to enjoy a day at Mawphanlur.

Mawphanlur is all about losing yourself in the beauty of nature. Just walk up on the hills, sit on the corners of small lakes, walk through the beautiful patches of the trees and immerse yourself in a joy of the lifetime..

Where is Mawphanlur Located?

It is located in the Khasi Hills region of Meghalaya, slightly off from Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura Highway. It is situated in the West Khasi Hills District. The nearest noticeable village is Markasa (about 70 kms from Shillong). Markasa lies on Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura Highway and Mawphanlur is just 5 km away from the highway junction.

Note: While checking the location of Mawphanlur in Google Map, search for Mawphanlur Natural Lake or Mawphanlur Guest House. While searching Mawphanlur, the map shows a different location tagged as this name (about 11 kms away from Markasa).

How To Reach Mawphanlur?

It can be reached by own vehicle as well as by public transport. There are two preferred way to reach Mawphanlur:

Shillong to Mawphanlur

Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura Highway is a pleasure to drive on. The highway is in excellent condition. After reaching Markasa, ask for the direction. A road towards right side goes to Mawphanlur through Markasa market.

Markasa-Mawphanlur section (5 kms) is a paved, motorable road in good condition, but it is recommended to have the prior experience of the hill driving, while driving on this narrow serpentine road with a steep gradient towards the hill village.

If you want to use public transport from Shillong, board any public bus or shared jeep going towards Tura/Nongstoin. That vehicle drops you at Markasa Village (Fare, Rs 150). At Markasa, you can find many Maruti 800/Alto waiting for the passengers. They can be hired at the cost of Rs.700 for to and fro journeys (Rs.500 one way) to Mawphanlur.

Guwahati to Mawphanlur

If you start from Guwahati, then also it is always better to proceed via Shillong. Guwahati-Shillong Highway is in excellent condition and a pleasure to drive on. But the problem is it needs you to drive through the city of Shillong, where you can expect to spend at least one hour extra in the choking traffic of Shillong.

There is one more option to travel from Guwahati to Mawphanlur while bypassing the Shillong City. A direct road connects Rani Gate near Guwahati Airport (2 km) to Mairang, a major town on Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura Highway bypassing all the traffic in Guwahati City area as well as Shillong city. The road is in good condition except approx 10 kms stretch near Patharkhama village. All the way from Rani Gate to Mairang (103 kms), the road passes through the lush green hills and has many serpentine bends, moderate climb and descent gradient over the hills of Garbhanga Forest. Prior experience of the hill driving is recommended on this road. Markasa is 27 kms away from Mairang at Shillong-Nongstoin Highway.

This road is particularly useful, if you live in the Azara/Airport or Mirza or Maligaon Area of Guwahati, because it also helps to avoid the traffic on the Guwahati-Shillong Highway between Jalukbari and Khanapara. It does not seem worthwhile if you live in the main city of Guwahati. Public Transport is very limited on this road, therefore it is useful only in case of a hired or private vehicle.

Entry Charges for Mawphanlur Village

Every visitor is expected to pay Rs 10 as entry fee, while visiting the village and the surrounding areas. Children below 8 years are exempted from this entry charge. Parking charge for 4-wheelers is Rs. 20, while for 2-wheelers it is Rs. 10. Picnic fee is Rs.100. Few other charges like a video camera, movie shoot, bus parking etc are also there. All these charges are displayed on a board near the guest house.

There is no designated window to collect these charges. We just handed over the required money to a girl working at the guest house. She did not provide any receipt. While returning from the village, we found a barrier on the road. One of my friend released the barrier to let our car pass, and nobody stopped us or checked whether we paid the mentioned entry charges. Since, the entire village work on the concept of co-operative society, it seems better to pay entry charges at the guest house only.

Activities at Mawphanlur

Hiking

The landscape around the village consists of green meadows spread across many hills one after another till you reach to the edge of the last hill. The entire day can be spend on the hiking.

Fishing

Since it is a land of the seven lakes, the fishing is undoubtedly a pleasant experience. Better to inform the guest house and receive prior permission before heading out for the fishing on your own.

Kayaking

Kayaks are available on the rent at the guesthouse. Two lakes near the tourist cottages are good for kayaking for 30-40 minutes.

Boating

2-3 paddle boats are also available at the guest house for the boating purpose.

Star-Gazing

The weather is quite unpredictable at the village. If all looks good and sky remains clear, then star-gazing is a delightful learning experience at Mawphanlur.

Where to Stay at Mawphanlur?

Only one guest house Traveller’s Nest operated by the Village Co-Operative is available. The guest house has only three cottages. There is no rush but it’s better to secure the accommodation in advance. One night rate for the single cottage is Rs. 1500 without food. Foods are available at the guest house on the payment basis. The rates are negotiable.

At many locations in Meghalaya, you can pitch your own tents for the night stay. I am unaware if you can pitch your own tents at the village, but there are plenty of spaces available. The Traveller’s Nest owner, Mr. Francis (Mob: +91-8974318450) may guide you to identify a suitable location for camping. Food can be arranged from the guest house.

In case, you travel with public transport, pick and drop facility from Markasa can also be arranged by Mr. Francis over a call. The cost of the pick up facility from Markasa is Rs. 400+ one way.

Mobile Networks at Mawphanlur

We checked with Vodafone and Reliance Jio. The call facility is good on both the networks, but data did not work well at Vodafone Network. Jio data worked very well.

Communication at Mawphanlur

The local people normally understand reasonable level of English in the most parts of Meghalaya. Sometimes in the remote areas like this, it may become difficult to communicate. Local people may not be able to understand Hindi or English properly. Better to use sign language with some commonly used English words in this situation.

The Future Ahead

Many times, these little known paradises get exposed to the tourist community quickly, and then with the larger tourist influx, the infrastructure and the pristine beauty of the place deteriorate under the pressure. A motorable road is being extended to the other villages in the area and passing through the hills beyond Mawphanlur. It may soon reveal the secret open for everyone and then Mawphanlur possesses all the potential to turn into a tourist hotspot.

In the coming years, the paradise may lose its true essence. As a tourist we can try our part of job to maintain the pristine environment of Mawphanlur by exercising sustainable development practices like not littering anywhere, no use of plastics, respecting local traditions, not disturbing flora & fauna etc. As of now, we can only pray the development activities will not destroy the beauty of this small paradise in the near future.