Tourist Spots & Places of Interest 1

Shillong Peak: 1965 metres above sea level and 10 kms from the city, offers a panoramic view of entire Shillong, and is also the highest point in the State.

Sohpetbneng Peak: 1,343 meter, 20 Kms from Shillong, regarded as sacred by the Hynniewtrep people, is set amidst a beautiful scenic view against the backdrop of a sacred forest.

Ward's Lake: A century old picturesque lake. Located in the heart of the city, popular for short garden walks and boating. The local people however prefer to call it Nan Polok (Polok's Lake) after an executive engineer named Mr. Pollock.

Umiam Water Sports Complex: Developed upon the mighty reservoir of the Umiam Hydro Electric Project, at Umiam, 16 kilometres beforereaching Shillong. The campus consists of a beautiful Orchid Lake Resort, the Nehru Park. Besides it offers a wide choice of exciting water sports activities.

Botanical Garden: Located just below the Ward's Lake, this garden has a plethora of indigenous and exotic plants. It also houses rareand colourful species of birds.

Lady Hydari Park: Lady Hydari Park, stretching over a km is replete with roses and blossoms of exquisite hues and colours. Owes its existence to Lady Hydari, the wife of an erstwhile Governor of Assam. It has an excellent mini zoo cum deer park.

Festivals in the Garo Hills
Wangala: This festival marking the yield of godd harvest is annually held in November and last for a week. It is performed in honour of 'Satyong', the God of fertility. Wangala means dance of Hundred Drum festival and people dressed in their colourful costumes dance to the beat of long cylindrical drums.
Doregata Dance: In this form of dance the women try to knock off the turbans of their male partner using their head. If they succeed, it is followed by peals of laughter.
Chambil mesara or Pomelo Dance: In this solo dance-form the performer dangles a pomelo on a cord tied to his waist and then hurls it around without any perceptible movement of the hips. Expert dancers can hurl two separate fruits hung on a cord.
Festivals in the Khasi Hills
Nongkrem Dance: This festival is held annually during October/ November, at Smit, the capital of the Khyrim Syiemship near Shillong in order to offer thanks to the almighty God for good harvest, peace and prosperity of the community. 'Pomblang' or goat sacrifice is offered by the subjects to the Syiem of Khyrim, the administrative head of the Hima (Khasi State). The dance is performed by young virgins and men, both bachelors and married.
Shad Suk Mynsiem: This thanksgiving dance festival, which means dance of the joyful heart is held in Shillong in April and lasts for three days. Men and women dressed in traditional fineries dance to the drums and the flute.
Festivals in Jaintia Hills
Behdienkhlam: This festival is an invocation to God seeking his blessings for a good harvest and is celebrated annually in July after the sowing period. Young men make a symbolic gesture of driving away of the evil spirit, plague and pestilence by beating of the roof of every house with bamboo poles.
Lahoo Dance: This dance is performed by both male and female for entertainment. Attired in their best finery, two young men on either side of a woman, holding arms together dance in step.

People

People who reside in the Garo Hills are known as the Garos.
Besides the Garo hills, there are Garo settlements in the plains of Assam and Bangladesh. The Garos call themselves Achik-mande. In the Garo language Achik means Hills and mande, Man. So, Achik-mande means the Hills people.
The traditional Garo female dress is a piece of cloth around the waist and a blouse or vest. The men usually wear, in addition to cloth, a turban. Males and females both wear bangles and earrings. The chief meals of the Garos consist of rice with onions, capsicum and salt thrice a day. Practically all types of animal foods are taken. The liquor is not distilled, but prepared by brewing food grains.
The society is matrilineal like the Khasis and the Jaintias. Till death, the new-born baby belongs to the mother's family, irrespective of sex, even after\r\nmarriage. Marriage within the clan is completely prohibited and severely punishablefor both the Khasis and the Garos. Till now, the institution of Bachelors Dormitories which is gradually disappearing amongst the tribes of North Eastern Region, are found in the Garo villages. In such dormitories young people stay and live together till they are married. They receive various training in the dormitories like protection of crops, construction of roads, organising festivals, sports and ceremonies.
The Khasis and Garos are now mostly Christians. But before that, they used to pray natural objects.

Introduction

Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, is a hill town in the north eastern part of India. It is situated at an altitude of 1496 meters above sea level.
I request visitors to submit articles on Shillong and its neighboring places along with photographs for inclusion in this blog. I will also be glad to receive your valuable comments & suggestions at this blog.