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Cherrapunje
Cherrapunje situated 1300 meters (4290 feet) above sea level and 56
kilometers (35 miles) from Shillong is famous worldwide for it's enormous
rainfall. The town has one of the highest rainfall totals which occurs between
June and the middle of October. The average rainfall here is about 1143
centimeters (450 inches).In 1974, 2456 centimeters(967 inches) of rainfall was
recorded, with 930 centimeters(366 inches) in July alone. The maximum rainfall
for a single day was 1876, when 104 centimeters (41 inches) fell in a 24 hour
period !
For those who love adventure, the area - luxuriant with tropical
vegetation and innumerable varieties of ferns, mosses and orchids - has deep
gorges, countless rain- fed rivulets from peaks, and roaring waterfalls.
Cherrapunje also overlooks the vast plains of Bangladesh.
On the slopes of the hills around Cherrapunje there are many betel nut
plantations and extensive orange groves. It is said that in the olden days ,
oranges from Garhwal , Sikkim and the Khasi hills were carried by Arab traders
into Syria. When the crusaders invaded Syria, they took the oranges back to
southern Europe and propagated throughout the region.
Nartiang
At Nartiang, 65 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of
Shillong, in the Jaintia
Hills there are giant monoliths. Up to 8 meters high and 76 centimeters (18
inches) thick, they were supposedly built by Mar Phalyngki, the Goliath of
Jaintia legend. One of the stones is said to have been of Mar himself.
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