MAGNIFICENT MEGHALAYA.2

Slippery slopes, Kissing clouds, misty meadows, roaring rivers , feathery ferns and magnanimous mountains.

David Scott Trail in the East Khasi hills is a 16 km well-preserved hiking track from the original 100 km British era trade route connecting Assam and present day Bangladesh, passing through Meghalaya.  We start at Mawphlang, at 6,000 feet elevation, initially on a simple straight path, appreciating the abundant flora and fauna around.  Then the gradually descending trail keeps winding along the mountain, leading to the valley.  Umiam river keeps playing hide and seek from a distance.  Time and again the slippery slopes remind you to follow the trail and not to get lured by the shortcuts meant for locals.  

In Meghalaya, the clouds constantly try to befriend you, many a times they walk with you, sometimes they are above and at times below in the valley too.  The over friendly ones don’t miss any opportunity of drenching you. Umiam welcomes you with her babble and then suddenly you catch up with the muddy, gushing river, traversing the valley in a great hurry.  For some time we walk alongside and then crossover the Umiam on a hanging bridge.   Small rivulets are in plenty, where you jump over, but then comes a time when we had to cross a high-velocity stream .  The knee deep water made us go bare feet with shoes hanging on our neck and seeking each others support .  

There are gradual ascents and descents as you traverse through the mountains and valleys but with the scenic scenes and the beautiful weather there is no scope for feeling tired.  Walls of ferns, in shades of green adorn your path.  Simple ferns, but these feathery, flowerless fronds are so rich in beauty that you are forced to stop and appreciate.  The not-so-big waterfalls keep cascading from the side walls.  The old wooden bridges, the tempting natural pools of water, and the misty meadows transcends your imagination.  Connect with the nature, sing a tune, let the amateur photographer in you find its muse, model for reel/pics and let yourself free, that’s what this place calls for.  Midway you can have Maggie and talk to the people who stay in the laps of mother nature.  Maggie and Mountains are made for each other.  I am not a Maggie fan, but a bowl of hot Maggie in the mountains is energy enhancing and soul soothing.   

You keeping walking through the forests and then through the vast green expanses without a single dull moment.  The pure, serene, soul-touching nature reveals to you a variety of landscapes, each one taking the breath away. The cows grazing in Meghalaya highland look like a picture from Scotland.  The medieval stone arch bridge with the backdrop of mountains takes you back in time.  You will find giant rock formations (monoliths) from megalithic period spread across the meadows.  Rest on the bench here for a picture with the monoliths.  After the long hike, the last ascent is going to test your endurance.  Before the trek ends at Lad Mawphlang, our beautiful walking dream comes to an end with the sight of destruction of mountains and trees.  The ongoing stone quarrying business jolts you back to reality.