Dawki - Jewel of Meghalaya

Motoriderz
Jul 15, 2016
2 min read

Travelling to the North-East is something that always generates lots of oohs and aahs from whoever you tell about your journey there, or your plans. These exclamations come not from ready available knowledge of the area but more from the lack of it. Leave the ability of people to tell you where to go, the majority cannot even name the states in this corner of the country. Even people who have been here sometimes never find out about many places that if they had visited, would have made their eyes pop. The case of my travels remains no different. Though I spent a considerable time here when compared to the weekend getaways that have become more popular, I leave the place with a feeling of incompleteness.

A day’s excursion from Mawlynnong, Dawki lies but 2 Kms from Bangladesh. Despite the fact that the area is located in a place that has been for years demanding development, one is amazed by the quality of the roads, and the road to Dawki perhaps epitomizes the idyllic hill drive. At first I thought this was the result of tourism, but later learned that this had more to do with the area’s strategic importance as well as the limestone and coal mines. Anyway, the black metalled road, offset by the rich, wet green and dark red-brown patches offered a smooth contrast that technology can scarcely capture. The cool, wet air brushes over your face and refreshes and revitalizes you as it enters your body. Dawki is a small village and its main attraction is the Umngot River that marks the natural separation between the Khasi and the Jaintia Hills. The river can be forded by a suspension bridge that connects India to Bangladesh and facilitates trade between the two nations. The Umngot is the site for a boat race that is held in March-April, but even otherwise, seeing this large emerald-green serpent threading its way through the hills, with fishermen’s boats dotting its surface, right into the plains of Bangladesh, is a sight whose majesty echoes long after you leave it.

Travelling from Shillong to the International trade route border town of Dawki is a splendid drive of 95 kilometres passing through deep gorges and ravines, which is certainly a thrilling experience. On approaching Dawki is the Umngot river, the venue of the annual boat race held during March - April at Umsyiem. The Umngot river is the natural boundary between Ri Pnar or Jaintia Hills with Hima Khyrim of Khasi hills over which is a single span suspension bridge was constructed. This is the gateway to