Cave Walking CHERRAPUNJEE
If squeezing through narrow murky trails, scurrying past spiders, bats and beetles, and wading through wild streams makes your heart pump with anticipation, then you are among the few for whom cave walking or spelunking might just be the thing. With more than 1,600 caves in stock, over a thousand of them still largely unexplored, Meghalaya should already be on top of your bucket list for this adventure. Some of the more renowned caves here are Krem Puri in Mawsynram, the world’s longest sandstone cave; Krem Mawmluh in Cherrapunjee, with stalagmites and stalactites formations that have grown over a span of a thousand years; and Krem Chympe, with a river flowing through it. Given that much of Meghalaya’s mysterious subterranean world is still waiting to be discovered, any spelunker worthy of the title should be making a beeline for it.
GETTING THERE The capital Shillong is well connected by air from Kolkata and Delhi. You can also drive down from Guwahati (100 km).
STAY Ri Kynjai (starts from `9,500/US$ 133, rikynjai.com); The Heritage Club – Tripura
Castle (starts from `5,500/US$ 77, tripuracastle.com)
PLAN IT WITH Kipepeo (kipepeo.in)