Shillong

Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya, a city of 340,000 people on the Shillong Plateau at 1,520 metres, and it has been called the 'Scotland of the East' — a comparison that says more about the British affection for Scotland than about any real topographic similarity.

The Khasi Hills around Shillong are the political homeland of the Khasi people, a matrilineal community in which property, clan membership, and the family name pass through the female line — one of the last functioning matrilineal cultures of any size in Asia. The church architecture of Shillong and the surrounding villages — Gothic and Welsh Calvinist in character — creates an architectural context genuinely unlike anything in mainland India.

Ward's Lake in the centre of Shillong, a Victorian pleasure garden established as the recreational focus of the hill station that was the summer capital of the Bengal Presidency, is still the city's primary public park. The Don Bosco Museum contains the most comprehensive ethnographic collection on the tribes of northeastern India — 17 galleries covering eight states with artefacts and textiles that make it the most important cultural resource for understanding the northeast available in one building.

Places to Visit in Shillong

• Elephant Falls
• Ward's Lake
• Shillong Peak
• Police Bazar

Things to Do in Shillong

• Waterfall hopping
• Local market exploration
• Live music cafe scene