With the onset of the month of October, Meghalaya goes into a blissful festive mood. The preparations for puja rituals, the cool temperatures and refreshing scenic landscapes make Meghalaya an unmissable travel destination in India.
And one of the most popular and much-awaited festivals to watch out for in the autumn season is the Shillong Autumn festival. Majorly celebrated in Meghalaya, the Autumn Festival is a delightful cultural extravaganza meant for those who love this weather. It is usually held at the sports water complex at the Orchid Lake Resort in Umiam.
It is said that Meghalaya, as a tourism brand, was established only due to the Autumn festival. It was in 2012 when a performance by the largest Guitar ensemble played Bob Dylan’s song - Knocking on Heaven’s Door. Since then, a great number of tourists flock to witness this amazing cultural spectacle.
Major Attractions of Autumn Festival
The Autumn Festival is usually observed in the months of September and October. The highlighting features of this festival is that it is a nice blend of traditional activities like fishing, kite flying, ethnic fashion shows, golf and more. Apart from these, dance and music performances entertain the audience introducing the tourists to the cultural flavour of Meghalaya.
Food and Themes
The focus of the Autumn Festival has always been on family-oriented entertainment. Apart from entertainment, here tourists can also relish their taste buds in a variety of traditionally made dishes. One can also shop around taking handicraft items as souvenirs. Every year, this festival is based on a certain theme. For instance, both in 2018 and 2019, music was chosen as its theme.
How to Reach
Shillong is a city where you can find an immense bounty of nature. Famous for its stunning panoramic views Shillong is situated at an approximate distance of 2,003, 2,827, 1,108, 3,048 km from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru respectively. Here is how you can travel to Shillong.
By Air. The nearest aerodrome is the Umroi airport along with the Guwahati airport. Both these airports are located at a distance of 30 km and 120 km respectively. However, due to good connectivity, you can consider deboarding at Guwahati airport. After deboarding your flight, you can take a cab or a bus to reach Shillong.
By Train. The best option would be to deboard at the Guwahati train station. It is one of the A1 rated train stations in India and also the first solar operated train junctions. It is fairly well-connected with other Indian cities. After you deboard at the station, you can take a cab or some other means of local transportation to reach your destination.
By Road. If you are residing in nearby regions, then, you can also consider travelling via well-maintained motorable road networks. For instance, from Guwahati, you can consider taking a bus. However, there are many private as well as government buses available which serve the passengers at timely intervals. Apart from this, you can also take a cab or self-drive.
You can plan your trip and create your own route to the city with Adotrip’s technically driven circuit planner. Click here
