Tour of the Garo Hills

Garo Hills is very popular for its abundance of wildlife. It is an ideal place for photographers to capture the different sights of a unique range of flora and fauna. Two mountain ranges the Tura range and the Arabella range that passes through the Garo Hills forms the great Balpakram valley in Meghalaya . Nokrek Peak is the highest point in the Garo Hills and is located at an altitude 1412 m above sea level. Garo hills are a perfect destination for adventure trekking tours. The best time to visit Garo hills is from the month of September to May.

Tourist Attraction in Garo Hills

Tura

Tura is located 307 kms from Shillong, at the foot of the Tura peak. It is also the headquarter of West Garo Hills. Tura is named after Durama-Imbama. There are also few tourist spots in Tura which is worth visiting. The tourist places include Tura peak, Nokrek Biosphere, Chibragre and Pelga Falls.

Sasatgre Village

Sasatgre Village is a beautiful village situated at the foot of the Nokrek peak. The village can be reached from Oragitok village located on the Tura-Asanangre-Williamnagar State highway. The Sasatgre Village has been blessed by nature and the entire area is surrounded by dark green orange bushes. It is now a part of the the Nokrek Gene Sanctuary-cum-Biosphere Reserve.

Rangapani

Rangapani is located about 40 kms from Tura near Mankachar on the Assam border. The earthly remains of the great general Mir-Jumla , Army General of great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb still lies here. The General while returning from his excursions to the North – East, died of malaria. His tomb still lies in this village and is maintained by the local Muslim association.

Siju

Siju is popular for Dobakkol and is also known as the bat cave and is 132 kms from Tura. Siju cave is one longest caves in India and it has some of the finest river passages to be found anywhere in the world.The magnificent limestone rock formations inside the cave, named specially as princes, Di's chamber by the excavators will fill any visitor to cave with awe. Nearby to the cave, on the other side of Simsang River is the Siju bird sanctuary. The sanctuary is a home for many protected and rare birds and other wildlife.

Also Read: Meghalaya Tourism

Some other tourist places in Garo Hills

Besides the above mentioned tourist spots, there are also some other popular tourist spots in the Garo hills which are worth visiting. The tourist spots include:

• Rongbang Dare
• Bhaitbari
• Rongrenggiri
• Adokgre
• Naka-Chikong
• Resubelpara
• Napak
• Baghmara Reserve Forest
• Nengkong
• Imilchang Dare
• Simsang River
• Balpakram
  

Where to stay Garo Hills

There are also few good hotels in Garo hills. The hotels in Garo hills provide all the modern facilities Some of the hotels in Garo hills are mentioned below.

Orchid Lodge
Tura, Arai Mile,
West Garo Hills
Ph. No.: 0986-2202772

Hotel Rikman Continental
West Garo Hills, Tura-794001
Ph. No.: 03651-220744-45
Fax: 03651-223611
E-mail: rikman_tura@hotmail.com

Hotel Sundare
Circular Road, Tura,
West Garo Hiils
Ph No.: 03651-224610

Williamnagar Tourist Lodge
Williamnagar,
East Garo Hills,
Ph. No.: 03651-232394

Baghmara Tourist Lodge
Baghmara,
South Garo Hills
Ph. No.: 03651-232394, 222141

How to reach

By air: Guwahati Airport is the nearest airport to Shillong. From Shillong one can hire a bus or taxi to reach Garo hills.

By rail: Guwahati is again the nearest rail link and is very well-connected to the rest of India. One can hire a bus or a taxi from Guwahati railway station to the Garo hills.

By road: Both bus and taxi services are available from Guwahti and Shillong to Garo hills.