Trip to Umngot River, the purest river of Asia

                   This is a part of one of my North-East Indian states travel diary. It was already 6 am in the morning in the city of Shillong. My plan was all set to explore the legend heard of village Dawki and the river Umngot. I had already hired a bike from a local renting agency for my travels in Shillong. I just woke at the time. My breakfast was already skipped due to excitement. I just have to check my buddy, whether he was ready or not and finally both of us checked out of our hotel at near about 6:40 am.

So our ride begins here. Believe me air was so fresh and cool it felt like the land of wanderlust. I am making a mistake here, it is the land of wanderlust.

Everything was so natural and trilling; no place seemed better than that at the point. Only thing we witness throughout the way was Gorges, ravines small cities and the love of nature.  

It was about 8 am, we were at Meghalayan city, Mylliem where we felt the need of having breakfast. We stopped at a restaurant at the highway side. We were expecting to reach the village at about 10:00 am. So we proceeded toward our journey after a cup of red tea.

I was enjoying my ride at the backseat with music.

Well I forgot to mention about Dawki. It a small city at the border of India and Bangladesh in Meghalaya. It is known for its pristine green surrounding. Dawki is the nearest gateway to Bangladesh. Main centre of attraction of Dawki is River Umngot that makes the natural separation between Khasi and Jaintia hills. Most importantly River Umngot is one of the cleanest and purest river of the world. It is a blessing in disguise.

So finally passing through several valleys and stretches of farmlands, we reached the holy destination at the expected time period. I was not at all pleased with Dawki as it appeared to be dirty and filthy town.  We stopped at one of the beginning eateries in Dawki. It was heaven, a perfect piece of splendid beauty.

We were witnessing sweet striking water sound of Umngot. After having black coffee and bread, we headed toward the river. Bridge was clearly visible. Well that cable suspension bridge was only way between two nations that hung across river Umngot and it was basically used for trade purpose between two countries.

We had rented one of the camp that scatters across the river bed. It was a very lovely location for camping. Some basic shops were also available there. It was about mid-noon we were felling a sense of hunger. We descended downward towards a food shop and asked for veg breakfast. We were only offered pork-rice dish and red tea, So we decided to have red tea alone.

    We went toward the city for food and finally were able to find a basic dhaba nearby where we had lunch. After lunch we decided to swim across Umngot. There were piles of boats there. We booked a boat where we found a Russian partner.

So the boat sailed with three passengers and a fisherman. River was so clean; we were able to see about 20 feet deep riverbed clearly. This seemed to be a perfect site for boat race. Small and medium sized fishes were rushing throughout the water. After a boat ride of about 20 minutes we rested at a small river island full of greenery and bolder, a perfect place for photography.

   

After reaching the riverside, we decided to swim in see through water. That felt like we are having some kind of massage. Tiny fishes swam across our body. One word for the moment- Incredible.

        We decided to click some photographs from the top of bridge and after spending few more time at Dawki ,we headed backward towards Shillong.