Mawsmai caves - Meghalaya's new tourist destination

Meghalaya, which means the 'abode of clouds', is one of the most picturesque states in India. Notwithstanding the fact, that state capital Shillong, is often referred to as the 'Scotland of the East,' and Mawsynram receives the highest rainfall in the world, coupled with the fact that the two-tier living 'Root Bridge' at Tyrna village and lush greenery of the Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills lures the visitor to the natural beauty of the hills, Mawsmai caves, a few miles further away from Cherrapunjee is fast emerging as a new tourist destination. The caves, made of limestone, spellbind the visitor the moment he enters the caverns. The entrance is well lit, but as one enters further inside, the eerie ness and the mystery, starts unfolding. Coupled with that, the constant dripping of water from the cave roofs and the formation of stalactites and stalagmites, a phenomena specially found in limestone caves, where the roof and the floor of the cave joins together to form pillars, adds to the beauty of the place. While at some places, the openings are big enough for a person to just about crawl through, at others, the roofs as high as 40 feet! Interestingly, while the entrance is large and roomy, the exit is so small, that a full-grown person has to kneel down for coming out into the open.

     It is perhaps this beauty that attracts tourists to flock to the caves in huge numbers. "Anyone visiting Cherrapunjee must visit these caves. It's very interesting. It's a nice experience. Initially I was a bit claustrophobic and the bulky person that I am, I literally had to crawl through some of the openings. But, it's a beautiful experience inside. It gives a mystique feeling. I will surely tell my friends visiting Cherrapunjee to visit these caves ones," said Amar Mathur, a tourist from Assam. "Initially I thought this was like any other cave, but it is certainly fantastic inside. It's very nice, very beautiful. It gives you a great feeling inside. I have visited the Vaishno Devi caves, but this is better," said Pratima, another tourist from Darjeeling. Though nobody knows how the cave came to be discovered, legend has it that the Khasi tribesmen who inhabit the region, during one of their hunting expeditions, discovered the caves infested with animals, With the passage of time, all the animals living inside were hunted down and the caves were rendered devoid of animals. However, even with the caves becoming free of animals, no human has been known to live inside them. With the large number of people visiting Cherrapunjee making it a point to visit the caves as well, the ancient limestone caves at Mawsmai is fast emerging as a new tourist destination for all those visiting Meghalaya.