Mawlynnong village, the cleanest village in Asia is located in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, about 85 kms from Shillong. It is referred as ‘God’s own garden’ and it was judged as the cleanest village in Asia in 2003 and in India in 2005. The village is located near the Bangladesh border, around 3 hours from Shillong.
After 6 hours journey from Guwahati, then we finally reached our destination. A girl even showed us the way, we didn’t expect our room to be small and simple but the owner was so nice and the location was just perfect so nothing to complain for 2 days stay. She provided us all the details for the next day.
Our Home stay was almost in the middle of the village so didn’t have any difficulty finding the places. All of them are close to each, only the Living Roots Bridge was a bit away from where we were staying. It took me 15 minutes to reach there on foot. The sky view tree house was very close to our Home stay. It’s a private property and so you have to pay INR 20/- per person.
In the evening we went around the village, we found children playing in groups and enjoying themselves. It is quite common to see local villagers cleaning the roads, picking up dry leaves and throwing garbage in the bins placed at every corner in the village roads and by lanes of the village. These bamboo bins highlights the consciousness of the cleanliness among the villagers. Cleanliness has been a very old tradition and a way of life in Mawlynnong. We asked the local people how they manage to keep the village clean, they replied that the cleanliness comes from community based eco- tourism initiative. The villagers collectively put in effort to maintain the ambiance in the village and give it a picturesque look. Since we visited this place in the monsoons, we enjoyed the beauty of the pretty lush greenery with flowering orchids and palm sized colourful butterflies flittering around on the flowers. The green trees and the hedges around the houses add to the beauty of the village.
Next day we went to the Single Living Root Bridge, Mawlynnong. Entry ticket INR 40/-per person, all the things in our list was on the way to the Living Root Bridge. It is deep in the dense tropical forest of Meghalaya, and shrouded in cloud and rain for much of the year are some astonishing man- made natural wonders known as the Living Root Bridge, inventive members of the Khasi tribe have trained them to grow from the roots of the ancient rubber trees, native to the northeast region. The root bridges provide a stable alternative to wooden bridges, which decay and get destroyed. Is it amazing? It takes around 15 years for a new roots bridge to become strong enough to bear the weight of the people crossing it. However, it will continue to grow and strengthen even more over time. Their tangled webs of roots are almost eerie in the nature and wouldn’t look out of the place in a fantasy world.
Come and visit this place there was something about the village and the people there it was so welcoming.
Road trips with friends strengthen the bond. Many of the fun things we indulge in during these trips. It is these little things that bring us closer to unity. We will always cherish the moments we spent the trip to Asia cleanest village and that is how our trip to Mawlynnong ended!!!
Content Writer- Wapangla Ozukum.