Arwah Cave, Cherrapunjee, Shora District, Meghalaya
Arwah cave is one of the new entrant in the tourism circuit of Meghalaya. It is one of largest caves in Meghalaya. This means more exploration time. The speciality is a small stream flowing right through the cave and you can see millions of years old fossils on the face of rock.
Distance: Around 52 km from Shillong and takes about 90 minutes to reach.
Timings: 9.30 Am to 5.30 PM
Entry fees: Rs 20 per adult person, Rs 10 for children, Rs 50 for camera, Rs 2000 for documentary film and Rs 5000 for film shooting
Arwah cave is still under development and tour / travel drivers do not stress on it. But I suggest you do ask for it. Because its worth it. It is located pretty near to Mawsmai cave and I would say Arwah cave is better than Mawsmai cave. Off the main road one has to drive about 1.5 km to the parking location and only a 4×4 or vehicle like sumo can go. From the parking spot, one has to walk. First purchase your entry pass and then enjoy your walk on the walk way created in the lush green forest of Lumshynna. Senior citizens or those who have knee problems or leg pain may avoid Arwah cave. The beautiful walkway is considerably long and involves ups and downs.
From the walkway one could see a waterfalls but during our visit it was very misty and we could not see it.
After entering the cave one has to climb down little bit. After the second descent we could see water flowing and crisp sound of water flow could be heard everywhere. A torch light would be handy or make do use of your mobile’s flash light as the lighting inside the cave is not sufficient. As we walked we found the passages here pretty big which led to smaller ones. One of these smaller route led to a small space which was completely dark unless you lit your torch or mobile flash light. Here the limestone formations are very raw and still a work in progress. We could see water seeping through the rock.
I was amazed to see the millions of years old fossils on the face of rock. It was so clear that one could make it whether it was a fish or mollusca. A fish fossil indicates that this place could have been under water at some point in the past. This cave is a treasure trove of various fossils.
I also created a video on my visit to Arwah cave. Let me take you to a visual trip of Arwah cave. If you like the video, comment and share. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel for future updates.