Trip to Dawki And River Umngot

Dawki is a village on the Indo – Bangladesh border in the West Jaintia Hills in the India state of Meghalaya. This is a hidden jewel in Meghalaya. Dawki is located at a distance of around 81.5 km from Shillong (capital of Meghalaya) in the West Jaintaia Hills district. If you are traveling with family it is better to hire a private vehicle. The day we visited Dawki it was drizzling and even shot spell of rains. You can see Dawki village, market, India – Bangladesh border checkpost and do boating in river Umngot. This river is one of the cleanest river in India. One can see the river bed through the crystal clear water. Boating is a must. It costs around Rs 500 – 800 per boat and upto 4 people can get on a boat. One has to climb down some steps from the road to get to river shore. The boat ride is for about an hour and takes to a point where the river Umngot is cascading like a falls. On the way one can see the hanging bridge overhead which takes one to Dawki village. This bridge was built during British Raj. Also, one the other side on the stony banks water level is low and one can get in the water to enjoy walk in crystal clear water and see the stones below.

Camping is available here on the river shore except the monsoon season. During monsoon boating is prohibited as all boats here are hand driven for environment preservation. On the return the boat takes you near to the Bangladesh border in the river. We could not visit Dawki village, market. and India Bangladesh border checkpost as we reached Dawki late. To see all the items and enjoy the place at leisure, I suggest you to reach Dawki by at least 1 Pm. If you are camping here and staying for a day, that would be great.