Where to Stay in Shillong, Meghālaya

What is Shillong known for?

Shillong is known as the hill capital of Meghalaya and the seat of the East Khasi Hills district. British visitors called it the Scotland of the East for its rolling ridges. The Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians stands among the pines, a mark of the Christian Khasi highlands, while the Manipur Memorial recalls the region's wars and the Neigrihms Indoor Stadium serves the modern hill town.

The Khasi Hills give the place its cool, upland character.

What are the main landmarks in Shillong?

The landmarks of Shillong sit among the pines of the East Khasi Hills. The Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians rises above the town. Its spire marks the deep Christian roots of the Khasi highlands and stands as the chief church of Meghalaya's capital.

The Manipur Memorial recalls the wars fought across these hills, while the Neigrihms Indoor Stadium anchors the modern life of the town below the ridges that gave Shillong its name as the Scotland of the East.

What is the history of Shillong?

Shillong grew as a British hill station in the highlands of the Khasi people. The cool ridges of the East Khasi Hills drew colonial administrators up out of the plains, and the rolling country reminded them of home. So they named it the Scotland of the East.

As the seat of the surrounding province, the town gathered churches, garrisons, and a market on its slopes, and the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians rose to serve the Christian Khasi community that came to define the highlands. The later history of the town is bound to Meghalaya. When the state was carved out of the north-eastern hills, Shillong became its capital and the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district.

The pines held on. The Manipur Memorial keeps the memory of the wars that crossed these ridges, while newer buildings like the Neigrihms Indoor Stadium mark the town's growth, and the Khasi Hills have kept the character that the British first likened to Scotland.

Where is Shillong?

Shillong lies in the north-eastern hills of India, capital of Meghalaya in the East Khasi Hills district. The town sits high. Its houses spread across a bowl of pine ridges lifted well above the surrounding plains, and the Khasi Hills roll away toward the horizon in every direction.

This cool upland setting, green and misty despite the subtropical band, is what led the British to compare the country to Scotland and call it the Scotland of the East.

What is the climate of Shillong?

Shillong keeps a cool, wet upland climate set by its height in the Khasi Hills. The monsoon soaks the ridges for months, and mist drifts through the pines around the town. Winters turn cold and clear.

The high plateau tempers the subtropical warmth, so even summer stays mild across the East Khasi Hills, and the damp green slopes hold the look that first earned Meghalaya's capital the name Scotland of the East.

How do you get to Shillong?

Shillong is reached by road up into the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya. The highway climbs from the plains through pine forest to the plateau. Most travellers come by that mountain road, since the terrain of the East Khasi Hills leaves the town without its own major rail line.

Cars and buses wind up to the capital past the ridges that the British named the Scotland of the East, linking Shillong to the wider north-east of India.