Laitlum canyons and Smit village
Meghalaya · 7 hrs · Cab included · Pickup from your stay
From ₹3500 for the whole vehicle, up to 4 people. The price is per car, not per person.
Vehicles
- Swift Dzire: Sedan. Best for a couple or a small family. ₹3500 for the vehicle.
Where the plateau stops
Laitlum is about 25 km southeast of Shillong and it is the single most startling view in the East Khasi Hills: the plateau you have been driving across simply ends, and a green amphitheatre of gorges opens below you with cloud moving through it. The Khasi name means the end of the hills, which is not poetic, it is a description.
There is nothing there. No ticket counter, no railing, no shop, sometimes a tea stall and sometimes not. That is most of the charm and all of the difficulty: the road out is narrow and unsigned, the last few kilometres are shared with village traffic, and there is no taxi waiting to bring you back. People who go without a car for the day either do not get there or get stuck.
This is the whole morning arranged: pickup at seven while the cloud is still sitting in the gorges, the road out through Smit, the rim, and as much of the stone stairway down to Rasong as you feel like. The car is booked for your group at one flat price, however many of you ride in it, and it waits at the rim for as long as you want to stay.
Your day, stop by stop
1. The road out through Smit
Twenty-odd kilometres of narrow hill road southeast of Shillong through Khasi villages, pine and potato terraces. The last stretch is unsigned and shared with village traffic, which is why nobody self-drives it.
2. Smit village and the Iing Sad
The seat of the Khasi Hima of Khyrim, where the Ka Pomblang Nongkrem dance is held every autumn at the thatched royal house. A short stop, and the reason the road exists.
3. The Laitlum rim
Laitlum means the end of the hills, and it is exactly that: the plateau stops and a green amphitheatre of gorges falls away in every direction. Wind, no railing, and no shops.
4. The stairway to Rasong
A stone staircase cut down the cliff to the village of Rasong, the only way in or out for the people who live there, who carry everything they own up it. Walk as far down as you like and remember the whole thing is a climb back.
5. The ridge path
A narrow track running out along the canyon edge, greener and windier the further you go. Twenty minutes out is enough for the view most people are picturing.
In your price
- Private vehicle with driver for the day
- Pickup and drop at your stay in Shillong
- The car waits at the rim for the whole visit
- Parking and any road charges
- GoExplorer support number for the day
Not included
- Food and drinks
- Village or council charges collected at the rim
- Anything personal
What you pay on the day
- Any village or parking charge collected at the rim by the local council
- Tea or snacks if a stall is open, and food on the way back
- Personal expenses
Who this suits
Anyone happy standing on an unfenced clifftop in wind. The rim itself is flat and needs no walking at all, so it suits older travellers, and the stairway is an optional extra for people who want the legs. Small children need holding at the edge, and we mean that literally. The car seats four, at one flat price.
What to bring
A windproof layer in any season, shoes with grip, water and snacks since there is nothing reliable to buy up there, and cash for a village charge if one is collected.
Cloud, and then no view
Laitlum is often inside the cloud rather than above it, especially in the monsoon months, and there are mornings when the gorge is a white wall. We will tell you honestly the evening before what the forecast looks like, and you can move the date free of charge rather than pay for a view that is not there.
Cancellation
- More than 24 hrs before: Full refund
- Within 24 hrs: 50% refund, or reschedule free once
- No show: No refund
Safety and the operator
Run by a licensed local ground operator we have travelled with ourselves. There is no railing at Laitlum and the drop is genuine, so keep children within reach and stay back from the wet edge. The Rasong stairway is a working village path with no handrail; go down only as far as you are confident climbing back. Mobile signal is unreliable and a GoExplorer number is on your confirmation.
Questions
Is the price per person?
No. It is one price for the car for the day, however many of you ride in it.
Do we have to walk down the stairway?
Not at all. The view from the rim needs no walking. The stairway is there if you want it and plenty of people look at it and decide against, which is a perfectly good decision.
Is there anywhere to eat?
Sometimes a tea stall, often nothing. Bring water and something to eat, and your driver will stop somewhere proper on the way back.
Can we do Laitlum and Mawphlang in one day?
They are on opposite sides of Shillong and doing both means rushing the one you came for. They are two separate days here for that reason.