Settle into
Shillong in January
The hill capital: pines, cafes and the plateau at 1,500m.
Quick answer. Dry winter. The strongest hiking, caving and camping window; high areas can see frost and sub-zero mornings. For Shillong specifically, January is a comfortable month with the usual hill-state caveats.
The essentials
- Altitude
- About 1,500m
- From Guwahati
- About 100km
- Airport
- Umroi (limited) / GAU
- Signature
- Music, pines, cafes
- Month
- January, Meghalaya
- This month
- Dry winter.
Why January here
Meghalaya’s capital and everyone’s base: Ward’s Lake, Elephant Falls, Shillong Peak and a live-music city.
Shillong sits on the Khasi plateau at about 1,500m and runs at its own pace: colonial-era pines, Ward’s Lake, the Police Bazar food circuit and a live-music culture that earns the city its rock reputation. Official itineraries pair it with Umiam Lake on the way in, the cathedral, the Ever Living Museum, Laitkor Peak and Lady Hydari Park.
What to do
Ward’s Lake
The wooden bridge over the city’s ornamental lake.
Shillong Peak
The plateau lookout above the city.
Music circuit
Bars and venues with genuinely good live acts.
Pair it with
Shillong in January, planned properly
Tell us your dates and group size. Solo travellers can join fixed departures and keep the freedom. A real person replies with a plan and an honest price.