Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort

Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort

Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort has the distinction of being the only hotel within trekking distance of the region’s Living Root Bridges. Tourists who haven’t heard of this place tend to visit Cherrapunjee as a day trip from Shillong, see the waterfalls and caves, and return without seeing the fabulous root bridges, which is an absolute shame! The resort is almost 10 years old now and is finally beginning to gain a much-deserved popularity amongst both international and domestic travelers. Since we got there on a week-day, we were able to get a room without prior booking.

The resort is situated on a beautiful piece of property that has fabulous views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. On clear days, it is said that one can even view the plains of Bangladesh from there! A wooden bench and some plastic chairs in the courtyard allow visitors to sit out in the open and enjoy these fabulous views along with the serenity and peace that comes with a village setting. Bonfires are lit every evening in the courtyard and provides the resort’s guests an opportunity to interact. A wicker swing under the hotel’s shaded verandah is a fabulous place to hang out with a book in hand!

The original hotel building houses about 8 rooms set around a large dining area that opens out to the verandah and the courtyard beyond. 4 of the rooms have wonderful mountain views while the rest on the opposite side look out to the courtyard. They are all simple rooms with bare walls and basic, comfortable furniture and furnishings. All of them have attached bathrooms with hot water geysers. The dining room’s walls are covered with a host of information on Cherrapunjee and the surrounding region, which is great for travelers like us. For entertainment, the dining room has a television set with cable (the rooms don’t have one) and the adjoining office has a shelf full of books that can be borrowed. A new structure under construction near the entrance to the property will eventually add more rooms. Currently they also offer tent accommodations with a shared bathroom facility within the property.

We ate all our meals, which are offered a la carte, in the resort as there is no other option in the village. Thankfully, the food was exceptionally good and reasonably priced. The chicken and pork dishes cooked as per local traditions were superb! We ordered most of our meals in advance and it was always served without fail at the requested time by a staff of young local gals who went about their work efficiently.

The friendly owners of the resort and their daughter who helps manage the place made our visit special by being super warm and ever willing to help. They helped organize our trek and suggest things to do/see in the area. They seemed genuinely passionate about their work and that reflected in the quality of services being offered at the hotel and the way it is run.