Garo Hills · Northeast Hill Massif
How to reach
By air
- Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati (GAU) — The practical gateway, roughly 220 km from Tura by road through the Assam plains — a five to six hour run, and the way almost everyone arrives.
- Baljek Airport — About 33 km north-east of Tura, inaugurated in 2008 and built for small aircraft. Scheduled service has been intermittent; do not plan around it without checking.
By rail
- Mendipathar (MDPR) — In North Garo Hills, opened in 2014 as Meghalaya's first railway station, on a branch from Dudhnoi in Assam.
- Dudhnoi (DDNI) — The Assam railhead historically used for the Garo Hills, on the Guwahati line.
- Guwahati (GHY) — The main railhead for anyone travelling any distance.
By road
Guwahati–Tura via Dudhnoi and the Assam foothill plains, about 220 kmTura–Williamnagar–Baghmara, the interior road along the SimsangBaghmara–Balpakram, about 50 km, rough in the last stretchTura–Dalu, the road to the Bangladesh border crossingShillong–Tura, a long day's drive around the northern foot of the plateau rather than across it
By water
Boats on the Simsang for stretches around Siju and BaghmaraThe Dalu and Mahendraganj crossings into Bangladesh, where the Simsang becomes the Someshwari
Getting around
Shared Sumos and Wingers from the Tura counters to Guwahati, Williamnagar, Baghmara and Shillong. Nokrek, Balpakram and Wari Chora all need a hired vehicle and then walking, and the interior roads deteriorate sharply in and immediately after the monsoon.
How to reach Garo Hills by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (5)