Mawlynnong Village

Where

Mawlynnong, Pynursla block, East Khasi Hills

Altitude

About 500 m

Distance

About 75–90 km from Shillong, 2–2.5 hours

Timings

Daylight hours, Monday–Saturday; closed to day visitors on Sundays since January 2026

Entry fee

Parking about ₹200 per vehicle; Sky View about ₹10; root bridge about ₹20 (reported)

Permit

None

Best time

October–April

Time needed

2–3 hours

Mawlynnong is a small Khasi village near the Bangladesh border that the travel magazine Discover India named the cleanest village in Asia in 2003, and the cleanest in India in 2005. The label made it famous, and it is now one of the most visited villages in Meghalaya, usually paired with Dawki on the same day.

Important: closed to day visitors on Sundays

Since January 2026 the village council (dorbar) has closed Mawlynnong to day visitors on Sundays, so that residents can attend church, which takes up most of the day. Restaurants, stalls and public toilets are shut too. Guests already staying in a village homestay, or checking in on Sunday night, are exempt. Plan Mawlynnong for Monday to Saturday.

Why it is so clean

• Bamboo dustbins line every path. Waste is collected, sorted and composted into manure.
• Everyone cleans. A community rule requires every household, including children, to take part.
• Plastic bags and smoking are banned in the village; rainwater harvesting is encouraged.
• A matrilineal society. As in all Khasi communities, property passes to the youngest daughter, who keeps her mother's surname.

About 600 people live here, mostly growing betel nut, with pineapples and lychees in season. According to the village headman, tourism raised incomes by about 60 per cent.

What to see

• The village lanes, gardens and the old church.
• The Sky View, a bamboo tower that looks out over the plains of Bangladesh. About ₹10.
• The Riwai living root bridge, a single-decker bridge about 10 minutes' walk away. About ₹20.
• The balancing rock, a boulder resting on a smaller stone at an odd angle.

How to reach Mawlynnong

Mawlynnong is about 75–90 km from Shillong, 2–2.5 hours via Pynursla. Most people do it as a long day trip with Dawki and the Umngot river, which is about 30 minutes further on. See our Shillong to Dawki cab, Meghalaya tour packages and 4-day Guwahati–Shillong–Dawki itinerary.

Road distances from OpenStreetMap routing. Drive times are what we see on these mountain roads, not map estimates.

Fees

• Parking: about ₹200 per vehicle, collected by the village.
• Sky View: about ₹10 (some sources say ₹30).
• Root bridge: about ₹20.

These are village charges and change from time to time; carry cash.

Weather and best time

At about 500 m Mawlynnong is warm and very wet. The ten-year record shows rain concentrated between May and September.

Monthly averages for 2015–2024 from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, at the site's elevation (about 482 m). Rain and snow are rated relative to this location's own year.

• October–April: dry paths, pleasant days; the best time.
• May–September: heavy rain, lush and green; the root bridge path is slippery.

Things most guides don't tell you

• Come early or late. By midday on Saturdays the village fills with tour vehicles. Staying overnight in a homestay shows you the village as it actually is.
• Respect the rules. Don't litter, don't smoke and don't walk into private gardens for photos.
• The "cleanest village" tag can disappoint. It is a living village, not a park; what's remarkable is that the residents keep it this way themselves.

Nearby

• Dawki and the Umngot River, about 30 minutes away.
• Things to do in Mawlynnong.