by Recently, I spent a week in the heart of Meghalaya, Shillong. So I thought I would create a detailed Shillong Travel Itinerary for everyone who wants to visit Shillong. I was here to visit the annual festival of NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology), Shillong.
The annual fest is called “Spectrum” and this year the theme was “Navarasa” but I guess we are not here for that so I’ll focus more on sharing the more important stuff and will tell you what I did in that span of seven days, the best place to eat food, the best places to visit in and around Shillong, the best timing to visit certain places, the estimated budget and much more to make sure that your trip to Shillong becomes a memorable one.
How To Reach Shillong – Shillong Travel Itinerary
So first thing first, if you are someone who just thought that Shillong and the places near it seem like a good place to take some days off your busy schedule then you must be wondering how can I go to Shillong.
Well do not worry, I’ll tell you all the options that you have, keep in mind that I live in Delhi so I’ll be taking Delhi to Shillong for reference and tell you how can go to Shillong from Delhi.
Now let’s dive in a little deeper and see how you can cover this 2001 KM journey from Delhi to Shillong.
How Can I Go To Shillong by Train
Let’s discuss the most budget-friendly option to go to Shillong. Shillong itself doesn’t have any railway station, the nearest railway station from Shillong is Guwahati, Assam, or Kamakhya, Assam.
Though I’ll suggest that you take a direct train to Guwahati or you’ll find it a little hard to reach Shillong as you won’t be able to find a shared taxi to Shillong, more about the shared taxi later.
You have a lot of trains running between Delhi and Guwahati / Kamakhya and they usually take somewhere around 30 – 45 hours, some of the most notable ones are:
15910 – Avadh Assam Express
- Delhi Junction (DLI) – Guwahati Railway Station (GHY)
- Time taken:
- Starts at 07:22 and ends at 01:55
- Total time – 42h 33m
- Ticket Price:
- Sleeper – Rs. 740
- 3rd AC – Rs. 1970
- 2nd AC – Rs. 2865
- 1st AC – Rs. 4880
12506 – North East Express
- Anand Vihar Terminal (ANVT) – Kamakhya Junction (KYQ)
- Time taken:
- Starts at 07:40 and ends at 16:25
- Total time – 32h 45m
- Ticket Price:
- Sleeper – Rs. 765
- 3rd AC – Rs. 1980
- 2nd AC – Rs. 2860
- 1st AC – Rs. 4850
12424 – Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express
- New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) – Guwahati Railway Station (GHY)
- Time taken:
- Starts at 16:20, Ends at 19:25
- Total time – 27h 5m
- Ticket Price:
- Sleeper – Rs. N/A
- 3rd AC – Rs. 3735 (Dynamic Pricing)
- 2nd AC – Rs. 5140 (Dynamic Pricing)
- 1st AC – Rs. 6445 (Dynamic Pricing)
14620 – Tripura Sundari
- New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) – Guwahati Railway Station (GHY)
- Time taken:
- Starts at 23:45 and ends at 07:40
- Total time – 31h 55m
- Ticket Price:
- Sleeper – Rs. 750
- 3rd AC – Rs. 1970
- 2nd AC – Rs. 2865
- 1st AC – Rs. 4860
15657 – Brahmputra Mail
- Old Delhi (DLI) – Kamakhya (KYQ)
- Time taken:
- Starts at 23:40 and ends at 13:20
- Total time – 37h 40m
- Ticket Price:
- Sleeper – Rs. 765
- 3rd AC – Rs. 2025
- 2nd AC – Rs. 2950
- 1st AC – Rs. 5030
These are some of the best train options from Delhi to Guwahati (Note: these are the official rates that are on the IRCTC website, you might have to pay more if you decide to book your train from a third-party app or through an agent).
I took the Brahmaputra mail since it was the only train with ticket availability, upon reaching Kamakhya I asked around and found that to reach Shillong, you need to do a taxi and you’ll have to do a private taxi from Kamakhya which will cost you another Rs. 2500.
On asking around more I figured that instead of doing a taxi from Kamakhya if I do it from Guwahati, I can get a shared taxi and they charge only Rs.500 per person.
So I took a train from Kamaqkya to Guwahati and just as I stepped out of the Guwahati Station, I talked to a few taxi drivers and got myself a shared taxi that took me to Police Bazar, Shillong (The Central Market of Shillong) for Rs.500.
Therefore, I highly recommend that you get your tickets booked directly for Guwahati instead of Kamakhya for your best convenience.
How To Reach Shillong by Air
Now for the people who are not tight on budget but are tight on time, the best option for you is to take a flight.
Although the nearest airport from Shillong is Umroi Airport, taking a flight to Umroi is not recommendable as the flight prices are very high, the average flight ticket from Delhi to Umroi is in the price range of Rs. 10,000.
On the other hand, if you take a flight to Guwahati, you’ll see a significant drop in the price of air tickets, the average flight price from Delhi to Guwahati is just Rs. 6,000. Saving you a big amount of Rs. 4,000 on average.
Upon reaching Guwahati you can do a shared taxi if you are traveling alone or even if you are a group of 2-3 friends, or you can book a private Shillong cab for just around Rs. 2000 – Rs. 2500 if you are not comfortable in sharing your taxi with strangers and want the luxury of traveling at your own pace.
I hope this answers your query about how to reach Shillong by flight and now you have a clear picture of what you can expect if you are taking a flight to Shillong.
How To Reach Shillong by Car
Let’s talk about people who love driving and are always ready to take their car for a long trip.
A long road journey can be one of the best experiences we can ever have, but we have to stay prepared for any shortcoming.
Going from Delhi to Shillong is no easy task, we are talking about covering a distance of 2001 Km which means ideally a drive of 40 – 50 hours depending on how you drive.
You’ll have to cross the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Sikkim and then finally you’ll enter Meghalaya.
On your journey, you’ll experience a change in terrain, temperature, and your environment on your trip from Delhi to Shillong by road. As exciting as this may sound, it also comes with the risk of falling sick, body harassment, headaches, vomiting, motion sickness, etc.
It is best advisable to be prepared for these things in advance and keep medicines with you beforehand, no matter how good of a rider you are.
You’ll also need to take a rest in between to let your body be ready for the upcoming traveling, which means another Rs. 1,500 – Rs. 3,000 on hotel stays, assuming that this is your budget range.
Also keep in mind the fuel expense, assuming that you have an MG Hector with an average fuel economy of 14 kmpl. Travelling from Delhi to Shillong will eat up (2001/14) 142.92 litres of petrol.
Assuming the average petrol price across the states to be Rs. 95 per liter. The total amount spent on fuel for one side travel will be (143*95) Rs. 13,585 and the same amount will be spent on your way back which makes your total expense on fuel for just up and down travel (13,585 + 13,585) Rs. 27,170 which is by no means a cheap amount.
This is only a good option if you are a group of 5-6 friends who will split up the expenses in between if this is not the case for you then I won’t recommend that you take your car for this journey unless and until this is how you want to do it.
Conclusion
In this part of the Shillong Travel Itinerary, I have tried to tell you everything about how to go to Shillong that I learned from my experience after a lot of research and traveling. I hope now you are well prepared and know how to reach Shillong.
This was part one of my Shillong Travel Itinerary for you guys where I have covered how you can reach Shillong, In my next part i.e. Part 2 of the Shillong Travel Guide, I’ll talk about how to spend your day 1 in Shillong, where to stay in Shillong and what is the best budget stay option, how to travel around Shillong, what places to visit in and around Shillong, what restaurants to try in Shillong, what street food to eat in Shillong, what activities to do in Shillong and much more.
Stay tuned for the next part of the series, I’ll see you there. Till then you can check out my professional work like wedding photography, pre-wedding photography, product photography, cafe photography, portrait photography, architecture photography, and event photography by visiting the homepage. If you have anything you need help with you can ask it in the comments, I’ll make sure to answer your queries there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shillong a costly place?
This is a tricky question, it depends on what is costly for you and what type of trip are you planning for. On my trip to Shillong, I had to spend around Rs. Twenty-Five Thousand. This includes everything my train tickets, stay, food, traveling around Shillong, etc. So if you were wondering how much does Shillong trip costs, it can be anywhere from Rs. 20,000 – to Rs 1,00,000 (If you decide to stay in luxury hotels like Courtyard or Vivanta).
In which month is snowfall in Shillong?
If you are expecting to witness a snowfall in Shillong, then I am really sorry to be the one to break it to you but Shillong does not have any Snowfall in even the coldest of the months.
Which is the coldest month in Shillong?
The coldest month in Shillong is usually the month of January with the average temperature in the month being around 5 degree Celsius.
Is Shillong safe to visit now?
I had a very good experience in Shillong as a solo male traveler and I can say it that it is a pretty safe place to travel. If you are a female traveler and are wondering Is Shillong Safe for Solo Female Travelers then you can rest assured knowing that it is safe to travel alone even as a female traveler in Shillong.
Do we need AC in Shillong?
During my visit to Shillong, I did not feel the need to book a A.C. room. I think this is a place where you can save up a decent amount of money by booking Non-A.C. rooms.