Mawlynnong
Asia's cleanest village, and a window into Khasi life
Mawlynnong earned fame in 2003 when it was described as the cleanest village in Asia, and it has kept the reputation ever since: spotless lanes lined with flowering plants, woven-bamboo dustbins outside every home, a community that composts its waste and where cleaning is a shared daily duty. It is a genuinely charming, orderly Khasi village that rewards a slow wander.
Beyond the tidy lanes, a bamboo sky-walk climbs to a viewing platform over the treetops with the plains of Bangladesh stretching to the horizon. Nearby at Riwai is a lovely single-decker living root bridge, and the whole area makes an easy, gentle counterpoint to the harder root-bridge trek at Nongriat.
What to see & do
- The immaculate flower-lined lanes and living-tree fences
- The bamboo sky-walk viewpoint over the Bangladesh plains
- The Riwai single-decker living root bridge nearby
- A cup of tea and a chat with a Khasi homestay family
Getting to Mawlynnong
| How to reach | About 3 hours from Shillong, usually combined with Dawki. |
| Best time | October to April. |
| Permit | No permit for Meghalaya. |
| Good to know | Stay overnight in a village homestay to see Mawlynnong after the day-trippers leave, and support the community directly. |
More to explore
Living Root Bridges
Nongriat & the Khasi/Jaintia hills
Bridges grown, not built, over generations.
Dawki & the Umngot River
West Jaintia Hills, Bangladesh border
Boats that seem to float on air over glass-clear water.
Sohra (Cherrapunji)
East Khasi Hills
Waterfalls, caves and some of the heaviest rain on earth.