Plan your trip · Nongriat
What's on in Nongriat
Nongriat is a small Christian village, so its big days are Christmas and New Year, not the festivals of the plains. The large Khasi dance festivals take place near Shillong, a few hours away.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Nongriat right now, so here is the year instead — the fixtures that come round annually, and what each one means for a visit.
The year in Nongriat
Nongriat's calendar runs through most of the year, with the busiest weeks in the clear, comfortable months and a quieter stretch in the heaviest rain. Broadly, Oct – Mar is when visiting is most comfortable here, and that is when the calendar is busiest — which also means accommodation is most expensive and books furthest ahead.
Most of these follow lunar calendars and move by weeks from year to year, so treat the windows below as the season rather than the date, and confirm the year’s dates before you book around one.
Across Meghalaya
Wangala and Nongkrem
🗓️ October–NovemberHarvest and thanksgiving dances of the Garo and Khasi communities, in villages rather than stadiums.
Planning: Ask locally for the year's village dates; these are not ticketed tourist shows.
Nationwide
Diwali
🗓️ October–NovemberThe biggest holiday of the year — lamps, sweets, fireworks and a week of visiting family. Cities are lit up and markets stay open late.
Holi
🗓️ MarchColoured powder and water, thrown at anyone within reach, mostly through the morning.
Navratri and Dussehra
🗓️ September–OctoberNine nights of fasting, music and dance, ending with Dussehra. What it looks like changes completely by region — garba in Gujarat, pandals in Bengal, processions in the south.
Eid al-Fitr
🗓️ shifts ~11 days earlier each yearThe end of Ramadan. The old quarters of Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bhopal are at their best in the evenings through the preceding month, when food streets run past midnight.
Makar Sankranti and Pongal
🗓️ mid-JanuaryThe harvest turn, marked with kites in the west and north and four days of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
Christmas and New Year
Christmas is the biggest event of the year in Nongriat, as in most Khasi villages. Houses and the church are decorated, families come home from the towns, and services and carols fill the days around 25 December. Homestays may close or take few guests over Christmas itself. The week between Christmas and New Year is also when most holidaymakers from the rest of India come to Sohra, so the steps are at their busiest. Book rooms early, or avoid those dates.
Sundays
Sunday is the week's fixed point. It is a church day and a day of rest, and the village has closed the double-decker root bridge to visitors on Sundays at times in recent years. Check before you plan the descent for a Sunday.
Nongkrem Dance, Smit
Ka Pomblang Nongkrem, usually just called the Nongkrem dance, is a Khasi thanksgiving festival held at Smit, near Shillong, usually in October or November. Men dance with swords and whisks, and young women in silk and gold dance slowly in the centre. It is some hours from Nongriat by road and on foot, so treat it as a separate trip.
Shad Suk Mynsiem, Shillong
Shad Suk Mynsiem, the "dance of the joyful heart", is held in Shillong, usually in April. It is a spring dance of thanks by the Khasi community, with dancers in full traditional dress. Dates are set each year, so confirm them before you plan.
What the calendar does not include
The pan-Indian festivals such as Diwali, Holi and Navratri are not village events here. You may see them marked in Shillong's markets, but Nongriat itself will be having an ordinary day. The Wangala festival belongs to the Garo community in the Garo Hills, at the far west of Meghalaya, not to the Khasi Hills.
Timing a visit
The dry months from November to February line up with Christmas, so combine them carefully. Early December or late January gives dry steps without the holiday crowds. See the best time to visit for the weather month by month.
Questions
Nongriat — FAQ
Is Nongriat open to visitors at Christmas?
The path and bridge usually are, apart from any Sunday closure, but some homestays close or take few guests around 25 December. Book ahead and confirm.
Where can I see Khasi traditional dance?
At the Nongkrem dance at Smit, usually in October or November, and Shad Suk Mynsiem in Shillong, usually in April. Both are near Shillong, not in Nongriat.
Is Wangala celebrated in Nongriat?
No. Wangala is the harvest festival of the Garo community in the Garo Hills of western Meghalaya, far from the Khasi Hills.