World 🢖 Asia 🢖 India 🢖 Meghalaya
Waterfalls 🢔 Geological wonders 🢔 Categories of wonders
Wonder
Nohkalikai Falls
In short
One of the tallest and certainly – some of the most beautiful falls in India are Nohkalikai Falls. The water here falls in a single plunge which is approximately 335 m high.
50.6%
GPS coordinates
Location, address
Alternate names
Height
Map of the site
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.
In detail
Stream from heavy rains
Stream forming these falls is short – a bit more than 2 kilometers, water is collected from the fairly small plateau around Sohra village.
In other locations of the world in similar geography would form just a small stream. But Nohkalikai Falls is falling from a very special plateau – one of the rainiest places in the world mentioned in almost every geography schoolbook around the world – Cherrapunji.
Plateau around Cherrapunji (Sohra) town is almost barren and in winter it can become quite dry (and cold). But in summer, as the moist monsoon winds from the endless plains of Bangladesh and Bengal Bay start blowing towards Tibet, they meet a sudden obstacle – steep Khasi Hills. As a result here are experienced downpours of fantastic intensity. In Cherrapunji in one day (on June 15-16, 1995) even rained 1,563 mm (three times more than in London PER YEAR).
As a result, the beautiful Khasi Hills are adorned with ribbons of countless waterfalls and Nohkalikai Falls belong to the most impressive ones.
Description
Nohkalikai Falls is formed by a powerful (during the rains) stream. The waterfall falls in a single plunge over Cretaceous – Paleogene sandstones and limestones.
Upper part of the falls flow along a nearly vertical cliff but some two-thirds of the falls are free-falling – there has formed a giant grotto behind the falls.
In the rainy season it might be fairly complicated to take a good picture of falls, as fog and clouds are frequent.
As the rains end and waterfall becomes thinner, there opens a view to another gem of Nohkalikai Falls – a beautiful green pool at the base of falls.
Legend
Name of falls from Khasi language translates as “Jump of Ka Likai” – falls have been named after an unfortunate woman who committed suicide here. The story is very tragic:
Likai ("Ka" means "women") lived in Rangjirteh village (former village some three kilometers north-northwest from the falls). Her first husband died while at work and she was left alone with her baby girl.
Thus Likai herself started to carry iron for trade and baby girl was her only joy in life.
Her woman friends persuaded her that she should marry once again – so did she.
Unfortunately her second husband was extremely jealous of the small girl – Likai loved the girl more than her husband.
One day as Likai was at her hard work, her husband did a terrible thing – murdered girl, chopped in pieces, and made a soup of her flesh. The fingers were thrown in the betel basket.
Likai returned from her work – but nobody was home. At first, she was not worried about the girl – neighbors often took good care of her. Likai found soup and ate it. After the meal she, as usual, looked for some betel… and to her horror, she found the fingers of her child.
As Likai realized what she was eating for dinner, she became insane with horror and grief. She started to run through the village until she reached the precipice and threw herself down.
Some tourists call the smaller fall some 50 m west from the main fall – a daughter.
References
- The Legend of Nohkalikai, Cherrapunjee.com. Accessed on 28 August 2010
Linked articles
Wonders of Asia
Any other continent (and part of the world) seems small if compared to Asia. This refers also to natural and man-made heritage: in Asia are not just thousands of great landmarks, there are found landmarks created by thousands of diverse cultures from ancient Phoenicians to the mysterious small people in the Philippines and eastern islands of Indonesia.
Wonders of India
India is the seventh-largest country in the world by area, and, naturally, such a large area contains a huge amount of exciting attractions…
Wondermondo considers that India is the second richest center of architectural heritage in the world after Europe and maybe no single country in the world can match it in this respect.
Waterfalls
Some of the most fascinating and awe-inspiring natural monuments are waterfalls or locations where a river abruptly changes its elevation.
Recommended books
100 Wonders of India
Travelers in ancient times marveled at seven man-made wonders located in various countries bordering on the Mediterranean. Over hundreds of years since then, civilizations have risen and declined, the world has been built and rebuilt, and many more works of human genius lie scattered across geographies and eras. Exploration and discovery have revealed more of nature’s wonders too, that stretch and humble human imagination. India, with an area of well over three million square kilometers, is a continent within a continent.
The Green Unknown: Travels in the Khasi Hills
The Green Unknown is about walking, without a map or a plan, across the Khasi Hills in the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya—a place of jungle canyons and thousand-foot waterfalls, where it rains more than any other inhabited place in the world, where each village has its own dialect or even its own language, and where the people grow living bridges from the roots of trees.
Rangjyrteh Village is not above the falls. Its quite far actually, and the village even though not active anymore, is ruins still remains. Rangjyrteh is close to Dainthlen falls.
Thanks! Had to look at local geography once again. Hope it is more correct now!