Jaintia Hills
 Place of Interest
Lake
Located fifty-six kms from Shillong and eight Kms from Jowai off NH-44, this captivatingly placid lake is a popular picnic resort. According to tradition, the lake was dug by the followers of the  Jaintia  Chieftain          U Sajar Nangli. The Chieftain had an irreconcilable difference of opinion with the king of Jaintiapur, the Erstwhile Jaintia Kingdom which now constitutes the Jaintia District of Bangladesh. U Sajar Nangli knew that his differences with the king of  Jaintia king would inevitably lead to intensive combat causing a bloodbath of their own people and he was loath to be responsible for such a tragedy. Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.He decided to flee from the kingdom with his followers, but before they parted from their beloved motherland, they dug a beautiful lake at Thadlaskein which is fed by perennial underground springs, as an eternal memorial. The lake is revered by the people of Raid Mukhla who continue to offer sacrifice near the lake.

Kiang NangbahMonument
Located on the banks of Syntu Ksiar, alongside the river Myntdu, there is a vast field known as Madiah Kmai Blai. At the centre of this field stands the elegant Kiang Nangbah Monument, a hollow tower-like structure of typical Jaintia design, erected by the Jaintia people in honor of U Kiang Nangbah, the Jaintia patriot who died a martyr to the cause of Jaintia freedom, at the hands of the British rulers. Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.

The field known as Madiah Kmai Blai is itself of historical importance, as it was on this field that a meeting of Jaintia leaders took place during 1861. At the meeting U Kiang Nangbah took oath to lead his people, come what may, in their fight to drive the British out of their land. He was, however, asked whether he could do something to show that they had correctly chosen him as their leader. Kiang Nangbah, looked around, said not a word, but plunged suddenly on that cold wintry night into the depths of Syntu ksiar and emerged moments later with an uprooted little plant from the stem of which three branches spread out.  Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.The Oracles agreed that it was a sign signifying the justice of their cause and the correctness of their choice of U Kiang Nangbah as leader. The meeting gave U Kiang Nangbah mandate to wage war against the British who had, by then, attempted to strangulate the local economy and interfere with the religious and cultural life of the Jaintias. Under his leadership, the Jaintias fought a bitter war of attrition  for almost two years against the much superior British military might. Ultimately the British managed  to seize Kiang Nangbah by deceit, on 27th December, 1862. After a summary trial, they publicly hanged him at Iawmusiang, Jowai on the 30th December, 1862. From the scaffold he spoke to his countrymen, loud and clear-

Iale falls
The Kupli river which flows for quite some distance as the Assam-Meghalaya interstate border has a unique river bed of limestone and soft rock for considerable length of its course. The turbulent Kupli has thus carved for itself deep valleys and chasms all over, beside a steep, star-shaped gorge near Garampani, where the whole Kupli falls over sixty feet to give rise to the well-known Iale falls also known in historical legends as Mahabati. Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.
  
The Khandong reservoir of the Kopili Hydro Electric Project has now inundated Iale Falls and it cannot be seen for the better part of the year when the reservior is fairly full. Iale Falls was indeed a magnificent sighting and a favourite with tourists, till recently, when man's ingress on nature has all wiped it out of the roll of honor in so far as places of interest of North east India are concerned

Stone Bridge at Thlumuwi
Located on the sixteenth Km of the Jowai-Muktapur-Dawki Road at a place called Thlumuwi, the stone bridge was built by U Mar Phalyngki and U Luh Lyngskor Lamare under the order of the Jaintia King. Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.Tradition has it that when the Jaintia king shifted the kingdom's summer capital from Sutnga to Nartiang, he required his trusted lieutenants U Mar Phalyngki and U Luh Lyngskor Lamare to cause construction of a bridle-path from Nartiang to Jaintiapur to enable the king and his entourage to frequently commute between Nartiang, the summer capital and Jaintiapur, the regular capital of his kingdom without much inconvenience. The bridle path was constructed and completed with a magnificient   stone bridge over the thlumuwi stream. The bridge was made of immense slabs of stone supported upon huge, tall stone pillars. Hundreds of years later during the turn of the present century, one of the stone slabs broke when a reckless elephant trader led some elephants, caught in a Kheddah Operation in Jaintia Hills, over the stone bridge instead of causing them to wade through the stream on their way down to Sylhet. The stone bridge with the collapsed and broken segment is still in position. The banks of the Thlumuwi stream with the cascading Muwi waterfall which overlook the stone bridge presents a memorable scenic panorama to every visitor

Lubha Bridge
An awe-inspiring single span pre-stressed concrete bridge spans the deep gorge over the turbulent Lubha River, off Sunapur on the Shillong, Jowai-Badarpur-Silchar Road, that is NH-44. The bridge serves as a critical link between the Brahmaputra Valley of Lower Assam and the Barak Valley of Cachar. It also serves as a virtual gateway for the land-locked States of Mizoram and Tripura on their overland routes through Meghalaya to Assam and beyond. The gorgeous terrain on either side of the bridge is covered by virgin reserve forests known as Narpuh Reserve Forest. The funnel shaped valley of the Lubha river broadens out soon after crossing the bridge, as it meets the plains of Bangladesh. The international Indo Bangla  frontier is not too far off from the location of the lofty Lubha bridge. Within a kilometer of the bridge, located almost midway between Jowai and Silchar stands Sonapur, where nearly all inter-state traffic breaks journey to enable travelers to refresh themselves with delicious Lubha fish in the very many eating houses which dot either side of NH-44 at Sonapu Visit India with Indian Travel agent.

Syntu Ksiar
A vast pool of calm water, where the flow of the meandering river Myntdu which almost encircles Jowai, appears to come to a sudden halt, is known as Syntu Ksiar which means Golden flower. At Syntu Ksiar, the Myntdu provides a memorable scene of remarkable beauty as it seemingly disappears for rest into the calm of the mighty pool and then, as if aroused from a momentary invigorating slumber, it runs its ever vibrant course, again. Visit India with Indian Travel agent.The river Myntdu provides precious life-giving waters to the vast fertile paddy lands located in its lush green valley which stretches endlessly till it meets the distant horizon in a haze. The scintillating impact of the Myntdu at Syntu Ksiar led the well known Jaintia composer and musician U Beriwell Kyndiah to pen the musical master piece entitled Wah Myntdu, often referred to as the Blue Danube of Meghalaya.

Summer Palace of Jaintia Kings
The ruins of the summer palace of the Jaintia kings at Nartiang are located on a hillock close to the well known Nartiang Temple. The palace appears to have consisted of several platforms and apartments probably used as living rooms, sacrificial rooms, entertainment halls, council chambers etc. According to local tradition, the walls of the palace were in their hey-day covered with paintings and engravings of flora, fauna and social events. The palace appears to have been fortified with fixed cannons, each of which pointed in a different direction. The remains of these cannons can still be seen. Visit India with Indian Travel agent.

Borghat Temple
Located at Borghat, close to the Bangladesh border, this rectangular brick-tile is presently in ruins. Tradition has it that the Jaintia Kings of yesteryear used to cause sacrifice to be offered at this temple, from time to time, to appreciate the gods. Visit India with Indian Travel agent.The dome of the temple shaped like a cupola, made of solid mass of hard stone  fell off during the big earthquake of 1897 and is still intact and in one piece as it rests majestically on the side court of the temple. It can be reached by the Lad Rymbai-Bataw-Borghat Road which takes off from NH-44 at Lad Rymbai

Letein Valley
The gently rolling downs of the southern slopes of Jaintia Hills are so beautiful that they can hardly be adequately described. Only those whose vision have been feasted in bewilderment of the uniqueness of the beauty of these areas can fully appreciate their panoramic magnificence. Indian Travel agent provides hotel bookings, hotel booking in India. Even the well known English countryside would find it hard to compare itself with the beautiful, dancing valleys which exist of either side of the River Kwai in Sutnga and Nongkhlieh elakas of Jaintia Hills district. This area better known as Letein Valley can be best seen from the tableland on which Shnongrim village in Nongkhlieh Elaka is located. Shnongrim is easily accessible from Sutnga village which is sixteen kms off NH-44 and connected with a good tarred road. The letein valley looks like a well watered and well tended, endless  golf-course with smooth green turf, bewitching glens and heavenly pleasant dales which disappear into the distant haze of the horizon under a clear and azure  sky

  Umhang
Located at Bataw village in Jaintia Hills district, this awe-inspiring lake overlooks the golden yellow plains of Bangladesh. It resembles a gem in perfect sylvan setting. On either side, its banks are adorned by lush green forests which lend grace and beauty to the crystal clear waters of the Umhang. According to tradition, the lake was created by the famed Jaintia Chieftain U Sajar Nangli whose followers had also created the lake of Thadlaskein. It is said that once U Sajar and his followers dined on the spot where Umhang stands today as wholesome water was available from a small spring well which existed at the site. They were so pleased with the place and the quality of water that they spent several months working at the site, creating a lake which U Sajar Nangli hoped would be the biggest and brightest inland mass of water within the Jaintia Kingdom. Umhang was thus created. The people of Bataw regard Umhang as sanctified and do not permit its use for any other purpose. They offer annual sacrifice on its banks and zealously guard its environs from any ingress. Indian Travel agent provides hotel bookings, hotel booking in India.