Mawsmai Cave

Meghalaya sits on limestone and holds some of the longest cave systems in India, most of them for expedition cavers only; Mawsmai is the one adapted for ordinary visitors. A section of about a hundred and fifty metres is lit and walked straight through, entering at one end and emerging at the other, past stalactites, flowstone and a stream. Parts of the passage narrow enough that walking sideways is necessary and the ceiling drops to a stoop. It is the accessible sample of a much larger karst landscape; Krem Liat Prah and other systems nearby run for tens of kilometres and are surveyed by caving expeditions.

What's there

• The through route - entry at one end and exit at the other, about 150 metres.
• The narrow sections - passages requiring sideways movement and stooping.
• The formations - stalactites and flowstone along the lit route.
• The wider karst - a landscape holding India's longest cave systems.

When to go

September to May; the cave can flood in the monsoon and closes. It is cool and wet inside year-round. Weekends bring queues at the narrow sections.

What to expect

The route is short and can bottleneck badly at the squeezes when busy. It is genuinely tight in places, unsuitable for anyone larger-framed or claustrophobic. Floors are wet and slippery.

Nearby

Cherrapunji lies west; Nohsngithiang falls are nearby.

Key facts