Nohkalikai Falls

Overview

Nohkalikai Falls is the tallest plunge waterfall in India and one of the most iconic natural landmarks in Meghalaya. Located near Cherrapunji (Sohra), the waterfall plunges dramatically from a high cliff into a turquoise pool far below. The surrounding cliffs and valleys create a breathtaking landscape that becomes even more dramatic during the monsoon season when heavy rainfall feeds the waterfall. According to Khasi folklore, the waterfall's name is linked to a tragic legend about a woman named Likai who leapt from the cliff, giving the falls its name "Noh-Ka-Likai."

The Legend of Nohkalikai: The Story of Ka Likai

Nohkalikai owes its name to one of the most heartbreaking stories in Khasi folklore — the legend of Ka Likai. "Noh-Ka-Likai" translates roughly as "the leap of Ka Likai," and to understand the falls is to understand her grief. Ka Likai was a young woman who lived in the village of Rangjyrteh, above the falls, in the days when Sohra (Cherrapunji) was a cluster of small hill hamlets. Widowed soon after the birth of her daughter, she supported the two of them alone, working as a porter carrying iron and goods along the steep trade paths. To ease her hardship she eventually remarried, hoping her new husband would help raise the child. But the husband grew bitterly jealous of the love and attention Ka Likai gave her daughter. One day, while Ka Likai was away at work, he killed the child and cooked the body, leaving a prepared meal behind. Returning home exhausted and hungry, and finding her daughter missing, she ate — and only afterwards discovered, among the remains, her daughter's fingers in the betel-nut basket. The truth struck her like a thunderclap.

Why the Story Still Echoes Here

Maddened by horror and guilt, Ka Likai ran from the village and flung herself off the cliff beside the waterfall. The Khasi people named the cascade in her memory, so that her story would never be forgotten — and so that the falls themselves would stand as a memorial to a mother's love and loss. The legend is far more than a ghost story. For the Khasi, a matrilineal people, it speaks to the sacred bond between mother and child and the catastrophe of breaking it. It is also a reminder of how completely the people of Meghalaya weave meaning into their landscape: almost every great waterfall, cave and peak here carries a name and a narrative. Standing at the viewpoint, watching India's tallest plunge waterfall fall 1,115 feet into its turquoise pool, the tale lends the silence a weight that pure scenery never could. Local guides at the viewpoint still recount the legend, and hearing it told on the spot — with the cliff and the pool in view — is the single most memorable way to experience Nohkalikai.

Best time to visit

July to September for peak water flow. October to March for clear skies.

Things to do

• ✓ Viewpoint photography
• ✓ Learn the local legend
• ✓ Visit nearby Nohsngithiang Falls

How to reach

7 km from Cherrapunji. Accessible by road with a short walk to the viewpoint.

Tips before you go

• Monsoon offers the best waterfall views but trails can be slippery
• Carry a raincoat
• The turquoise pool is visible best in winter