Exploring waterfalls on a trip to Meghalaya is a must and the visit to waterfalls sites remain incomplete without Elephant Falls ,located on the outskirts of the state capital, Shillong. The Elephant Falls is a great stopover destination before heading further into Meghalaya.
Named after an Elephant like stone at its foot, the Elephant Falls are known as the most popular falls in the North-East .It was named by the Britishers because of the presence of an elephant-shaped rock on one side of the fall but the stone was destroyed and washed away due to an earthquake more than a hundred years ago.
The Khasi name of the Elephant Falls is Kshaid-Lai-Pateng, which means ‘The Three Step Waterfalls’ over which the water plunges. The waterfall drops over the multiple levels and the railed walkways start at the head of the falls and continues to the bottom. While walking down on the steep steps one can see and feel the breathtaking beauty of the falls from a close distance along with chilling water and relaxing sounds of the falls .
With the multiple levels in the falls, the first falls are broad and seen between the dense trees and the second fall comes as thin strands of water and in winter the water level almost recedes ,then comes the third fall and this is the most visible and tallest waterfall dropping on the dark rocks in the backdrop. This third waterfall attracts the visitors.
While the Elephant Waterfalls can be visited anytime of the year but during winters the water levels recede a little however the charm of the falls continues.
