Dawki is a small town in Jaintia Hills nestled around clear and beautiful Umgnot River. The drive from Shillong to Dawki is a thrilling experience passing through deep gorges and ravines. The cool, moist air brushes over your face will refresh and revitalizes you on your way to Dawki. Located between India and Bangladesh border, its a centre of trade between the 2 countries.
The crystal clear Umngot River of Dawki is a major attraction that marks the natural separation between the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Dawki is an ideal tourist spot in India, for camping and adventure water sports. Umngot River being so clear, encourages snorkeling, kayaking and boating. You can do other adventure sports such as rappelling and zip-line. Shillong being the rock capital of India, night-life in Shillong and day adventures in Dawki makes it one of the best places to visit in Meghalaya.
Dawki should not forget to taste the sweets and oranges of Dawki, as it is quite famous for the same. The town of Dwaki at Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya is on the Indo-Bangladesh border. Dawki is at a distance of 82.4 Km from the capital city of Meghalaya, Shillong. Umngot River flows through this town which creates a boundary between the Jaintia Hills and HimaKhyrim also known as Khasi Hills. Jaintia Hills is bounded by Bangladesh on the South and in the East by Khasi Hills . On its Northern and Eastern boundaries it has the state of Assam. The main economy of the people at this place runs around agriculture, mining and fishing The language spoken by most of the locals of Dwaki is more or less similar to standard Khasi language; some of them even speak Hmar or Biate language which is very similar to mizo language.
Most of the people here follow Christianity and they have matrilineal system of society. Their dressing style is similar to Naga and Mizo tribes. The major festivals of this place are Diwali and Kali Puja. Dawki’s Kali temple which attracts lots of tourists. There is a market place very close to Dawki-Tamabil border crossing, where you will get different foreign smuggled goods from Bangladesh to buy. There is a farmer market in Dawki, which was set up recently to up-lift the economic condition of the farmers as it is very close to the Indo-Bangladesh border, which is a major import-export center.
