Dainthlen falls Travel Guide

Just before reaching Sohra, a road to the right, leads one to the falls which is 5 kms away. Among the many falls that Cherrapunjee boasts of, Dain Thlen Falls is also one of the famous falls. Many tourists flock the falls especially as it has an interesting legend associated with it.  

The waterfall derives its name from a Thlen (Khasi word for Python).  As per the legend, people decided to rid themselves of evil, captured the Thlen and killed it at the wide flat rock over-looking the waterfall. Adjacent to the very spot where the Thlen was slaughtered lies the Dain-thlen Waterfalls. Natural rock carvings of the episode draw visitors to see the image of the Thlen, the symbol of greed, corruption and evil.

About 2 km away from Cherrapunjee, one comes across this fall which is just 5 km away from the road. The splendour of this falls is enhanced by the presence of large number of natural potholes, much bigger in size and dimension than the regular ones on the metallic roads. The view of this waterfall tumbling down from a height of close to 80-90 m is from its source and provides a good opportunity to follow the path all the way to the bottom. There is a small legend associated with the name of this fall. According to locals, there was a huge demon python by the name of Thlen who was drenched in greed and power. Some brave men caught the animal and destroyed its hood with a huge stone near this fall. Some of the marks present on the stones are still reminiscent of the violent struggle of that snake, say the naysayers. As a result, this fall got this name. The turbulence of this fall gathers a lot of steam during the monsoons compared to the rest of the year.