{{Redirect|Sohra|places in Iran|Sohra, Iran (disambiguation){{!}}Sohra, Iran}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Cherrapunji | native_name = Sohra | native_name_lang = | other_name = | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = Cherrapunji.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = Sohra has held the record for highest rainfall multiple times in the past. | nickname = | pushpin_map = India Meghalaya#India | pushpin_label_position = left | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Meghalaya | coordinates = {{coord|25.284|N|91.721|E|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = India | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name1 = Meghalaya | subdivision_name2 = East Khasi Hills | established_title = <!-- Established --> | established_date = | founder = | named_for = | government_type = | governing_body = | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | area_rank = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 1430 | population_total = 14816 | population_as_of = 2011 | population_footnotes = | population_density_km2 = 397 | population_rank = | population_demonym = | demographics_type1 = Languages | demographics1_title1 = Official | timezone1 = IST | utc_offset1 = +5:30 | postal_code_type = <!-- PIN --> | postal_code = | area_code = 03637 | area_code_type = Telephone code | registration_plate = | website = {{URL|https://sohra.gov.in/}} | footnotes = | demographics1_info1 = Khasi, English | blank_name = Precipitation | blank_info = {{convert|11777|mm|in}} | blank1_name = Climate | blank1_info = Cwb }}
'''Cherrapunji''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=Cherrapunji.ogg|ˌ|tʃ|ɛ|r|ə|ˈ|p|ʌ|n|dʒ|i|,_|-|ˈ|p|ʊ|n|-}}), also known as '''Sohra''',<ref name=orig1/> is a sub-divisional town (Proposed District) in the East Khasi Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It was the traditional capital of ''ka hima Sohra'' (Khasi tribal kingdom).
Sohra has often been credited as being the wettest place on Earth, but currently, nearby Mawsynram holds that distinction. Sohra still holds the all-time record for the most rainfall in a calendar month and in a year, however. It received {{convert|9300|mm|in ft}} in July 1861 and {{convert|26461|mm|in ft}} between 1 August 1860 and 31 July 1861.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/10000/greatest-monthly-rainfall- |title=Most annual rainfall |access-date=2012-05-07 |work=Guinness World Records}}</ref>
==Background==
===Etymology ===
The original native name for this town in Khasi language is {{Lang|kha|Sohra}} (soh-ra), which was mispronounced "Cherra" by the 19th century British colonisers. Later, the suffix ''"punjee"'', a Bengali term meaning "a cluster of villages", was added by people from the plains, and the name evolved into ''Cherrapunji'', meaning "land of oranges" in some interpretations, popularized by tourists from other parts of India. It has again been officially renamed to its original form, ''Sohra''.<ref name=orig1>{{Cite web |date=2007-08-04 |title=Cherrapunjee gets new name - Sohra |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/cherrapunjee-gets-new-name-sohra/story-au2KwKygLAgm0JzgSFbf3N.html |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref>
=== History ===
The history of the Khasi people – native inhabitants of Sohra– may be traced from the early part of the 16th century. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, these people were ruled by their tribal ''<nowiki/>'Syiems'' (rajas or chiefs) of Khyriem' in the Khasi Hills.
The main pivot on which the entire superstructure of Khasi society rests is the matrilineal system.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee |first=Sugato |date=December 16, 2022 |title=The Khasis: A Matrilineal Society in India's Northeast |url=https://thediplomat.com/2022/12/the-khasis-a-matrilineal-society-in-indias-northeast/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}</ref>
The Khasi hills came under British authority in 1833 with the submission of the last of the important Syiem, Tirot Sing Syiem.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
There is a monument to David Scott (British Administrator in NE India, 1802–1831) in the town's cemetery.
Despite abundant rainfall, Sohra faces an acute water shortage and the inhabitants often have to trek very long distances to obtain potable water.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news | first = Subir | last = Bhaumik | title = World's wettest area dries up | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2977169.stm | format = stm | work = South Asia News | location = Calcutta | date = 2003-04-28 | access-date = 2008-02-21 }}</ref> Irrigation is hampered due to excessive rain washing away the topsoil as a result of human encroachment into the forests. Recent developments of rain-water harvesting techniques in the area have greatly helped the town and its neighbouring villages.
==Economy==
===Education=== ====Colleges==== *Ramkrishna Mission College, Sohra *Sohra Government College
Sohra has the National Institute of Technology, Meghalaya near Saitsophen, which offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees. Independent schools like the Ramkrishna Mission School and government-run schools like the Thomas Jones School have been set up in and around the town.
===Media===
Sohra has an All India Radio relay station known as Akashvani Sohra. It broadcasts on FM frequencies.
===Tourism===
Tourism is main economic activity, and Sohra is used as a base town and central hub for tourists who visit the nearby tourist places such as the mountains, valleys, viewpoints, caves, rivers, waterfalls, and traditional bridges.{{fact|date=October 2025}}
Sohra is also known for its living bridges. Over hundreds of years the people have developed techniques for growing roots of trees into large bridges. The process takes 10 to 15 years and the bridges typically last hundreds of years, with the oldest one, still in active use, being over 500 years old.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bridge to Nature: Amazing Indian Living Root Bridges |url=http://webecoist.com/2009/10/21/bridge-to-nature-amazing-indian-living-root-bridges/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129174355/http://webecoist.com/2009/10/21/bridge-to-nature-amazing-indian-living-root-bridges/ |archive-date=29 November 2011 |access-date=23 October 2009 |website=WebEcoist}}</ref>
===Transport===
Shillong Airport, 80 km north, is the only operational civilian airport in Meghalaya with the domestic flights within Northeast India. Guwahati Airport, 165 km north in Assam state, is major airport for the regional, national and international air connectivity.
SH-5 (Meghalaya State Highway 5) connects Sohra to Shillong, and Shillong is further connected to Guwahati by the NH-6. thumb|450px|Historic Khasi states in Meghalaya
Guwahati railway station, 165 km north, is the nearest railway station which connects to the rest of India. Once the under-construction Tetelia–Byrnihat line (Shillong) is completed, it will bring the rail connectivity closer to Sohra.
== Geography == {{climate chart |Sohra, India |7.2 |15.7 |11 |8.9 |17.3 |46 |12.5 |20.5 |240 |14.5 |21.7 |938 |16.1 |22.4 |1214 |17.9 |22.7 |2294 |18.1 |22.0 |3272 |18.2 |22.9 |1760 |17.5 |22.7 |1352 |15.8 |22.7 |549 |12.3 |20.4 |72 |8.3 |17.0 |29 |maxprecip=3272 |float=right |clear=right |source=[ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_II/IN/42515.TXT NOAA] }}
The Shillong Plateau is an uplifted horst-like feature, bounded by the E-W Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) to the North, the N–S Jamuna fault in the west, and the NW–SE kopilli fracture zone in the east.
Sohra has an average elevation of {{convert|1430|m|ft}} and sits on a plateau in the southern part of the Khasi Hills, facing the plains of Bangladesh. The plateau rises {{convert|660|m|ft}} above the surrounding valleys.
Soils on the plateau are poor owing to deforestation and washout caused by heavy rainfall. Owing to winter droughts, the vegetation in this location is even xerophytic in spite of the town's fame as an extremely wet place. Additional pressure on local ecosystems is created by the rapid increase of the population – from a Sohra-area population of 7,000 in 1960, it grew to over 10,000 by 2000.<ref name="wondermondo">{{cite web |url=http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/India/Meghalaya/Cherrapunji.htm |title=Cherrapunji (Sohra) |access-date=2010-08-29 |date=2010-08-28 |publisher=Wondermondo}}</ref>
The valleys around Sohra, however, are covered with lush and very diverse vegetation, containing numerous endemic species of plants, including the Meghalaya subtropical forests.
There are some interesting living root bridges in villages near Sohra like the Umshiang Root Bridge, Mawsaw root bridge, Ritymmen root bridge, and the Double Decker root bridge at Nongriat village.
===Climate===
Cherrapunji has a mild subtropical highland climate (Köppen ''Cwb''), with monsoonal influences typical of India. Although Sohra has very wet, warm summers, it has dry, mild winters. The city's annual rainfall average stands at {{convert|11777|mm|in}}.<ref name="weather1">{{cite web |url=https://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/i/IN42515.html |title=Cherrapunji, India: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data |website=climate-charts.com |access-date= 11 January 2021}}</ref> This figure places it behind only nearby Mawsynram, Meghalaya, whose average is {{convert|11873|mm|in}}. Sohra receives both the southwest and northeast monsoonal winds, giving it a single monsoon season. It lies on the windward side of the Khasi Hills, so the resulting orographic lift enhances precipitation. In the winter months it receives the northeast monsoon showers that travel down the Brahmaputra valley. The driest months are November, December, January, and February.
Temperatures average {{convert|11.5|°C|1}} in January and {{convert|20.6|°C|1}} in August, and the annual mean is {{convert|17.3|°C|1}}
Sohra holds two Guinness world records for receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single year: {{convert|26471|mm|in}} of rainfall between August 1860 and July 1861 and for receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single month: {{convert|9300|mm|in}} in July 1861.<ref>Guinness World Records 2005; pg-51 {{ISBN|0-85112-192-6}}</ref>
{{Weather box | location = Cherrapunji (1991–2020, extremes 1902–present) | metric first = Y | single line = Y | Jan record high C = 26.7 | Feb record high C = 28.9 | Mar record high C = 30.6 | Apr record high C = 28.3 | May record high C = 30.9 | Jun record high C = 29.9 | Jul record high C = 30.3 | Aug record high C = 30.3 | Sep record high C = 33.1 | Oct record high C = 32.1 | Nov record high C = 28.7 | Dec record high C = 25.6 |year record high C = 33.1 | Jan high C = 17.2 | Feb high C = 18.8 | Mar high C = 21.4 | Apr high C = 22.7 | May high C = 23.1 | Jun high C = 23.1 | Jul high C = 22.9 | Aug high C = 23.6 | Sep high C = 23.9 | Oct high C = 24.0 | Nov high C = 21.8 | Dec high C = 18.8 |year high C = 21.8 | Jan mean C =12.3 | Feb mean C =14.1 | Mar mean C =17.0 | Apr mean C =18.7 | May mean C =19.9 | Jun mean C =20.6 | Jul mean C =20.6 | Aug mean C =21.1 | Sep mean C =21.0 | Oct mean C =20.0 | Nov mean C =16.9 | Dec mean C =13.8 | year mean C = | Jan low C = 6.6 | Feb low C = 8.7 | Mar low C = 12.1 | Apr low C = 14.4 | May low C = 16.1 | Jun low C = 17.7 | Jul low C = 18.1 | Aug low C = 18.2 | Sep low C = 17.6 | Oct low C = 15.3 | Nov low C = 11.4 | Dec low C = 8.2 |year low C = 13.7 | Jan record low C = -1.0 | Feb record low C = 0.3 | Mar record low C = 0.6 | Apr record low C = 3.9 | May record low C = 3.3 | Jun record low C = 9.2 | Jul record low C = 10.0 | Aug record low C = 9.0 | Sep record low C = 12.4 | Oct record low C = 7.8 | Nov record low C = 3.7 | Dec record low C = 1.7 |year record low C = -1.0 | Jan avg record high C = 20.6 | Feb avg record high C = 22.2 | Mar avg record high C = 25.3 | Apr avg record high C = 26.0 | May avg record high C = 26.5 | Jun avg record high C = 26.8 | Jul avg record high C = 26.9 | Aug avg record high C = 27.6 | Sep avg record high C = 27.9 | Oct avg record high C = 27.5 | Nov avg record high C = 25.6 | Dec avg record high C = 21.9 | year avg record high C = 28.9 | Jan avg record low C = 3.2 | Feb avg record low C = 4.9 | Mar avg record low C = 8.1 | Apr avg record low C = 10.4 | May avg record low C = 12.4 | Jun avg record low C = 15.3 | Jul avg record low C = 16.4 | Aug avg record low C = 16.6 | Sep avg record low C = 15.6 | Oct avg record low C = 11.8 | Nov avg record low C = 8.0 | Dec avg record low C = 5.2 | year avg record low C = 3.0 | rain colour = green | Jan rain mm = 15.5 | Feb rain mm = 53.7 | Mar rain mm = 364.1 | Apr rain mm = 792.4 | May rain mm = 1297.1 | Jun rain mm = 2608.1 | Jul rain mm = 2665.4 | Aug rain mm = 1768.7 | Sep rain mm = 1089.7 | Oct rain mm = 461.4 | Nov rain mm = 49.3 | Dec rain mm = 10.2 |year rain mm = 11175.8 |unit rain days = 2.5 mm | Jan rain days = 1.4 | Feb rain days = 2.5 | Mar rain days = 7.4 | Apr rain days = 16.1 | May rain days = 20.7 | Jun rain days = 25.2 | Jul rain days = 27.8 | Aug rain days = 24.1 | Sep rain days = 18.2 | Oct rain days = 7.6 | Nov rain days = 1.6 | Dec rain days = 0.8 |year rain days = 153.5 | Jan humidity = 69 | Feb humidity = 66 | Mar humidity = 68 | Apr humidity = 79 | May humidity = 85 | Jun humidity = 92 | Jul humidity = 94 | Aug humidity = 92 | Sep humidity = 89 | Oct humidity = 80 | Nov humidity = 70 | Dec humidity = 70 | year humidity = |source 1 = India Meteorological Department<ref>{{cite web | url = https://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/Climatological%20Tables%201991-2020.pdf | title = Climatological Tables of Observatories in India 1991-2020 | publisher = India Meteorological Department | access-date = April 8, 2024 }}</ref><ref name=IMDextremes> {{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200205042509/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/EXTREMES%20OF%20TEMPERATURE%20and%20RAINFALL%20upto%202012.pdf | archive-date = 5 February 2020 | url = https://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/EXTREMES%20OF%20TEMPERATURE%20and%20RAINFALL%20upto%202012.pdf | title = Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012) | publisher = India Meteorological Department | date = December 2016 | page = M157 | access-date = 5 February 2020}}</ref> |source 2 = NOAA (humidity),<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/India/CSV/CHERRAPUNJEE_42515.csv | title = Cherrapunji Climate Normals 1991–2020 | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | access-date = April 8, 2024 }}</ref> Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020)<ref name=TCC1> {{cite web | url = https://ds.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/tcc/tcc/products/climate/normal/parts/NrmMonth_e.php?stn=42515 | title = Normals Data: Cherrapunji – India Latitude: 25.25°N Longitude: 91.73°E Height: 1313 (m) | publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency | access-date = 1 December 2022}}</ref> }}
===Causes of high rainfall=== {{unreferenced section|date = December 2014}}
Sohra receives rains from the Bay of Bengal arm of the Indian summer monsoon. The monsoon clouds fly unhindered over the plains of Bangladesh for about 400 km. Thereafter, they hit the Khasi Hills which rise abruptly from the plains to a height of about 1,370 m above mean sea level within 2 to 5 km. The geography of the hills with many deep valley channels encompassing the low-flying (150–300 m) moisture-laden clouds from a wide area converges over Sohra. The winds push the rain clouds through these gorges and up the steep slopes. The rapid ascent of the clouds into the upper atmosphere hastens the cooling and helps vapours to condense. Most of the rain is the result of air being lifted as a large body of water vapour. The extreme amount of rainfall is perhaps the best-known feature of orographic rain in northeastern India.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kuttippurath|first1=J|last2=Murasingh|first2=S|last3=Stott|first3=P A|last4=Sarojini|first4=B Balan|last5=Jha|first5=Madan K|last6=Kumar|first6=P|last7=Nair|first7=P J|last8=Varikoden|first8=H|last9=Raj|first9=S|last10=Francis|first10=P A|last11=Pandey|first11=P C|date=2021-01-22|title=Observed rainfall changes in the past century (1901–2019) over the wettest place on Earth|journal=Environmental Research Letters|volume=16|issue=2|pages=024018|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/abcf78|bibcode=2021ERL....16b4018K|issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Occasionally, cloudbursts can occur in one part of Sohra while other areas may be totally or relatively dry, reflecting the high spatial variability of the rainfall. Atmospheric humidity is extremely high during the peak monsoon period.
The major part of the rainfall at Sohra can be attributed to the orographic features. When the clouds are blown over the hills from the south, they are funneled through the valley. The clouds strike Sohra perpendicularly and the low flying clouds are pushed up the steep slopes. It is not surprising to find that the heaviest rainfalls occur when the winds blow directly on the Khasi Hills.
A notable feature of monsoon rain at Sohra is that most of it falls in the morning. This could be partly due to two air masses coming together. During the monsoon months, the prevailing winds along the Brahmaputra valley generally blow from the east or the northeast, but the winds over Meghalaya are from the south. These two winds systems usually come together in the vicinity of the Khasi Hills. Apparently, the winds that are trapped in the valley at night begin their upward ascent only after they are warmed during the day. This partially explains the frequency of morning rainfall. Apart from orographic features, atmospheric convection plays an important role during the monsoon and the period just preceding it.
==People==
===Culture===
The native inhabitants living in and around Sohra are known as Khasi people. Their society is a matrilineal one. The children take on the surname of the mother.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Swer |first=Daryll |date=2023-05-29 |title=An Interesting Folk Tale Behind the Khasi Matrilineal System |url=https://www.daryllswer.com/an-interesting-folk-tale-behind-the-khasi-matrilineal-system/ |access-date=2026-01-21 |website=Daryll Swer |language=en-GB}}</ref>
===Demographics===
{{Pie chart |thumb = right |caption = Religion in Cherrapunji (2011)<ref name="religion">{{cite web |title=C-1 Population By Religious Community |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW17C-01%20MDDS.XLS |website=census.gov.in |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> |label1 = Christianity |value1 = 71.36 |color1 = Blue |label2 = Niam Khasi |value2 = 24.40 |color2 = Yellow |label3 = Hinduism |value3 = 3.97 |color3 = Orange |label4 = Islam |value4 = 0.08 |color4 = Green |label5 = Others |value5 = 0.19 |color5 = Gray}}
As of the 2011 census of India, Sohra had a population of 10,086, with males 48.75% of the total population and females 51.25%. It has an average literacy rate of 74%, equal to the national average of 74.5%, with a male literacy rate of 72.4% and a female one of 73.9%.
Most of the people in the town overwhelmingly follow Christianity, with significant followers of indigenous Niam Khasi, Hinduism and a very small Muslim population.<ref name="religion"/>
== Gallery ==
<gallery> File:NohKaLikai Falls V2 Wiki.jpg|NohKaLikai Falls Aerial View File:Nohkalikai Falls.JPG|Nohkalikai falls File:Nohkalikai falls.jpg|Seven Sisters' falls File:Bangladesh view point by Kamalapathi.jpg|Bangladesh View Point in Sohra File:Bengladesh Plains, View FromThangkharang Cherrapunjee 105.JPG|Another view of Bangladesh plains from Sohra File:Khasi tribe para dance.jpg|Khasi children c. 1944 </gallery>
== See also ==
* Tourism in Northeast India * Wettest places on Earth ** Big Bog, Maui, in Hawaii and among one world's wettest place ** Lloró, in Colombia and among one world's wettest place ** Quibdó, in Colombia and among one world's wettest place ** Villa Puerto Edén, in Chile and among one world's wettest place ** Yakushima, in Japan and among one world's wettest place
== References == {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
== Sources and external links== *{{Wikivoyage-inline|Cherrapunji}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100704080658/http://www.cherrapunjee.com/ cherrapunjee.com] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121002052449/http://www.geox.com/amphibiox/ Interactive Film Documentary by Geox - Testing A New Waterproof Shoe In The Rainiest Place On Earth] * [https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/for-a-rainy-day-2/ 'For a Rainy Day', The Indian Express, 20 April 2008, by Arjun Razdan]
{{Meghalaya}} {{Tourism in India}} {{Authority control}}
Category:East Khasi Hills district Category:Cities and towns in East Khasi Hills district Category:Weather extremes of Earth Category:Geography of Meghalaya