Nohkalikai Falls (India) – Location, Height, Geography & Facts

Nohkalikai Falls is a waterfall in India located in the northeastern state of Meghalaya.

Nohkalikai Falls, India.

Country: India
Coordinates: 25.2755° N, 91.6867° E

Nohkalikai Falls overview

Nohkalikai Falls is a waterfall in India located in the northeastern state of Meghalaya. The waterfall consists of a single, near-vertical plunge that drops from the edge of the Shillong Plateau near the town of Cherrapunji (Sohra), a measurable physical characteristic that defines its morphology. Nohkalikai Falls is significant for its distinct plunge form, its setting on the Khasi Hills escarpment, and its prominence in regional geographic descriptions.

Nohkalikai Falls coordinates

Nohkalikai Falls is commonly mapped at approximately 25.2755° N, 91.6867° E, or 25.2755, 91.6867 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 25.2755° N, 91.6867° E

Decimal: 25.2755, 91.6867

Where Nohkalikai Falls is located

Nohkalikai Falls lies in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, India, on the western edge of the Shillong Plateau. The falls are positioned above a steep gorge carved into the Khasi Hills plateau and sit near the settlement area commonly referred to as Cherrapunji or Sohra. The stream feeding Nohkalikai Falls descends the plateau escarpment and drops into a deep ravine; surrounding terrain includes plateau topography to the east and a dissected valley system below the cliff. Administrative responsibility falls within Meghalaya state and district jurisdiction.

Why Nohkalikai Falls is important

Nohkalikai Falls matters for its distinctive single-drop plunge that exemplifies waterfall formation on plateau escarpments. The falls provide a clear example of a fluvial system that crosses a resistant cliff line and produces a free-falling column of water, a feature cited in regional geomorphology studies. The site is also significant in local cultural narratives, where the name Nohkalikai is linked to a well-documented Khasi-language legend. Nohkalikai Falls figures in state-level natural-resource inventories because its cliff and gorge illustrate erosion processes on the Shillong Plateau.

History of Nohkalikai Falls

Nohkalikai Falls originated through persistent stream incision into the Shillong Plateau, where downcutting along a channel reached a resistant cliff face and produced a sustained vertical drop. Over geological time the stream eroded the plateau margin, forming the steep escarpment that now supports the falls; mass-wasting and plunge-pool erosion at the cliff base have continued to shape the immediate gorge. Human familiarity with Nohkalikai Falls grew as local Khasi communities named and narrated the waterfall, and the place entered colonial and postcolonial geographic records as a distinct landform on the Khasi Hills escarpment.

Natural features of Nohkalikai Falls

Nohkalikai Falls is characterized by a single uninterrupted plunge that originates at the plateau rim and finishes in a confined plunge pool and steep-sided gorge. The cliff face from which the water falls is part of the Shillong Plateau escarpment and shows evidence of vertical jointing and differential erosion typical of plateau margins. Vegetation on the plateau top and in the gorge forms a vertical zonation that contrasts the horizontal plateau surface with the vertical cliff; sediment transport from the falling water contributes to the accumulation of scree and alluvium downstream.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Nohkalikai Falls

Nohkalikai Falls sits within the environmental context of the East Khasi Hills, where state and district authorities have roles in land-use planning and watershed management. Conservation themes relevant to the falls include erosion control at the plateau margin, stability of the escarpment, and protection of riparian vegetation in the gorge. Scientific monitoring and inclusion in regional natural-resource inventories support long-term understanding of hydrology and geomorphic change at Nohkalikai Falls, while local governance structures retain administrative oversight of the surrounding landscape.

Nohkalikai Falls facts

The name Nohkalikai derives from a Khasi-language personal name evoked in a local legend about the falls.
Nohkalikai Falls issues from a stream that drops as a single uninterrupted plunge from the Shillong Plateau escarpment.
The falls are situated in the East Khasi Hills district near the settlement area commonly known as Cherrapunji or Sohra.
Nohkalikai Falls illustrates plateau-margin erosion where a channel cuts across a resistant cliff to form a vertical waterfall.
The waterfall appears in regional geographic and natural-resource descriptions used by Meghalaya state and district authorities.

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