Nohkalikai Falls is the tallest plunge waterfall in India. Its height is 340 meters. Nohkalikai Falls is a rain-fed fall so during the monsoon season, on a clear day, you will see the real beauty and will be able to feel the force of the waterfall even from a distance.

The falls decrease in power during the dry season, from December to February. Below the falls is a plunge pool with water of an unusual shade of green. The pool at the base of the falls dramatically changes colors from blue to green to aqua with time and season.

There is a depressing story behind the naming of this waterfall. Noh Ka Likai, in the local Khasi tribe’s language, means ‘the leap of Likai’. It is believed that a woman named Ka Likai was a widow and had a daughter from this marriage. She remarried so that her daughter can have the love of a father, on the contrary, her new husband hated the daughter as Ka Likai gave all her time to her little one.

Once when she was away for work, he killed the little girl and cooked her flesh as a meal. When Ka Likai was back from work, she was astonished not to see her daughter around but was happy that her husband had cooked a meal for her. Satisfied that her daughter would be out playing, she enjoyed the food. Later, as she picked up the betel nut basket she found her daughter’s fingers in it. Filled with remorse, sadness, and grief, she rushed to the cliff and threw herself down. And, so the fall was named after her Nohkalikai Waterfalls.

As it’s a rainfed waterfall, May to September (monsoon) is the perfect time to visit Nohkalikai Falls. It’s when you can witness the waterfall in its full glory.