Kyllang Rock – Got to Go Again!

Lum Kyllang and Lum Symper are brothers who fell out with each other and fought with such animosity that they have parted ways forever. No ordinary sibling rivalry this is! The two brothers here are hills and not humans. [I have outlined the local folklore at the end.]

BIL (brother-in-law) and I were once again on a long drive in the countryside when we had an opportunity to meet with Lum Kyllang. It was the first day of the year 2018. A bright and sunny January day ushered in additional joy and cheer to our New Year celebrations. This was rare as the month of January is usually associated with gloomy weather in the cold winter of Meghalaya. BIL, the happy man, was happier today – not because of the weather but because his wife (my cousin sister) had joined us too.

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Pic 1: The bright and sunny day was a huge mood lifter – what better way to start the new year!

We headed from Shillong towards West Khasi Hills district to go to Mairang. Shillong is in East Khasi Hills district. The sparkling tarred road was an absolute pleasure to drive and BIL was enjoying every bit of it. It was a newly inaugurated National Highway connecting Shillong-Nongstoin-Tura. Our intention was nothing more than a long drive by the countryside – indeed our way of celebrating the new year.

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Pic 2: The perfectly tarred road was a driver’s delight!

We passed through undulating winding roads amidst green hills dotted with Pine Trees, brown meadows of dried grass, villages with pretty houses of tin roofs, lace curtains, and playful children. Somewhere during the drive, one of us mentioned Kyllang Rock, which is also located in Mairang. We had heard stories about the peculiarity and uniqueness of Kyllang Rock but had never visited it and this drive presented us with the perfect opportunity.

We enquired for directions from a local tea shop and got to know that Kyllang Rock is locally known as Lum Kyllang. Based on our enquiry, we diverted onto a broken road from the National Highway. The narrow dusty road was lined with Pine forests on either side. As we approached, after a drive of about 20 mins, the massive dome shaped single rock of granite was clearly visible from a distance. With a girth of more than 1000 ft., the monolithic Kyllang Rock stands tall at a height of 5400 ft. above sea level. It is situated 12 Km. from Mairang and about 78 Km. from Shillong.

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Pic 5: As we first set our eyes on Lum Kyllang 

Kyllang Rock is several million years old and it is believed to have a magnetic field. It is believed that the magnetic field makes it easy to climb and once on top nobody falls off despite the very strong winds. The dense forest around the rock is home to age-old red Rhododendron trees and Oak trees. I had all plans of climbing up to the top as friends had told me about the breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape from the top and also that the climb was fairly easy.

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Pic 6: The narrow lane that leads upto the rock.
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Pic 7: Do you see the tiny dots on top of the rock? Those are people up there.

However, I had to rest my plans of climbing up the rock as the place was immensely crowded with local people from the surrounding villages. Villagers revere the rock and were here to pay their obeisance on the occasion of new year.

I sure have to go back again to feel the massiveness of Lum Kyllang and experience the power of its magnetic field.

Local Folklore

Khasi folklore has it that Lum Kyllang in Mairang (West Khasi Hills) and Lum Symper in Weiloi (East Khasi Hills) are brothers. Kyllang was a mischievous God known for his mood swings. Symper was a calm God and always disapproved Kyllang’s violent and destructive ways. Kyllang did not like Symper’s interference and this led to a battle between the two brothers. Symper won the battle as he was blessed to have boulders while Kyllang had only sand. After the battle, Symper stayed in the same location in East Khasi Hills and Kyllang moved to Mairang in West Khasi Hills.

Another folklore talks about a man, his wife and child, who due to certain circumstances got transformed into one whole rock.

Author: neelstoria

Traveling, Gardening, Trekking, Hiking, Storytelling, Writing, Nature, Outdoors, Yoga, DIY

35 thoughts on “Kyllang Rock – Got to Go Again!”

    1. Another place added to your itinerary for the next time 🙂
      It isn’t a usual tourist place but you may find a few. Although it’ll not be surprising if this becomes a tourist place in the near future complete with ticketing and all that! On this particular day, however, the place was crowded with village people. We were the only non-tribals out there.

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  6. Neel, after such a long time Im visiting your blog, my apologies. Always a fan of your narration. I love myths. Just 2 weeks ago I was on a trip, it was a mini trek hearing stories n myths from locals was such a pleasant experience. I don’t get enough of it. Since you are always on the road, have you ever considered getting an action cam? Im thinking of getting omso pocket for myself. You should check the youtube reviews. Chances are this idea might change the way you think of such journeys. 🙂

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    1. So good to see you here in my blog once again, Ankit! And, please don’t apologise, I know you are really busy with so many other things. I also love hearing local stories and that is one of my most favourite part of treks. I always befriend drivers of the vehicles and people like the cook, mule men etc. besides the trek guides only to listen to their fascinating stories. Most of these are beyond imagination for us.
      As for an action cam, haven’t thought about it. I don’t even have a normal point and shoot camera for that matter. I’ve been taking all the photos with my mobile. But I have been thinking of getting a good small sized camera (not a DSLR, that’s too large and heavy). Now you’ve put this idea of an action cam into my head 😉
      And, thank you so much for making time to visit my blog and read this post.

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      1. I agree, making friends with such people has its perks. I always try to do that. This time I had a co-worker as a guide, it was her hometown. So many myths and facts, truly amazing. You should check osmo pocket I really think you should get one because the pictures you take are always have some breathtaking pictures. And it feels like It would be so nice to have more. I want to fly drone even formed a team. But the registration process is so fustrating, for every new place you have to get permission from different departments. And Im disappointed. I’ll see what I can do. drone or no drone I’m motivated I’ll be making videos in future. Hey, don’t thank me for visiting your blog. It is my pleasure. Your contents make me sit around contemplating the meaning of life. So I should be the one thanking you instead. hah back at you, see?

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  8. Oh I must go there the next time I am at home, Shillong. Indeed the wonders of Meghalaya awes and surprises me always 🙂 Thank you for this 🙂

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    1. Thanks a bunch for visiting my blog. Do visit Kyllang Rock, next time you go home. I need to go again as well to climb to the top of that rock. I have several other posts on Shillong/Meghalaya. Have you written anything about your experiences? Would love to read them.

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      1. I definitely will and I’ll by all means read the posts you have on Shillong. I have written a few posts about my experiences, Laitlum, Shillong in October and monsoons and the feeling of homecoming 🙂

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        1. I will go and look for those posts. And you know what, just yesterday I was thinking that I should write about Laitlum. That’s like one of the preferred destinations for a quick drive out of the city each time I go home.

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          1. Yes. It is so close to Shillong. The time my brother and I visited we took the local transport, those horn buses. It sure is amazing to lose oneself in the local flavour. You don’t live in Shillong is it?

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              1. Yes! I live in Bangalore as well! A coincidence. But home is Shillong. My family will never move and truthfully I don’t want them to either. 🙂

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