East Garo Hills being a land-locked, hilly terrain with sparse population, means of communication has not developed much. There are no railway heads and airports within the district and the rivers here are also not navigable. The road network too is quite under-developed with a road-length density of only 19.86 km per 100 sq. kms. However, the district headquarter is connected to the neighbouring district headquarters of Tura, Baghmara, Resubelpara and Nongstoin and the state capital, Shillong. The road network also connects it with Guwahati and Goalpara in Assam.
The most convenient railway station is Guwahati in Assam. The nearest airport is the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport of Guwahati which is well connected by air with New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Thimpu and Bangkok. The Guwahati railway station is about 182 kms., while the airport is about 165 kms. from Williamnagar by road. There is a daily helicopter service by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd, under the aegis of the Government of Meghalaya, from the airport connecting Guwahati with Shillong & Tura, the district headquarter of West Garo Hills which is just about 76 kms away from Williamnagar. Tura is very well connected with Williamnagar and other destinations in East Garo Hills by buses and taxi services. Williamnagar has a helipad, but there is no helicopter service plying here at present.
Best Season to Travel: September to May.
HOW TO GET THERE
Railhead: Mendipathar in neighbouring North-Garo Hills District is the nearest railhead, but it not very well-connected to the rest of the country. Bongaigaon & Guwahati are the nearest railway stations that are well-connected to the rest of the country.
Airport: Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport of Guwahati is the nearest airport from where the district can be reached by bus or car.
Google Map showing distance and route from the nearest airport to Williamnagar
Road Transport: Daily buses connect Williamnagar with Shillong, Guwahati & Tura. Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) runs a regular bus service between Williamnagar & Shillong. There are numerous buses and taxi services from Williamnagar to Tura. A daily night bus service from Guwahati to Williamnagar is also available. There are also several bus services to other places like Mendipathar / Resubelpara & Nongalbibra from Williamnagar & Guwahati.
Google Map showing distance and route from Shillong to Williamnagar via Nongstoin and via Guwahati
TRANSPORT & ROAD COMMUNICATIONS
Two National Highways pass through the district, forming the backbone of the road communication in the district. The Paikan-Tura-Dalu highway passes through a little distance in the north-western part of the district and the Dudhnoi-Siju-Baghmara road passes through the eastern part of the district. Both these highways run north to south and both highways connects with NH 37 in Assam. The district also has a network of state highways and roads that connects important places within the district with the above mentioned national highways.