Meghalaya Forest

Meghalaya forest area is calculated around 8514 square kilometers out of the total area of the north eastern state which is 22429 square kilometers. Out of the total forest area, only 722.36 square kilometers of forests are controlled by the State Forest Department. The remaining areas are under the governance of the respective District Councils of Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills as per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

The forest of Meghalaya can be classified into two groups on the basis of the rainfall they receive, height at which they lie and the main species of flora and fauna available there. They are – tropical forest and temperate forests.

The tropical forest at Meghalaya is situated at a height of 1200 meters with an average rainfall between 100-250 centimeters annually. These forests of Meghalaya can further be classified into Dry deciduous, evergreen, moist and semi-evergreen forests.

The temperate forest in Meghalaya is situated at an altitude of 1000 meters with an average rainfall between 250-500 centimeters. These types of forests in Meghalaya are generally found in southern slope of Khasi and Jaintia Hills.

Out of the seven districts, South Garo Hills consists of a large cover of forest in Meghalaya i.e., 64.11% of the total forest area. It is followed by East Garo Hills(58.38%), West Garo Hills(54.45%), West Khasi Hills(53.52%), Ri Bhoi(50.24%), Jaintia Hills(46.13%) and East Khasi Hills(35.34%).

The forests of Meghalaya along with various waterfalls along side them offer a perfect venue for an outing or small vacation amidst the nature. Moreover, these Meghalaya forests also consists of a wide variety of wildlife and floras that makes the picture perfect.