Do you know about the Cherry Blossom Festival in Shillong this November?

The popular flowers, which are all over Instagram, are also synonymous with Japan’s beauty, and are seen lining Washington DC and Brooklyn in the US, as well as parts of Paris and Spain.

While the flowers bloom in Japan during the spring, in Northeast India, the colours arrive a tad earlier in November.

The India International Cherry Blossom Festival-2019 is the fourth edition. (Photo: Thinkstock Images)

The India International Cherry Blossom Festival-2019 is organised by the Government of Meghalaya in association with Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD).

In Shillong, the festival is being held across different venues, namely the Polo 5th Ground, State Convention Centre, Golf Course, JN Stadium and Indoor Stadium Polo.

The festival hosts a plethora of activities such as live music gigs, a beauty pageant, and stalls showcasing the cuisine, wine, arts and craft of the region. Travellers can also enjoy illuminated cherry blossoms and fine dining at Ward’s Lake.

Not only that there will also be a rock concert along with unplugged western music and dance performances from all over Northeast India. The event will also house choir performances, bicycle rallies and storytelling sessions. What else could one want?

Visitors too can even bring their golf set along to participate in the amateur golf tournament. All events are free and open to all.

Check out the itinerary for the festival below.

Here is our final calendar of events – and we are just 3 weeks away ! Shillong’s 4th India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2019- will celebrate the unique autumn flowering of Himalayan Cherry Blossoms with several cultural events at Shillong, Meghalaya from 13-16Nov2019 pic.twitter.com/0zSZE0evkM

— India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2019 (@india_cbfest) October 23, 2019

This November, come to Shillong to witness the autumn Cherry Blossoms at the 4th India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2019 (Nov 13-16, 2019) – full calendar of events at https://t.co/2PiUj71nwx pic.twitter.com/KCAb40sDQr

— India International Cherry Blossom Festival 2019 (@india_cbfest) October 30, 2019

Getting there: You can fly to Shillong from some major cities through Kolkata, though it’s more convenient to fly through Guwahati and drive three hours to Shillong. If you’re planning to hire a self-driven car from Guwahati to Shillong, consider that the bylanes in the town are narrow and steep, and traffic can be tiring — a 2km stretch can take up to an hour at peak times, and there are barely any parking spots in the main area.