Facts and Figures of Cheerapunji
Cheerapunji has a lot of facts from traditional, historical, geographical, and world known records.- Cherrapunji holds two Guinness books of World Records for receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single year. The records are 22,987 mm of rainfall between August 1860 and July 1861 and for receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single month, 9,300 mm in July 1861.
- Sohra was the original name of Cherrapunji. The British used to call it Churra. Later Churra became Cherrapunji. The government of Meghalaya has renamed Cherrapunji to Sohra.
- Khasis are the predominant community in East Khasi Hills . The history of the Khasis may be traced to the 16th century. The Khasi people were ruled by the chiefs of Khyrtim in the Khasi hills. The Khasi hills came under the British in 1883.
- The literal meaning of Cherrapunji is land of oranges. Despite being one of the places having the highest amount of rainfall, Cherrapunji faces water shortage. Residents of the place have to fetch water from the nearby areas. Irrigation is hampered due to excessive rain washing away topsoil.
- Asahi TV, Japan in June 2004 made a documentary on Double Decker Root Bridge by Mr.Osamu Monden.
- On BBC, Double Decker Root Bridge in 2008 for its series "The Human Planet' was filmed by Wales.
| Elevation |
1,484 m (4,869 ft) |
| Population (2011) | 14,816 |
| Density |
397/km2 (1,030/sq mi) |
| Official Language |
English |
| Time zone |
IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Telephone code |
03637 |
| Precipitation |
11,777 millimetres (463.7 in) |
| Temperature | 11.5 °C (52.7 °F) in January 20.6 °C (69.1 °F) in July |
| Annual mean | 17.3 °C (63.1 °F) |