WAH THYLLONG, Nongjri - Therria (Krem)
25.185600,91.805600
Description
NOTE 1: »That most graceful species of the palm, the tall and feathery areca« (BURTON, Richard F 1851: Goa and the Blue Mountains or six months of sick leave.- London: Richard Bentley, chapter 11 Malabar).
Two neighbouring, NNE-facing cave entrances, of which one is 1.5 m wide and 2.2 m high, and the other 1 m wide and 0.6 m high, give access to the relic of a phreatic resurgence with an ascending subterranean estuary. Formerly a vauclusian spring, this cave is currently abandoned by flowing water and consists of mostly horizontal, dry cave passage containing white coloured aragonite or secondary calcite deposits (speleothems). ETYMOLOGY: The Khasi "u thyllong" (noun) is the name of a shrub growing on riversides and bearing "u soh thyllong" or small fruits (SINGH, N 1906: 230) but "u tyllong" (also: tlong) is the word for »a stock« (e.g. of bottled alcoholic drinks made from yeast-fermented malt flavored with hops, etc.) and the Khasi noun "ka tyllong" signifies not only »a handle« (of a knife) but also »the source of a river« (SINGH, N 1906: 239). SITUATION: South and below the village of Nongjri (N25°11'30”: E091°47'30”) on a spur crowned with jungle-clad karst pinnacles. APPROACH: Travelling a kilometre or two along the road from the lowest house of Nongjri, a limestone "castle" or cluster of karst pinnacles can be seen peeping from the jungle covering the ridge opposite the road. Where the road curves around an outcrop of sandstone to the left, an overgrown track with steps descends about 75 vertical metres down to the riverbed of the Wah Thyllong. Approximately 40 to 50 vertical metres above the western (orographically right) bank of the river, a serrated limestone cliff, less than 15 m high, crowns a steep slope of fallen boulders and what had been in February 1998 a plantation of elegant, slender trunked betel-nut palms, Areca catechu (note 1). CAVE DESCRIPTION: Wriggling through spaces between fallen rocks at the bottom of the cliff leads to two more or less parallel, walking-sized and speleothem infested cave passages, which descend down along the strata (local dip: 35° towards 200° or south-south-west). About 10 m and 15 m in, the two passages unite, later turn to the east, and continue, now along the strike of the local strata, as a 40 m long, sand-floored, and walking sized cave passage (on average 3 m wide and high) which deteriorates in size and eventually leads to a T-junction closed at both ends.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | MAWKANONG, Wah Thyllong (Krem) | ||
| 0.5 | LUM BNAI (Krem) | ||
| 0.5 | KURDROT (Krem) | ||
| 0.6 | LUBON - LUM BNAI (Krem) | ||
| 0.7 | PRIANG, Nongjri - Therria (Krem) | ||
| 0.8 | DUKABOR (Krem) | ||
| 0.9 | LONGKURDOM (Krem) | ||
| 1.0 | DIENGNGAI (Krem) | ||
| 1.0 | KHRIANG (Krem) |