Nartiang Hills Meghalaya

Holding sheer archaeological and historic importance, Nartiang is a beautiful place in the Jaintia Hills district of the North Eastern state Meghalaya. It is dotted with several monoliths and majority of them are located near the local market Mawlong. The presence of several monoliths in this market give it its rightly earned title 'Garden of Monoliths'. Of all, the tallest monolith rises to a height of 8 m and has a breadth of 2 m. This monolith was built by the great Jaintia hero Mar Phalyngki who was given this responsibility by the then Jaintia king.

Nartiang also boasts of an ancient temple named Nartiang Durga Temple which is a Shakti Peeth. It was built in the 16th century by a Jaintia king who was greatly influenced by Hinduism. The priests at the temple claim to be the 28th generation of their ancestors. The temple is located on the top of a hill overlooking the river Myndu. The ritual of human sacrifice was prevalent in the temple till the 19th century. The 'Boli Garbha' is the sacrificial place in the basement of the temple. Earlier, this place was connected to the river Myndu through a steep tunnel. It is said that after the sacrifice the head used to roll down into the river. There is a Shiva temple located near the Durga temple. This temple houses the old guns belonging to the Jaintia kings.