Best Pizza Places in Cherrapunji: Where to Go for a Proper Slice

Cherrapunji is not the first place you think of when you are craving a proper slice. The town, perched at 1,484 meters in the East Khasi Hills, is better known for its living root bridges, relentless rainfall, and pork-and-rice joints than for wood-fired Neapolitan pies. But if you know where to look, the best pizza places in Cherrapunji are hiding in plain sight, tucked inside guesthouses, cafes, and even a few roadside eateries that have quietly figured out how to make a decent crust in a town where the rain can make dough behave unpredictably. I have eaten my way through most of them over the past several years, sometimes arriving soaked from a downpour, sometimes on a rare clear morning when the Bangladesh plains shimmer in the distance. This is the Cherrapunji pizza guide I wish someone had handed me the first time I landed here with a craving and no map.

Where to Eat Pizza in Cherrapunji: The Main Stretch

The town center of Cherrapunji, often called Sohra by locals, is small enough that you can walk from one end to the other in about twenty minutes. Most of the pizza action clusters along the main road that runs through the bazaar area and the stretch toward the tourist guesthouses near the outskirts. There is no metro here, no Uber, no Rapido. You get around on foot, by shared Sumo (the old white Tata Sumos that serve as shared taxis on the Shillong–Sohra route for around ₹80–₹120 per person), or by hiring a local taxi for a full day at roughly ₹1,500–₹2,000. Auto-rickshaws do not really exist in Cherrapunji, so forget that option entirely.

The main bazaar area has a handful of eateries that serve pizza alongside momos, thukpa, and Khasi food. Most of these places are open from around 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and they tend to close earlier during the monsoon months of June through September when tourist footfall drops sharply. Winter, from November to February, is when you will find the widest selection and the most reliable hours. The rain does not stop you from eating pizza, but it does make the roads to some of the more outlying cafes a muddy affair.

Cafe Cherrapunji (Main Bazaar)

Right on the main road, Cafe Cherrapunji is the spot most tourists stumble into because it is visible from the bus stop and has a hand-painted sign that includes the word "PIZZA" in large letters. The interior is basic, plastic chairs and a few tables near the window, but the oven works and the staff knows how to use it. A medium-sized Margherita runs about ₹180–₹220, and a chicken tikka pizza goes for around ₹250–₹300. The crust is thin-ish, closer to a hand-tossed Indian style than anything Italian, and the cheese is the processed Amul variety that melts into that familiar stretchy pull. It is not going to win awards, but after a morning spent walking to Nohkalikai Falls in damp clothes, it hits the place. The one thing most tourists do not know is that if you ask for extra chili flakes and a squeeze of local lime, the cook will oblige and the result is noticeably better. Go between 12:30 and 2:00 PM to avoid the lunch rush from the nearby government offices.

The Orange Sohra (Near Sohra Market)

The Orange Sohra is a small restaurant that sits just off the market lane, and it has been serving pizza for at least a decade, which in Cherrapunji terms makes it practically a legacy institution. The menu is a laminated sheet that covers everything from Khasi jadoh to Chinese chowmein to a section labeled "Italian Corner," which is where the pizza lives. A veg pizza here costs around ₹160–₹200, and a non-veg version is ₹220–₹280. The base is slightly thicker, almost focaccia-like, and the tomato sauce has a sweetness to it that suggests ketchup is involved, which is not necessarily a bad thing. What makes this place worth the detour is the view from the back window, which looks out over a small green valley that most visitors never see because they do not walk past the kitchen. The cook, a Khasi woman who has been here for years, will sometimes throw in a side of pickled bamboo shoots if she likes you. The downside is that the power cuts out frequently in the afternoon, and when it does, the oven goes cold and you are looking at a 30-minute wait. Bring a book.

Top Pizza Restaurants Cherrapunji: The Guesthouse Circuit

A surprising amount of decent pizza in Cherrapunji comes out of guesthouse kitchens. The town has dozens of homestays and small hotels catering to the steady trickle of tourists who come for the root bridges and the rain, and several of them have invested in ovens and trained their cooks to produce pizza that is, in some cases, better than what you get in the bazaar. These are not formal restaurants. You usually need to be a guest or call ahead to order, but most places are happy to serve outside visitors if you ask politely and give them an hour's notice.

Sohra Homestay Kitchen (Mawmluh Area)

About a fifteen-minute walk from the bazaar toward the direction of the Mawmluh cave, there is a cluster of homestays, and one of them, run by a family named Lyngdoh, has a kitchen that turns out a surprisingly competent wood-fired pizza. You will not find this place on any app. You have to ask around at the bazaar, and someone will point you toward the narrow lane that leads up to it. The pizza here costs ₹200–₹350 depending on toppings, and the crust has a slight char that suggests the oven actually gets hot enough, which is not a given in this part of the world. They use a mix of local hill cheese and regular mozzarella, and the tomato sauce is made from scratch with herbs that grow in the kitchen garden. A full pizza, enough for one hungry person, runs about ₹280–₹350 with chicken or mushroom toppings. The best time to come is after 6:00 PM, when the cook has finished the day's guest meals and has time to focus on your order. The one thing to know is that during the peak monsoon months of July and August, the path up to the homestay gets slippery and partially flooded, so wear proper shoes and be prepared to get your ankles wet.

Rain Cafe at a Cherrapunji Homestay (Thangkharang Park Road)

Along the road that leads toward Thangkharang Park and the viewpoint that looks into the Bangladesh plain, there is a small cafe attached to a guesthouse that goes by a few different names depending on who you ask. Locals tend to call it "the cafe near the park gate." The pizza here is oven-baked, not wood-fired, and the crust is on the softer side, but the toppings are generous and the price is fair at ₹150–₹250 for a personal-sized pie. They do a version with smoked pork that uses locally sourced meat, and it is one of the few places in town where the non-veg pizza actually tastes like it was made with intention rather than as an afterthought. The cafe itself is a simple covered patio with a few benches, and on a clear day, the view from the seating area is genuinely stunning. Most tourists walk right past it on their way to the park without noticing. The park entry fee is ₹20 for Indians and ₹50 for foreigners, and the cafe is just before the gate, so you can eat first and then walk it off. The minor complaint here is that the service is slow, not out of laziness but because the same person is cooking, serving, and handling the guesthouse front desk. Give them time.

Cherrapunji Pizza Guide: The Cafes Worth the Walk

Beyond the bazaar and the guesthouse circuit, there are a few standalone cafes and eateries that have made pizza part of their identity. These are the places where you are most likely to find a younger crowd, usually other travelers or students from Shillong who have come up for a weekend. The atmosphere in these spots tends to be more relaxed, and the pizza is often paired with decent coffee, which is itself a minor miracle in a town where instant Nescafe is still the default.

The Traveler's Table (Near Nohkalikai Falls Road)

This cafe sits on the road that leads to Nohkalikai Falls, about a ten-minute walk from the main town. It is a favorite among backpackers, and the walls are covered with notes and maps left by previous visitors. The pizza menu is short, four or five options, but the Margherita at ₹180 and the BBQ chicken at ₹260 are both solid. The crust is thin and slightly crispy on the edges, and they use a proper tomato sauce rather than ketchup, which puts them ahead of at least half the competition in town. A full meal with a pizza and a cold drink will run you ₹250–₹350. The best time to visit is mid-morning, around 10:30 AM, before the falls crowd arrives and the kitchen gets overwhelmed. The owner, a young man who spent a few years working in a restaurant in Shillong before coming back home, is happy to chat about the area and will often suggest a walk to a lesser-known viewpoint that is not in any guidebook. The one drawback is that the seating is entirely outdoors, and when the rain comes, and it will come, you are either eating under a tarp or sprinting for cover. From April to June, the afternoon heat at this elevation is manageable but the sun is strong, so a hat is useful.

Sohra Cafe and Pizza Corner (Upper Sohra)

Up in the upper part of town, past the church and the small cluster of shops that serve the local residential area, there is a place that calls itself Sohra Cafe and Pizza Corner. It is a no-frills setup, a few tables under a tin roof with a portable oven in the back, but the pizza is consistently good and the prices are among the lowest in town. A basic cheese pizza is ₹120–₹150, and a loaded veg or non-veg version tops out at around ₹220. The cook here learned the trade from a friend who worked in a pizza chain in Guwahati, and it shows in the way the dough is handled and the toppings are distributed evenly rather than piled in the center. This is a local hangout more than a tourist spot, so you will be sitting alongside school kids and shopkeepers, which is part of the charm. The best day to come is a weekday, because on weekends the place fills up with families and the wait can stretch past 30 minutes. Most tourists do not make it up to this part of town because it is not on the standard sightseeing route, but it is only a ten-minute walk from the main bazaar and the walk itself passes through a quiet residential lane with some of the oldest colonial-era buildings in Sohra.

Where to Eat Pizza Cherrapunji: The Shillong Connection

It would be dishonest to write about pizza in Cherrapunji without acknowledging that the town's proximity to Shillong, about 55 kilometers away, shapes the local food scene in real ways. Many of the cooks working in Cherrapunji's cafes trained in Shillong, and some of the ingredients, the cheese, the pepperoni, the pizza sauce, come from suppliers in the state capital. A few places in Cherrapunji are essentially outposts of Shillong restaurants, and the quality reflects that connection.

The Shillong Bakes Outlet (Cherrapunji Bazaar)

There is a small outlet in the bazaar area that is affiliated with a well-known Shillong bakery chain. It does not have a full kitchen, but it has a counter oven and a staff member who can assemble and bake a pizza in about 12 minutes. The options are limited, Margherita, veggie supreme, and a chicken version, all priced between ₹140 and ₹240. The crust is pre-made and shipped in from Shillong, so it lacks the freshness of a hand-rolled base, but the toppings are consistent and the cheese quality is a step above the local competition. This is the place to go if you want predictability. You know exactly what you are getting, and it will be the same pizza you could eat in Shillong. The outlet is open from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and it is busiest between 1:00 and 3:00 PM. The insider tip here is to ask for the "special sauce" that comes on the side, a chili-garlic condiment made in-house that elevates the entire experience. The downside is that there is almost no seating, just a narrow ledge by the counter, so most people take their pizza to eat on a bench outside or back at their guesthouse.

A Homestay with a Shillong-Trained Cook (Mawsmai Area)

In the Mawsmai area, closer to the famous Mawsmai Cave, there is a homestay where the cook previously worked at a popular pizza restaurant in Shillong's Laitumkhrah neighborhood. The pizza here is not on a printed menu. You have to ask for it, and ideally order it a few hours in advance. A personal pizza with your choice of toppings costs ₹200–₹300, and the quality is noticeably better than most of what you will find in the bazaar. The dough is made fresh, the sauce is seasoned with oregano and basil that actually taste like oregano and basil, and the cheese is a proper mozzarella that browns and bubbles in the oven. This is the closest thing to a proper pizza you will find in the Cherrapunji area, and it is worth the effort of tracking down. The homestay itself is clean and quiet, with rooms going for ₹800–₹1,500 per night, and the family is warm and welcoming. The one thing to be aware of is that the road to Mawsmai can be difficult during heavy rain, with water flowing across the surface and small landslides not uncommon in July and August. Check conditions before you head out.

The Monsoon Factor: Eating Pizza in the Rain

Cherrapunji's reputation as one of the wettest places on earth is not exaggerated. The town receives an average annual rainfall of over 11,000 millimeters, and the monsoon season, which runs roughly from June to September, transforms the landscape into a dripping, misty, gloriously green spectacle. It also makes getting around more complicated. Some of the cafes and guesthouses that serve pizza reduce their hours or close entirely during the worst of the rains, and the roads to outlying areas can become impassable. If you are visiting specifically for pizza, plan your trip for the drier months, October through March, when the skies are clearer and the cafes are fully operational. That said, there is something deeply satisfying about eating a hot, cheesy pizza while rain hammers on the tin roof above you. The sound, the smell of wet earth drifting in through the open windows, the warmth of the oven, it is an experience that is hard to replicate anywhere else. Just bring a rain jacket and accept that you will be damp for most of your visit.

Local Tips for Pizza Hunters in Cherrapunji

If you are serious about finding good pizza in Cherrapunji, here is what I have learned from years of trial and error. First, always call ahead or ask your guesthouse to call on your behalf. Many of the best pizza spots do not have regular hours and operate on an order basis, meaning the cook needs advance notice to prepare the dough and preheat the oven. Second, be flexible with your expectations. This is not Naples or New York. The ovens are often basic, the cheese is usually Amul or a local equivalent, and the toppings reflect what is available in a hill town that is hours from the nearest major city. That said, the best places in Cherrapunji make up for limitations in equipment with care and creativity. Third, carry cash. Almost none of the smaller cafes and homestays accept UPI or cards, and the nearest ATM is in the bazaar area, which may or may not have cash on any given day. Budget around ₹200–₹350 per person for a pizza meal including a drink, and you will be well within range for most of the places mentioned here.

When to Go and What to Know

The best time to visit Cherrapunji for a pizza-focused trip is between October and March, when the rainfall is lower, the roads are more reliable, and the cafes are open at consistent hours. November and December are particularly good, with clear skies and cool temperatures that make walking between eateries pleasant. The monsoon months of June through September are dramatic and beautiful, but expect disruptions. Some places close, some roads flood, and the general dampness can make outdoor seating uncomfortable. Summer, April and May, is warm but manageable at this elevation, and the town is quieter, which means shorter waits at popular spots. Getting to Cherrapunji from Shillong takes about 1.5 to 2 hours by shared Sumo or private taxi. The shared Sumos leave from Shillong's police bazaar area throughout the day and cost ₹80–₹120 per person. A private taxi from Shillong will run ₹1,500–₹2,500 one way depending on your bargaining skills. There is no train service to Cherrapunji, and the nearest airport is Shillong's Umroi Airport, which has limited connectivity. Most travelers fly into Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport and then drive or take a bus to Shillong, continuing to Cherrapunji from there. A daily budget for a mid-tier traveler in Cherrapunji, covering a guesthouse room at ₹800–₹1,500, meals at ₹300–₹600, and local transport at ₹100–₹300, comes to roughly ₹1,500–₹2,500 per day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cherrapunji expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget in ₹ for mid-tier travelers covering accommodation, food, and local transport.**

Cherrapunji is moderately priced by Indian hill-station standards. A mid-tier traveler can expect to spend ₹1,500–₹2,500 per day, covering a guesthouse room at ₹800–₹1,500, meals at ₹300–₹600, and local transport at ₹100–₹300. Shared Sumos from Shillong cost ₹80–₹120, and a private taxi for a full day runs ₹1,500–₹2,000. Entry fees to most natural attractions are ₹20–₹50 for Indian nationals.

How easy is it to find pure vegetarian or Jain food options in Cherrapunji, and are most restaurants clearly marked as veg or non-veg?

Pure vegetarian food is available but not abundant. Most eateries in Cherrapunji serve both veg and non-veg, and the non-veg options tend to dominate, particularly pork and chicken. Vegetarian pizzas are widely available at the cafes listed above, but Jain-specific options are rare. Restaurants are not always clearly marked as veg or non-veg, so it is best to ask directly. The bazaar area has a few dedicated veg eateries that serve rice, dal, and vegetable curries.

What is the one must-try local dish or street food that Cherrapunji is genuinely famous for, and where is the best place to eat it?

Cherrapunji is not particularly famous for a specific street food, but the local Khasi dish jadoh, a rice and pork preparation cooked with turmeric and local spices, is the standout. It is available at most local eateries in the bazaar area for ₹80–₹150 per plate. For something lighter, the Khasi momos, filled with pork or vegetables, are widely available and cost ₹50–₹100 for a plate of eight.

Is tap water safe to drink in Cherrapunji, or should travelers rely on sealed bottled water, and is filtered water readily available at dhabas and restaurants?

Tap water in Cherrapunji is not considered safe for drinking by most travelers. Sealed bottled water is widely available at shops in the bazaar for ₹20–₹30 per liter. Most guesthouses and cafes will provide filtered water if you ask, and many have water filters installed. Carrying a reusable bottle and refilling at your accommodation is the most practical approach.

Are there dress code requirements for visiting temples, mosques, gurudwaras, or heritage monuments in Cherrapunji, and are entry restrictions common for non-Hindus?

Cherrapunji is predominantly a Khasi town with a strong Christian presence, and there are no major temples, mosques, or gurudwaras with strict dress codes in the immediate area. The local Khasi sacred forests, known as law kyntang or law lyngdoh, have customary restrictions that are more about behavior than dress, visitors are expected to be respectful and not remove anything from the forest. There are no entry restrictions based on religion at any of the natural attractions or heritage sites in the Cherrapunji area.