Meet Mawsynram, a small village in the northeastern state of Meghalaya, India. This place doesn’t just get rain—it gets rained on like someone left the cosmic shower running. It holds the Guinness World Record for the highest average annual rainfall, clocking in at about 11,871 millimeters (or roughly 467 inches). That’s forty feet of rain a year.
To put that in perspective: imagine a two-story house. Now imagine that house completely buried under water every twelve months. Yeah, you’d need gills. The locals don’t even bother with umbrellas—they use knups, which are huge, umbrella-like shields woven from bamboo and banana leaves. Fashionable and functional.
But Wait—There’s a Rival!
Right next door, about 15 kilometers away, sits the town of Cherrapunji. For a long time, Cherrapunji held the title, and it still gets a mind-boggling 11,430 millimeters annually. The two villages are like competitive siblings fighting over a soggy trophy. “No, I’m the wettest!” “No, me!” Meanwhile, everyone else is just trying to dry their socks.
The real kicker? Both places experience a monsoon season that lasts from June to September. During that time, it’s not uncommon for it to rain nonstop for weeks. You don’t check the weather forecast there; you just assume it’s going to rain and plan accordingly. Waterfalls appear overnight on cliffsides where there were none before.
10 Rainiest Places - Hello Travel Buzz
