Mawsynram (wettest place)
마우신람 (가장 비가 많은 곳)
Often called the wettest place on Earth: this village in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, India, gets about 11,870 mm of rain a year, mostly in the monsoon. Waterfalls pour into its rain-soaked gorges, where Khasi villagers grow bridges from the living roots of rubber fig trees.
See it on the 3D globe →At a glance
- Country
- India
Quick answers
Where is Mawsynram (wettest place)?
Mawsynram (wettest place) is in India.
Mawsynram is a village in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya state in northeastern India, about 69 km from the state capital, Shillong. It sits at roughly 1,400 m above sea level, about 15 km west of Cherrapunji. It is often named the wettest place on Earth, with an average of about 11,900 mm of rain a year, which is nearly twelve metres.
Almost all of this rain falls during the summer monsoon, the season when winds bring moist air from the sea. From December to February it is much drier. Because of the altitude it rarely gets truly hot, with average monthly temperatures from about 11 degrees Celsius in January to just over 20 degrees in August.
Why so much rain?
The Khasi Hills catch the moist monsoon air coming from the south, forcing it up the slopes where it cools and falls as rain. That is why the area has a long, extremely rainy season and a short dry one. Under the Koppen climate system, Mawsynram counts as a subtropical highland climate. Records show over 10,000 mm in a typical year.
Is it really the wettest?
The title is disputed. Two places in Colombia, Lloro and Lopez de Micay, have reported even higher yearly averages for the periods measured there. Mawsynram is certainly the wettest place in India. Records include about 26,000 mm in the year 1985 according to Guinness World Records and 1,003 mm in a single day on 17 June 2022. Wherever the true winner lies, both places show how strongly a mountain slope can wring water from monsoon air.
Fun facts
- This village in India's Khasi Hills gets about 11,900 mm of rain a year, mostly during the summer monsoon.
- On 17 June 2022 it got about 1,003 mm of rain in 24 hours.
- Its winters are quite dry: December to February usually bring under 30 mm a month.
- Neighbouring Cherrapunji is only about 15 km away and is also famous for rain.
On the globe
Look for Meghalaya in northeastern India, just north of Bangladesh.
Nearby on the globe
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14