Shillong has no useful airport of its own — the small Umroi field handles only a sporadic ATR service from Kolkata. The standard approach is via Guwahati, in Assam, which has direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, and most major Indian cities, plus weekly international links to Singapore and Bangkok.
From Guwahati Airport or railway station, shared Tata Sumo taxis are the workhorse — they leave from near Paltan Bazar throughout the day and take about three hours to Shillong, dropping passengers at Police Bazar. Reserved private taxis cost around four to five times more. State and private buses run the same route in three to four hours.
Helicopter shuttles operated by Pawan Hans connect Guwahati and Shillong in around twenty minutes, but schedules are erratic and frequently cancelled in monsoon.
The road from Guwahati climbs steadily through Assam plains, past the Umiam Lake viewpoint (a popular photo stop), before topping out at Shillong's plateau.