Living Root Bridges

Cherrapunji is one of the wettest places, situated in the northeastern part of India. This amazing place consists of many living bridges. Yes! This is true, here, bridges aren’t built - they are grown. These living bridges are made from the secondary roots of Ficus elastica, a rubber tree. The secondary roots of the tree are the ideal material for building the bridges.

The process of building a natural bridge takes so many years, sometimes even centuries, but the result is very strong and the bridges look like the one from the fantasy world. The natural bridges are created by the root guidance system. The trunks of betel nut tree are hollowed out to cover and protect the young secondary roots of Ficus elastica.

The roots are guided properly to grow over the water sources and on the other end the roots are allowed to pass through the soil. Some years later, the guidance system can be removed as the root itself become strong enough to grow properly. It takes about fifteen years for these natural bridges to become strong enough, and it can be used even after 500 years.

The Khasis people, local tribes in these areas place stones and boulders over these bridges for smooth crossing and these bridges are very sturdy to sustain more than fifty people at a time. The famous Umshiang Double-Decker Root Bridge is seen in this area, and this is actually two bridges placed one above the other. Another incredible fact is that these bridges are still growing and they are alive.