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Living bridges or root bridges are commonly found in Meghalaya, India.
These Living Bridges are natural yet man-made as they are built by Khasi people and War Jaintia locals from Shillong.
Read on to know some interesting titbits about these unique bridges:
- These bridges are build out of the aerial roots of living banyan or fig trees.
- There is a process which the local people has been following to build such humongous creative bridges.
- The process takes around 15 years for a single bridge to get complete.
- The lifespan of this bridge is not fixed they may vary.
- As the roots grow thicker, the strength of the bridge also increases.
- A Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal written by Lieutenant H Yule in the year 1844 had the very first mention about living root bridge
- The longest known Living Bridge is about 50 meters.
- There are many double-decker Living Bridges as well, but the most famous the “Double Decker” root bridge is in Nongriat Village.
- In total there are three double-decker root bridges. Two are in the West Jaintia Hills near the villages of Padu and Nongbareh. One is in Burma Village, in the East Khasi Hills.
- Furthermore, in West Jaintia hill district there are villages where we can find these bridges- Shnongpdeng, Nongbareh, Khonglah, Padu, and Kudeng Rim.
- In the East Khasi Hills, the villages in Cherrapunji, Nongpriang, Sohkynduh, Rymmai, Lawsuit, and Kongthong are a home to living root bridges.
- Also, these two are the of the most common districts where you can find these living root bridges.
Did you ever be to these places? Or would you like to? Do let us know your thoughts in comments below.