Nature india bridge river jungles roots trees meghalaya north east india shillong root natural engineering. Meghalaya is one of the most popular states for tourists in north east india. In these instances the roots are wrapped around the outside of the perishable material. Its home to living root bridges clear water lakes inspiring nature and more. Cherrapunji is also known for the unique and fascinating living root bridges.
The meghalaya community is the use of natural bridges. Cherrapunji a town in north east india which is known to be the second wettest place on earth is also known for its living bridges. The guinness book of records regularly sites the village of cherrapunjee as being the rainiest place on earth an honour which is hotly disputed by neighbouring mawsynram about 10 miles to its east. And they must be preserved well for they are true wonders.
Some of them have also been located in sumatra and java province of indonesia. Root bridge generation using a wood or bamboo scaffold. By training the roots and branches of trees villagers have created a vast infrastructure of living bridges that span rivers and moreas time goes on these roots continue to develop and grow stronger making the bridge itself even sturdier no maintenance required. Here the bridges arent built but grown.
In meghalaya there is a double decker living root bridge in cherrapunji. Cherrapunjee is north east indias scotland of the east home to waterfalls khasi hills endless treks and the double decker root bridges youll never want to leave. They are very less in number. The east khasi hills site of the many living root bridges constructed by the khasi tribe have one quite major claim to fame.
There are 11 functional root bridges in this area situated around two and a half hours drive from shillong. Yet there are places on the sub continent which are still almost inaccessible. In a scene played out every weekday morning students of the rclp school in nongsohphan village meghalaya india cross a bridge grown from the roots of a tree root bridge india root bridges are found in several places in india and date back centuries. In the relentless damp wooden structures rot away too quickly.
The living bridges are made from the roots of ficus elastica tree whose secondary roots grow above the ground surface. The wettest place on earth. Meghalaya in the north east of the country is home to mountainous subtropical forests. India has a population of over a billion and our ideas about the country are often informed by that statistic.