Exploring the Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya: Part 1- Cherrapunjee

The land whose exotic rain-forests hide one of the most beautiful secrets of India- the ancient Living Root Bridges.

These Living Root Bridges, as the name suggests, are bridge like structures made from the roots of Fiscus Elastica. Interacting with locals, we found out that each living root bridge take at least about 10-15 years to become sturdy enough to hold human weight, and most of the living root bridges in the Khasi-Jaintia hills of Meghalaya are over 100 years old.

In this article, we’ll showcase a series of such bridges encountered by the author during his trek to a village called Nongriat near Cherrapunjee.

The trek starts about 3-4 kilometres from Nongriat, a village famous for its rare Double-Decker living root bridge.

Enroute the Nongriat Trek- Such views are abundant.

Infact, you can witness you first ever living root bridge about 30 minutes into the trek (2-3 kms before Nongriat). This one will be marked as ‘Single Decker living root bridge’ on the sign boards. (I am unable to recollect the name of the village where this bridge is present. Comment on this blog in case you happen to know the name. TIA!)
Ticket Cost for Single Decker Root Bridge: 10 INR.

Need to climb this bamboo structure to access the root bridge

About to catch the first sight in 3…2…1…

The Single-Decker Living Root Bridge

Another shot of the Living Root Bridge
(Apologies for the blurry shot, the camera was wet due to incessant rains)

The trek continues from this astounding structure towards the village of Nongriat.
Some of the scenic sights and structures that you’d see en-route include:

Amazing steel bridges over rain-fed streams of water

Some more spectacular views

And some more…

So you’ll reach Nongriat after a trek of at least 1.5 hours (totally worth it!). Prepared to be amazed by your first sight of the Double-Decker root bridge (DDRB).
Ticket Cost at the Double Decker Living root Bridge: 20 INR

The Double-Decker Root Bridge (DDRB) of Nongriat

The bottom half of the DDRB

The bottom half, as viewed from the top half, of the DDRB

The top half, as viewed from the bottom half, of the DDRB

Did I mention that this living root bridge overlooks a spectacular waterfall?

Clicked from the DDRB

So when are you planning your trek to the living root bridges of Meghalaya?

Want to see more of Meghalaya? Click here and here to access more images from this beautiful state.

-Vibhav Bisht

SR Travel Tip: If you ever get a chance to visit the godly Indian state of Meghalaya, make sure to visit a jaw dropping structure- The Bamboo Skywalk at Nohwet (near Mawlynnong). Click on the hyperlink for pictures of this amazing structure.

Follow Slow Rover on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
© Copyright for all the images owned by SlowRover and Vibhav Bisht.