The bridges are not just a means of crossing lakes or walking over a scenic area but are a beautiful treasure of natural architecture responsible for capturing people's attention. Many of these bridges have been built so brilliantly that they have become the center of tourist interest, enticing tourists from around the world. But not all bridges have been constructed by architects or engineers as some bridges look spectacular due to the incredible work of both nature and humans.
India is home to some natural Living root bridges, a kind of simple suspension bridge made from the roots of living plants by shaping the tree, mostly found in the southern part of the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. Incidentally, it is a state on earth where there is excess rainfall and due to continuous rains, the rivers remain in spate which makes it difficult to travel. For the past 180 years, residents of two districts of Meghalaya - East Khasi Hills District and West Jaintia Hills District - have been using Living Root Bridges to cross rivers and streams flowing through dense tropical forests.
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Hearing the name of the Living Root Bridge of Cherrapunji (also known as Sohra), especially made from rubber trees, creates a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure in the mind, presenting a wonderful view of nature located in Meghalaya. This stunning bridge is considered to be a beautiful example of the bonding of humans and nature.
The river floods usually occur in Meghalaya during the monsoon season, and in the olden times, people used to build bamboo bridges, but due to heavy rains and storms, these man-made bridges could not stand for long. So after this, the tribal people started to plant Indian rubber trees on both sides of the river, because its roots could bend and fold in any shape. But this process was not easy at all, it took about 10 to 15 years to give these roots the shape of a bridge, as the roots continued to grow, people kept giving them the shape of a bridge.
These kinds of bridges are made from the roots of a tree called the Ficus elastic tree or Indian rubber tree. In the past few years, people here have seen this tree and discovered the quality of its roots, which were elastic and able to be tied, as well as being very strong. Consequently, they used these trees brilliantly by giving them the beautiful shapes of bridges to let them cross the rivers easily. Some of such bridges are up to a hundred feet in length.
When needed, the locals give direction to the tree and also give their precious time, and then after many years, these trees come to the position that the roots of the trees on both sides are tied together. These bridges are also strong enough to bear the weight of 50 people at once.
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Another fact is that these roots always remain alive and growing, so their strength also keeps increasing. Once this bridge is built, it lasts for several centuries and gets even stronger over time. The age of these bridges is estimated to be 500 years old. Some bridges are also built in such a way that they are on top of each other and are called Double Decker Living Root Bridges.
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