#root bridges

Living root bridges of Meghalaya, India || Daniel Kordan

Located outside the Indian town of Rangthylliang in Meghalaya, the article refers to this one as Rangthylliang 5.

“Sadly, the bridge has been damaged very recently. A tree has fallen over onto the lower span, and if you weren't paying close attention, you might not even realize that the bridge was a multiple span structure. That being said, the span that was hit does not seem to have been badly damaged, it's just partially hidden under a big tree. If there was somebody in the area who was sufficiently motivated (and there does not seem to be at the moment), they could probably repair the living root bridge. However, just in the last couple of days, as I was scouring the internet to see if there was any other information on the bridges in this area, I found something that makes this bridge even more exceptional. It may be the world's only known example of a "Trip Decker" living root bridge. A very local Khasi hiking club put up a photo of the living root bridge from two years ago on their Facebook page. This was before the tree fell, and what the photo shows is actually three spans. At the time I visited, I didn't see a third span. It might have been destroyed, or it might have been hidden by the fallen tree. Also, there is the possibility that the third span is actually an entirely separate living root bridge, grown from another tree. Still, whether it is a double or triple decker structure, Rangthylliang 5 illustrates that the diversity of living root bridges, and of living root architecture in general, is vastly greater than than the world assumes.”

Root Bridges Part 3: The Mawshuit Bridge

On the Muor River, northwest of Mawshuit, Meghalaya, India

Myndring is a small Khasi village on a ridge downhill from Pynursla. While not very far from the town as the crow flies, it is still very remote, being only accessible on foot via a steep stairway. 

I was told in Myndring that I was the first tourist to visit within living memory, so the living root bridges pictured below had probably not been seen by an outsider before.

Bridge 1:

Bridge 2:

I was told that sign said, if effect, that the village council had forbade local villagers from taking hacks at the bridge with machetes. Once again, you can see here that the roots on the bridge look to be well over two feet thick, making it yet another very ancient structure

Bridge 3:

Located outside the Indian town of Rangthylliang in Meghalaya.

  ^ Bridge 9: Two things set it apart. The first is that, as I remember it, this bridge is higher up off its stream than any I've come across. If memory serves, the stream was something like 100 meters below. Needless to say, a fatal drop. The living root bridge crosses a deep canyon. Unfortunately, at least as far as photography is concerned, it's right in front of a waterfall (dry at the time I visited) and therefore its almost impossible to capture its great height in a photograph (in the time I had...we moved on pretty quickly). A picture looking straight down from the bridge doesn't look like anything. The second thing that sets it apart is that the bridge is another double span structure, but in this case, it's (sic) two spans are at a ninety degree angle to one another, an arrangement which I've never seen elsewhere.

^ Bridge 10

^Bridge 13

Rangthylliang 14 in the foreground, with 15 in the background. Why the original planters put the two living root bridges so close together is an interesting (though probably unanswerable) question.

^ Bridge 15

Root Bridges Post 4: RANGTHYLLIANG Bridge #11 Located outside the Indian town of Rangthylliang in Meghalaya. 

Photo: Nisa + Ulli Maier - flickr

The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji

SHILLONG, INDIA

Centuries-old bridges grown from tangled roots.

Umshiang Double Decker Living Root Bridge in Cherrapunjee | Meghalaya, India

Photo: Marcus Fornell - flickr

Photo: roman korzh - flickr