Meghalaya's living root bridges: Nongriat and Mawlynnong

A living root bridge is a footbridge that is grown, not built. Khasi and War Khasi villagers in the southern hills of Meghalaya guide the aerial roots of the Indian rubber fig, Ficus elastica, across a stream, often along a hollowed areca trunk or a bamboo frame. Once the roots reach the far bank they take hold and thicken. A new bridge can take decades before it will carry people, and a mature one can last for centuries, growing stronger with age instead of rotting like timber in a place with this much rain.

Dozens survive in the valleys below Sohra and on the slopes that fall towards Bangladesh. They are maintained by the villages that use them, and new ones are still being started. In 2022 India added the root bridge landscapes of Meghalaya to its UNESCO tentative list, a step towards nomination rather than an inscription. For a traveller, two bridges matter most: the double-decker at Nongriat, which needs a real walk, and the single span at Riwai beside Mawlynnong, which almost anyone can reach.

Nongriat has no road. The walk starts at Tyrna, about 15 km and 30 minutes below Sohra, and drops on a long stairway of concrete steps, usually counted at about 3,000, through forest and groves of betel nut and bay leaf. On the way you cross the Umshiang river on two steel suspension bridges that sway as you walk. The double-decker sits at the bottom, at about 600 m, with two spans grown one above the other across the same stream and a third tier started above them.

The descent is harder on the knees than most people expect, and the climb back is the real test. Most fit walkers take 5 to 6 hours for the round trip, including an hour at the bridges. From November to April the stream below settles into clear blue-green pools, and swimming is allowed in marked spots. Rainbow Falls lies about 1.5 hours further upstream; it is worth the extra effort only if you sleep in one of Nongriat's simple village guesthouses.

• Start: Tyrna, about 15 km and 30 minutes from Sohra
• Steps: about 3,000 each way, steep but well built
• Round trip: 5 to 6 hours for fit walkers
• Carry: 2 litres of water each, a snack, shoes with grip

For travellers who cannot manage the steps, the single root bridge at Riwai is the answer. It sits a short walk down from the road beside Mawlynnong, about 80 km and 2.5 hours from Shillong, and shows the same craft: rubber fig roots trained across a forest stream and woven into a firm walkway. You can stand on it, watch the roots knot into the rock and be back at the car within 30 minutes.

Mawlynnong itself is a Khasi village of a few hundred people, known for swept lanes, bamboo dustbins and flower gardens. A bamboo platform built around a tall tree looks over the forest to the plains of Bangladesh. Since January 2026 the village has barred day visitors on Sundays, while overnight guests are exempt; check current status before you travel. We pair it with the clear Umngot river at Dawki, arriving in Mawlynnong after lunch, once the morning groups have gone.

Sohra is among the wettest places in India, and that decides everything. The southwest monsoon arrives in late May or early June and stays until September. The bridges look their most dramatic then, with streams in spate and every slope running with water, but the steps are slick, leeches are out and the pools are unsafe for swimming. October to April is the walking season, and the water is clearest from November.

If you are combining Meghalaya with Kaziranga, the park generally opens in November and closes for the monsoon, so the overlap with the root bridge season is generous; check current status before you travel. For photographers, October gives the greenest slopes on walkable steps, and February the clearest water and the softest light under the forest canopy.

Since mid-2025, registered local guides have been required for treks in East Khasi Hills, including the Nongriat walk, and we book them in advance alongside your driver. Guides come from the surrounding villages, which keeps money in the places that keep the bridges alive, and they know which side paths are open after rain. The Nongriat trail has also been reported to close on Sundays. Both rules are recent, so check current status before you travel.

Small fees apply at most bridges, viewpoints and parking areas, so carry cash in small notes. The villages ask for quiet and respect: keep to the path, take every wrapper out with you, and ask before photographing people or homes. Do not pull at the roots or climb on the handrails for a picture. A bridge that has taken 50 years to grow can be damaged in an afternoon of careless visitors.

The walk is easiest from a bed close to the trailhead. We base guests in Sohra, ideally in the Laitkynsew area a short drive above Tyrna, so the descent can begin at about 7 am, ahead of the heat and the day trippers. Rooms in Sohra are comfortable rather than grand, and we choose them for location, hot water and a good kitchen. One night there turns a punishing day into a pleasant one.

Shillong, about 55 km and 1.5 to 2 hours from Sohra, has the better hotels. Ri Kynjai sits above Umiam lake on the Guwahati road north of the city, with wooden cottages in a Khasi style, and Tripura Castle is a heritage hotel in the former summer home of the Tripura royal family. Walking Nongriat as a day trip from either is possible but makes a 12 hour day, and we suggest it only for very fit walkers.

Guwahati is the gateway, about 100 km and 3 hours by road from Shillong, with direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Our seven-night Meghalaya journey covers Shillong, Sohra, the root bridges, Mawlynnong and Dawki, from ₹2,10,000 per person. With ten nights you can add Kaziranga's rhinos and a tea estate in Assam, from ₹3,40,000 per person.

A short walk to a single bridge suits families with young children and anyone with bad knees; Riwai is the one to choose. Nongriat suits teenagers and adults who walk regularly and are happy with 5 hours on steps. If one of you wants Nongriat and the other does not, the second can spend the morning at Sohra's waterfalls and viewpoints with the car, and meet the walker for a late lunch.

• 2 nights in Shillong, at Ri Kynjai or Tripura Castle
• 2 nights in Sohra, for Nongriat and the falls
• 1 long day for Mawlynnong, Riwai and Dawki
• Optional: Kaziranga and the Balipara tea country