Learn how a root bridge is grown
The bridges at Nongriat are not ruins or monuments; they are working structures that the village repairs and extends. The method is patient. A rubber fig is planted or chosen on the stream bank, and its thin aerial roots are guided across the water along hollowed areca palm trunks or bamboo scaffolds. When they reach the far side they root into the soil, thicken and are woven together, with stones packed in to form a walking surface.
A young bridge may take 15 to 30 years to carry people, and it grows stronger as it ages, unlike a timber bridge that rots in this climate. At Nongriat a third level has been started above the double-decker, and your guide can show where young roots are being trained across.
We arrange this as an unhurried hour during the root bridge walk, with a guide from the area who can translate and explain. It is a conversation rather than a demonstration, and depends on who is in the village that day. Researchers and architects have studied these bridges as a model of living infrastructure, and the villages are rightly proud of them.
Questions travellers ask
Good to know
How long does it take to grow a living root bridge?
Usually 15 to 30 years before a bridge can safely carry people, and longer to reach full strength. The roots of the rubber fig are guided across a stream using areca trunks or bamboo, then rooted and woven together. Well-kept bridges can last for centuries and strengthen as they age.
What tree are living root bridges made from?
They are made from the aerial roots of the Indian rubber fig, Ficus elastica, which grows well along streams in the southern Khasi and Jaintia hills. Its roots are strong, flexible and quick to thicken, which makes them ideal for training across water.
How old is the double-decker root bridge?
No exact date is recorded. Villagers and researchers generally describe it as well over a century old, with its two levels developed over time. Because the bridges are living and constantly maintained, their age is hard to fix precisely, and a third level is now being started.
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