Get ready to revel in a breathtaking scenery. If you are in Meghalaya take a trekking trip to the living root bridge or the firming Double decker root bridge. This bridge is in Cherrapunji city of India.
The living root bridge of Meghalaya
India is a country which is full of many dense forests. Many of which have some natural attractions hidden in the forest that can surprise everyone. One such natural attraction is hidden in Cherrapunji, Meghalaya state of India. Also it attracts a large number of tourists. We are talking about Umashiang Double Decker Living Root Bridge . It is also known as “Double Decker Living Root Bridge” and living root bridge.
Of course this region is famous for the root bridges of rubber tree. But the firming Double decker root bridge is the largest and most famous among them all. Let me tell you that this bridge is about 50 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. The Umshiang River flows under the Double Decker Living Root Bridge and is an outstanding example of nature and engineering.
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Man made root bridge
After seeing the double decker living root bridge, it comes to everyone’s mind that how such a big bridge would have been constructed? Let me tell you that the credit of helping the creation goes to the local tribe of Khasis. When the people of this tribe saw the strong roots of this Indian Rubber Tree growing near their village thought of an idea. Likenesses, they gave it a right shape. Let us tell you that this type of ancient rubber trees grow only in the northeastern region of India. In addition this is the biggest reason why the root bridge here is so famous. Local villagers here shape the tree as a bridge. The Double Decker Living Root Bridge in Nongriat village is accessible only by trek from Tyrna village.
Entanglement of roots
Located in the thick tropical forest of Meghalaya this bridge is cloaking with rain. During most part of the year beauty of this bridge is visible. They are the fantastic man-made cum natural wonders of the living root bridges. Creation of this beauty goes to the people of the Khasi tribe. These roots grow from the ancient rubber trees which can be seen only in the northeast region. These roots goes through training by the Khasis in order to give them different shape and size. As a result roots grows in different manner and forms bridges on the top of a river.
These bridges are an amazing alternative to wooden bridges that dwindle with so much rain falling on them. This is the reason it is the most popular tourist attraction of Cherrapunji. The firming Double decker root bridge as the name clearly suggest there are 2 bridges. These 2 bridges (2 decks) that are stacking on one other is formation of the layers of entanglement of roots.
Age of the roots
A new root bridge takes about 15 years to get strong. Indeed it can bear the weight of people who would be crossing it. Over the span of the next few years, the roots become even stronger. We exactly don’t know how old these bridges are. But it is believed that some of the root bridges are over five hundred years old. The most popular one is Umshiang Double-Decker Root Bridge.
These living root bridges are like an astonishment. They are absolutely unique. Along with the double decker bridge there are some other bridges also which are Ritymmen Root Bridge , Mawsaw Root Bridge. All these are hanging roots which eventually people entangled to form a Bridge.
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3500-3600 steps of ladder
If you are really interested in visiting this popular and firming Double decker root bridge. Then you should start from the village Tirna which passes over river Umshiang. The bridge stands at a height of 2400 feet. Reaching the upper bridge, which is 20 meter long, is a tough but a worth -it task. Please take note that one needs to be physically fit to reach the upper bridge. If somebody is physically unfit then it can be very difficult to climb this bridge. To reach the spot we have to climb down 3500-3600 steps of ladder from the hill. This journey will take 3-4 hours and it depends on climbing speed with which you can climb down. Eventually a few years ago local floods had washed away a portion of the bridge that is being re-built by the locals.
Engineering in structuring of roots
If you look around there are small bridges and this bridge is not completely natural. These are man made cum natural wonders of living roots that take the shape of bridges. This type of detail structuring is just engineering. This bridge is a better alternative than the wooden ridge and the roots grow stronger with each passing year. But the small bridges are just opposite to that and it is not as strong as the double decker root bridge. During the monsoon season, a visit to this bridge is even more exciting as a waterfall gushes along the bridge at that time. If you continue walking on banks of Umshiang river for around 20 – 30 minutes, you arrive at the Mawsaw Bridge. The natural swimming pool is the star attraction of this bridge.
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