Walk the Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya

Living root bridges are a form of tree shaping common in the southern part of the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. They are handmade from the aerial roots of rubber fig trees by the Khasi and Jaintia peoples of the mountainous terrain along the southern part of the Shillong Plateau. Root bridges have also been observed in the Indian state of Nagaland. Living root bridges have also been created in Indonesia at Jembatan akar on the island of Sumatra, and in the banten provence of Java, by the Baduy people. A living root bridge is formed by guiding the pliable roots of the Ficus elastica tree across a stream or river, and then allowing the roots to grow and strengthen over time until they can hold the weight of a human being. The young roots are sometimes tied or twisted together, and are often encouraged to combine with one another via the process of inosculation. As the Ficus elastica tree is well suited to anchoring itself to steep slopes and rocky surfaces, it is not difficult to encourage its roots to take hold on the opposite sides of river banks. As they are made from living, growing, organisms, the useful lifespan of any given living root bridge is variable. It is thought that, under ideal conditions, a root bridge can last for many hundreds of years. As long as the tree from which it is formed remains healthy, the bridge will naturally self-renew and self-strengthen as its component roots grow thicker.