Sanctuary | Travel The Living Root Bridges of Cherrapunjee

Text and Photographs by Madhu Nair and Savita Pillai

e hear the name love coming here during the monsoons to Cherrapunjee, and the witness its onslaught and revel in it. school-book tidbit of it being one of the wettest Living root bridges (ifW not the wettest) places in the world Cherrapunjee has some lovely waterfalls and comes to mind almost immediately. Along caves to visit but our main reason for being with that comes visual imagery of lush there was to hike to what are called the ‘living green forests and numerous waterfalls. So, root bridges’. ! ese are bridges that have not a# er an arduous journey of shared jeeps been built, but actually grown! from Guwahati to Shillong and Shillong to Because of the incessant rains in the Cherrapunjee, we were a little disappointed region, regular wooden bridges tended to to see a dusty town surrounded by dried rot easily and were just not durable enough grass on rolling hills that were more brown for the native Khasi tribals who had to ABOVE Locals have ingeniously adapted the rubber trees Ficus elastica to create swaying root than green. However, as soon as we boarded negotiate numerous streams to get around bridges that can withstand the incessant and a taxi and sped toward the small village of in the . ! ey noticed that the heavy rains that bathe the region. on the outskirts of town, we indigenous rubber trees Ficus elastica were FACING PAGE Tree roots are moulded and were duly transported into the land of our adept at perching on huge boulders and crisscrossed to form a sturdy base. Large gaps between the entwined roots are covered with imagination: a fertile landscape of thick burrowing their aerial, strong, pliable roots stone slabs. foliage, steep cli$ s and deep valleys. deep into the riverbed, thus enabling them Situated on the east Khasi hills, to withstand fast-" owing streams and soil across and grow in strength. A bunch of Cherrapunjee’s original claim to erosion with relative ease. ! e tribals soon roots were intertwined to form a base that is fame of being the wettest place in the perfected the technique of growing and wide enough to allow foot-space for at least a world has been usurped (or at least moulding these roots to form bridges across single person, thus creating perfect walkways challenged!) by a neighbouring village the numerous streams and waterways that across the streams. As they mature, the that has received just as much rainfall. dot their hills. roots are known to become strong enough However, Cherrapunjee still remains the To achieve this, they hollowed out to hold up to 50 people at a time. ! is picture-book town epitomised by the trunks of betel nut trees and used them as whole process of building a ‘living root famous poet Rabindranath Tagore in a moulding cast to guide the roots of the bridge’ takes about 10 to 15 years – a feat of several of his poems. Perhaps, that is why rubber trees to grow straight out. Once they sheer patience! Some of the existing bridges Cherrapunjee is still a favorite holiday were long enough to span the waterway, are well over 500 years old and are still destination for the Bengalis. In fact, they they were allowed to take root in the soil growing in strength with every passing day!

As they mature, the roots are known to become strong enough to hold up to 50 people at a time. This whole process of building a ‘living root bridge’ takes about 10 to 15 years – a feat of sheer patience! Some of the existing bridges are well over 500 years old and are still growing in strength with every passing day!

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ABOVE Apart from the living root bridges, Cherrapunjee has exquisite waterfalls and awe-inspiring caves that look like stalacite-studded ‘cathedrals’. LEFT If protected, the stunning vistas of alone could bring in enough tourism revenue to offer livelihoods to more than a quarter of its residents.

Soon we were deep into the Khasi forests and close to the ‘living root bridges’. Before getting to the double-decker bridge, we came across a single-tiered one, which was short but quite spectacular. ! e roots felt amazingly strong beneath our feet and it was almost hard to believe that we were standing on a living thing. Further on, in the village of Nongriat, we # nally caught sight of our destination: the double-decker ! ese bioengineering masterpieces are the surrounding mountains and valley below. bridge! It was amazing to see how a tree’s surely one of the most wonderful examples At the village, we trekked on a dirt road for roots had been moulded and crisscrossed to of man living in harmony with nature. another couple of kilometres until we reached form such a sturdy base! Any gaps between some concrete steps that led down into the the entwined roots had been covered The trek forest below. ! ese steps had been especially with slabs of stone, which, over time, had ! ere are quite a few living root bridges in the built by the local government to keep the embedded themselves snugly into the East Khasi Hills. However, one has to trek into villagers safe during the heavy onslaught of the bridge’s base. ! ere were protective railings the forest to see them. ! e nearest one from rains when the soil on the mountainsides tends built along the sides as well for support. the village of Laitkynsew is about two hours to loosen and cause accidents. At the head of A$ er a packed lunch of aloo parathas away on foot while a double-decker one (two- the steps we realised that while the descent on (potato-stu" ed Indian bread) along leveled bridge) requires a strenuous half-day the mountain road had been gradual, it had the banks of a natural pool nearby, we trek to a Khasi village called Nongriat. We now turned steep and a little scary, especially started our long trek back to the resort. opted for the latter as we had a whole day considering that we would have to climb back ! e steep climb back up to the road was to spare and the inclination for a nice trek. up; Peter chuckled at our anxious looks. as challenging as we had expected, but ! e owners of the resort we were staying at But it was unbelievably gorgeous. ! e our minds were focussed and we took arranged for a guide to meet us at eight a.m. trees formed a canopy above our heads and frequent breaks. Despite a couple of muscle the following morning. ! e guide turned out blocked out the strong morning sun, o" ering cramps, we made it back to the resort by to be a local Khasi lad, Peter, with a chirpy us a wonderfully shaded trail. About 1,900 around 4:30 p.m. with a smile on our disposition and a mean sense of humour – he steps later when we came upon a Khasi faces and reluctant acknowledgement was amused to see us city folks attempt this village, we hoped that we were close to the on Peter’s – it had been a fabulously strenuous trek! bridge. But there were more steps ahead! ! is adventurous day! ! e actual trek started from a small Khasi time, though, the descent was interspersed On their 10th anniversary, Madhu and village, which is about three kilometres from by some spectacular crossings on long, Savita went o! on a multi-year trip through Laitkynsew along a motorable road. We opted narrow, wire suspension bridges over gushing . Visit www.10yearitch.com to follow to walk this distance instead of taking a cab streams below – a thrilling, albeit dangerously their journey as they experience life to its as the route is incredibly scenic with views of swaying walkway! fullest and stitch memories to last a lifetime!

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