The fantasy-world wonder of these living rubber fig tree root bridges is best described by pictures. Sometimes a million pixels really are worth a thousand words.
(Click the images for high quality.)
The most famous of all root bridges is the ‘Double Decker’ at Nongriat.
The many gaps between the branches are filled with stones and wood, making the sight no less spectacular.
In the jungle rainfall is heavy or none resulting in the river flow to vary from a stream to a wild white.
“Can you remove spiders?” I asked the Nongriat rest house owner. After last nights snake the jungle visitor did not come fully unexpected, but that doesn’t mean I have the courage to deal with this frightening encounter myself.
Two minutes later we have another sight straight out of a horror movie. The styrofoam looking disk that the spider carried was her nest. Tens of tiny baby were crawling out to spread through our room. They just didn’t stop coming out.
It’s not like the Khasi villagers waste opportunities to train these amazing structures, when there is a rubber fig tree next to a river they lead the way.
Roots crawled into a web like looking structure provide immense strength.
New bridges that are ‘under construction’ have steel cables guiding the the roots across the river and provide a way for the 10+ years of construction.
Two lines and sc
ribbles that suppose to represent a house and some stairs. Not quite the ideal map for an unguided three hour walk deep into the jungle in search of some remote tiny village with no roads. Even the place where we started off was already remote. Meghalaya is one of the unknown Indian states far in the north east of the country. An hour south of its capitol Shillong lies Cherapunjee, 
rain capitol of the world. A small town from where you can catch a taxi to the end of the road, and the start of the jungle.
The jungle was lush and green. Though it may look peaceful and quiet the sound never end because it is so full of life.
The bridges are still alive and never stop growing.
An hour and a half walk from Nongriat is the village with the nearest road. Sip tea like a guest, not a tourist, when they plant their curious daughter on your lap.
Jiddu Alexander
