Trekking to the Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya With Girl Gang | By Shilpi Banerjee

If you plan to travel to the enchanting Meghalaya, then you must visit the famed natural wonder, the living root bridge. We had the most thrilling experience as we trekked to the double decker live root bridge at Nongriat which is also known as Jingkieng Nongriat. Meghalaya is a place where the tribals and locals believe that they are one with nature and one of the best examples of their belief are the multiple live root bridges found in the state. These bridges are actually live roots which grow naturally to create a bridge over a river or a stream. These bridges are truly natural wonders and are a must see for everyone, despite the long trek. The root bridge at Nongriat is more than 200 years old. 

Before we continue, if you wish to go on your own Meghalaya adventure click here 

We started our trekking early in the morning at around 6 after having a cup of tea. And we packed our breakfast along with us. You must carry a raincoat while you are in Cherrapunji, because it can rain anytime and anywhere. This trek requires you to climb stairs all the way. My suggestion is not to count the steps but rather enjoy the serene beauty all around you while climbing to the root bridge. Meghalaya is truly the land of orchids. We saw many different and colorful orchids all through our journey. The state is rich in fruits too. The sweet fragrance of pineapple from the bushes on both sides of the trekking path is all pervasive in the air.  Huge jackfruits hanging on the trunks of the jackfruit trees along the trekking path complete the feeling of passing through an untouched jungle. The trek requires both an uphill as well as a down-hill climb. We crossed two iron bridges, which is the only pathway to cross over a very fast flowing stream, on the trek route. The first bridge has only iron rods, laid side by side, iron mesh and railings on both sides gives support and to hold while crossing the bridge. Walking on this bridge is really tricky because you have to step on the iron rods very carefully and one by one, we crossed that bridge. It’s quite thrilling and I felt like a true adventurer. The second bridge is still easy to walk on as it is wider than the previous one. After crossing both the bridges we came to our first root bridge, which is a single deck root bridge. But we decided to walk on, with the plan to stop here while on our way back from the double decker live root bridge. On our path we saw many Bay leaf trees and the aroma of the leaves gave us extra energy to walk.

 Finally, we reached the double decker live root bridge after about 3 hours of trekking. I was totally blown away by the beauty of that place. Until you see with your own eyes, it is hard to believe how the roots and the adventitious roots of that 200 years old rubber fig tree intertwine into each other forming two bridges at two levels. That’s why it is called a double decker bridge. These root bridges of Meghalaya are handmade by the people of Khasi and Jaintia tribes, where they carefully guide the roots through various means to grow in a manner that they intertwine among each other and create a natural bridge made of roots. Truly fantastic! 

There is a waterfall and a small stream which flows beneath the root bridge. To refresh ourselves we waded into the water, and all the pain and stress of the three-hour trek was forgotten. We Sat on a rock beside the stream and happily ate our breakfast, which we carried. There was a small tea stall nearby from where we had some piping hot tea. I wanted to go under the waterfall to have my ‘Liril moment’ so I walked slowly as the bottom was full of small and big pebbles. The water was falling down at high speed and was cold. I stood there for some time, enjoying the cold water. Then as I started to carefully walk back towards the bank, I felt small fishes coming near my feet. I soon realized that these small fishes perform a very interesting function and soon these fishes gently nibbled the dead skin from our feet. These days many outlets in Delhi offer fish pedicure in water tanks using these very same fish. We sat at the edge, dipping our feet into the water. It was very relaxing and refreshing as we were also enjoying natural fish pedicure (which is one of the secrets of this place). The one and only way of commuting for the Nongriat people is by foot. We saw a group of teenagers’ from the village who were trekking up, to reach the nearest village Tyrna to visit the local market to buy necessary goods. A succession of stone steps and pedestrian bridges connects Tyrna to the neighbouring village of Nongriat. After rejuvenating ourselves we started our trek back. We enjoyed the scenic beauty and reached the gate at Tyrna from where we had started our trek. It took almost 3 hours to climb back. On the way we passed the single deck root bridge we stopped a little to catch our breath. Our trekking time was 6 hours and we stayed at the double decker root bridge for about 2 and half hours.

 When we reached the top it started raining heavily, we were hungry and we stopped at a local eatery near the UCO bank branch of Sohra (that branch was established there during 1942), and ordered noodles and chili chicken, which was delicious. After reaching our home stay  (Lantana) in Sohra , we rested for some time. In the evening again we went for a stroll on the muddy roads of the Sohra village. 

The day ended with a delicious dinner consisting of an egg curry cooked by Aslam our tour guide and dal and veggies by Akor the daughter of the owner of Lantana guest house. That was our last night there so we all sat and enjoyed the bonfire and dinner together. I hope you are enjoying the account of my visit to this beautiful part of the North East. Next week I will share the last blog of my visit and also include some useful information on how to plan your journey to the North East. Till then, Ciao!