The Living root bridge

This had been in my bucket list for a long time!!!

The Double Decker Living Root Bridge in Sohra is one of its most admired wonders. Snuggled in the dense green forests of Meghalaya, the iconic Double Decker Living Root Bridge remains blessed with rain for a major part of the year. It is one of the most stunning partly man-made structures of Meghalaya, created by the Khasi tribe.

Double-decker bridge, means the bridge has 2 decks or layers, which are created due to the entanglement of the roots. The upper bridge is 20 meters long and is difficult to reach if one is not physically fit enough to climb to the top.

The bridge starts at the village of Tyrna and crosses the Umshiang river during its journey. Getting to the actual bridge is a bit of a trek & hiking down to the bridge is a whopping 3500 steps each way to the bridge and back from the base village of Tyrna, which is 20 kilometers away from Sohra City.

On the way to the actual bridge, one finds several other smaller bridges which are not totally naturally held up & are made structurally sound using metal wire, since the tree roots used for these bridges are not as strong as some of the other trees.

Please don’t miss this spot if you are visiting Cherrapunji for first time!!!

How to Reach

By Air: Borjhar airport in Guwahati, about 166 km north, is the nearest airport. One can hire a taxi till the Nongriat village.

By Road: From Guwahati it’s a 4 hour journey to Shillong, the Capital of Meghalaya, from where its about 54 kms distance to Cherrapunji. From Cherrapunji main town its a couple of hour journey to the Nongriat village.

By Train: The nearest station is Guwahati which is at a distance of 99 kms from Cherrapunji.

If you really want to visit the Double Decker Root Bridge but have serious health ailments or are differently abled there is still hope and you can visit the bridge. The solution is to request the villagers to carry you in a makeshift palanquin but kindly make sure that the arrangements are made well in advance.

During the entire trek we crossed 6 root bridges apart from the Double Decker Bridge and 3 iron rope bridges.

While trekking up from the Double Decker Root Bridge it would be best to climb up slowly and steadily. Set a tempo and try and stick to it. It is a pretty long and time consuming trek and we took 7 hours to complete the entire trek. It would be wise to start early, leisurely enjoy the trek and spend a lot of time at the sights you want. Take adequate breaks and get back to Tyrna village before sunset.