Sunday, December 5, 2010

THE NATURAL ROOT BRIDGES OF CHERRAPUNJI, INDIA

Deep within the southern Khasi and Jaintia hills (north eastern India), the humid and warm climate determines unusual natural shapes and rich vegetation. This is the place where bridges grow naturally instead of being built.

The Ficus elastica is a a species of Indian rubber tree with very strong roots which have the ability to extend and surpass any obstacle, whether we are talking about boulders or rivers. This is how these amazing root bridges of Cherrapunji were formed. Currently they serve as means of locomotion for the locals.


Some of these bridges are incredibly strong and can hold up to 55 people at a time. The root bridges have a medium length of a hundred feet (about 30 meters) and some of them are 500 years old.











































































































18 comments:

chitra said...

this is awesome Babli,never knew about this space.I am awed by those natural bridges.Shall follow you.

Ankita said...

hii
wow! locals are much better at adapting to tough conditions than urbanites :)

P.N. Subramanian said...

Its difficult to understand Nature. Incredible. I have seen them.

Renu said...

Awesome..really.

Priya Sreeram said...

lovely--- nature at its very best !

Valerie said...

Nature is amazing. I've never heard of these bridges before... I learn something every day.

RiĆ  said...

Wow this is awesome!!

Chaitanyaa Sharma said...

amazing....nice post

Margaret Cloud said...

This is something and amazing. Can a person cross them safely?

Bikram said...

This is beautiful.. I did not know about this ...

thanks for sharing

BK Chowla, said...

Babli, It is a beautiful place. I was there three years ago when I was visiting Guwahati.It is worth a see.

Tomz said...

Wow..beautiful

Jeevan said...

Amazing! These are natural treasure belongs to our earth.

dr.antony said...

That is amazing. I have heard that Cherrapunji is the place of maximum rain fall in the world.

JAGDISH BALI said...

informative one . visit my blog also and follow if u could please. I have both hindi and eng blogs.

Sudhir R said...

As always you picl up something which gets more unique and intresting!! Keep it up

Trotter said...

Hi Babli! Wonderful natural work!!

Blogtrotter Two has started to cruise the Nile for you, but without Poirot!! Some interesting shots available… ;) Enjoy and have a great week!

raji said...

wow interesting natural bridge!!You have nice blogs babli.