Place · living root bridges · India
Living root bridges, Meghalaya
The living root bridges (jingkieng dieng jri) grown by the War Khasi and Jaintia communities of Meghalaya from the aerial roots of the Indian rubber fig (Ficus elastica) across streams and gorges in the East Khasi Hills — guided across hollow bamboo structures over 15-30 years and strengthened with each passing generation. The Nongriat double-decker bridge, the Mawlynnong single-span and the Nongbareh functional network together constitute the world's only living, growing architecture — bridges that strengthen with age rather than decay. The practice is at least 200 years old and documented since the 19th century. UNESCO tentative list since 2022. Current climate pressure on the Meghalaya rainforest threatens the practice.
- Function
- Archaeology & heritage
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 25.250, 91.700
Connections (1)
- AnalogueApatani cultural landscape, Ziro
The Meghalaya root bridges and the Apatani rice terraces at Ziro are the two Northeast nominations for landscapes that are cultivated rather than built: bridges grown from fig roots over decades, and wet rice and fish raised in the same plots without ploughs or draught animals. Both depend on the communities continuing to do the work, which is exactly what a monument-based list handles worst.
On these journeys
Sources
List of World Heritage Sites in India — Wikipedia
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