Cherrapunji is a town in North-East India, known to be the second wettest place on earth. Villagers of Cherrapunji grow their own bridges, whenever required, to enable them to cross rivers. Yes, they grow them! No steel or concrete is used in this process.
Long ago, War-Khasis, a tribe of Meghalaya, manipulated the roots of Ficus elastica tree (whose secondary roots grow above the ground surface) to grow straight, forming bridges across bodies of water.
Using the same technique, villagers of Cherrapunji grow living bridges from tender roots of this rubber tree, creating beautiful, natural crossings. Modern bridges weaken over time, but the living bridges of the Cherrapunji become stronger over time. It takes about ten to fifteen years to grow such a bridge, but they last a very long time.
Some of these bridges are more than five hundred years old and can support 50 people at a time. There is a unique living bridge named 'Umshiang Double-Decker Root Bridge'. It is a combination of two bridges, one stacked on top of the other. It is believed to be only one of it's kind worldwide.
The living bridges are natural marvels and examples of man working together with nature.
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