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The Nongriat Double-Decker Root Bridge

Arup619pal, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Attraction · Cherrapunji (Sohra)

The Nongriat Double-Decker Root Bridge

Two tiers of living fig root, grown across a stream over generations and still carrying people — at the bottom of about three thousand steps.

The descentAround 3,000 steps each way
Time neededMost of a day
TrailheadTyrna, about 12 km from Sohra
DifficultyHard — a hill walk, not a stop
About

Infrastructure that is alive

The Khasi and War communities of these valleys train the aerial roots of the rubber fig across streams, guiding them over years until they meet, root on the far bank and thicken enough to walk on. The bridge at Nongriat is the one with two decks, and it is still the way people get to the other side.

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What to See

What makes it different

Almost every photograph of Meghalaya you have seen is of a root bridge. Standing on one is a different thing, and the double-decker is the one worth the descent.

Two decks

  • The lower span came first and the upper was grown above it, most often explained as a response to the stream rising in the monsoon and putting the lower deck under water.

It gets stronger

  • This is the part that is genuinely hard to absorb: the structure is not decaying. The roots thicken every year, so a bridge is at its weakest when it is new and its strongest when it is old — the opposite of everything else you have crossed.

It is not a monument

  • The bridges are used. Somebody’s route to their fields or their neighbours runs across the thing you are photographing, and standing in the middle of it for ten minutes is standing in a doorway.

The pools

  • There is clear water below the bridge and people swim in it. After the descent this is more attractive than it sounds, and it is the reason to allow more time than the walk alone needs.
Getting There

The descent

There is no road. This is the single most underestimated thing in Meghalaya, and the reason it appears in itineraries as a half day rather than a stop.

The route

  • Drive to Tyrna, about twelve kilometres from Sohra, where the road ends. From there it is a concrete staircase down through the forest to Nongriat — commonly given as around three thousand steps — crossing two steel suspension footbridges on the way.

The climb back

  • The same three thousand steps upward, and that is the half that decides whether people enjoy the day. Allow considerably longer for the ascent than the descent, and start early enough that you are not doing it in the dark.

Who it suits

  • Anyone reasonably fit and used to hills. It is not technical and there is no exposure — it is simply a great many steps. If stairs are a problem, the Riwai bridge near Mawlynnong is a short level walk and shows the same living structure.
Best Time

When to walk it

Season and hour both matter more here than at a roadside sight.

Season

  • October to March. Cool, dry underfoot and the safest for the steps, which are slick and in places leech-ridden in the monsoon.

Start time

  • Early — first light if you can. The forest is cooler, the staircase is empty and you are back up before the afternoon heat.

Staying over

  • There are simple guesthouses at Nongriat and people do sleep there, which turns the hardest day trip in Meghalaya into two easy halves. It is basic and it is the better version of this walk.
Visitor Intelligence

Before you set off

Small things that make a large difference on this particular day.

Water and food

  • Carry both. There are a few stalls on the route, and relying on them is a bad plan on a hot day with three thousand steps still to come.

Knees

  • The descent hurts more than the climb for most people. Walking poles help genuinely, and so does taking the down slowly rather than fast.

Footwear

  • Grip matters more than ankle support. The concrete steps are wet and mossy in patches all year.

Respect

  • Villages along the route are lived in, not exhibits. Ask before photographing people, and take your rubbish back up with you — everything at the bottom was carried down.
Nearby

Nearby

What else the plateau holds.

Cherrapunji (Sohra)
The base for the walk · 12 km
Nohkalikai Falls
India’s tallest plunge · 20 min
Riwai and Mawlynnong
The bridge without the descent · 80 km
Good to Know

Frequently asked

That is the figure everyone uses and it is close enough to plan by; counts vary between about 2,500 and 3,500 depending on where people start counting and which route they take. What matters is the shape of the day rather than the number: it is a steep descent of roughly half an hour to an hour and a half, and a climb back that takes most people considerably longer.
Yes. The single-decker bridge at Riwai, next to Mawlynnong, is a few minutes on the level from the road and is the same living structure built the same way. It is busier and less dramatic, and it is what most itineraries actually include. The double-decker is the one you go out of your way for.
Not to find it — the staircase is obvious and well used. A local guide is still worth taking, because the route passes working villages and the explanation of how a bridge is grown and maintained is the part you cannot get from looking at it. Guides are arranged at Tyrna rather than booked ahead.
Yes. These are load-bearing structures that villages use daily and they are maintained by the communities that grew them. Numbers on the deck at once are the real consideration rather than the bridge itself, so wait for space rather than crowding on, and remember that somebody may be trying to actually cross.
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