Jembatan Akar is the bridge formed from the interconnected roots of two
trees that grow across and extends over the Batang Bayang river in West
Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located about 88 km south of the city of
Padang. This root bridge has a length of 25 metres (82 ft) and a width
of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) with a height from the surface of the river
of about 3 metres (9.8 ft).
It was created in 1890 by a Muslim teacher Lubuak Glare for the students
from Pulut-pulut who couldn’t attend his classes due to the Batang
Bayang river that separated the two settlements. He planted two small
Jawi-jawi – a type of broad-leaf banyan tree – and started stringing
their roots around a stem bridge made of bamboo. It took approximately
26 years for Jembatan Akar to become the sturdy structure and with each
passing year, it becomes even stronger, as the banyan tree roots
continue to grow. To make it more stable and prevent accidents
especially during rain, villagers added a series of wooden planks over
the roots and reinforced the two trees with steel wire. Now this root
bridge becomes tourist attraction and is much visited by local tourists
and foreign tourists.
Source : odditycentral.com
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