The structures are handmade from the aerial roots of rubber fig trees (Ficus elastica[2][3]) by the Khasi and Jaiñtia[4][1] peoples of the mountainous terrain along the southern part of the Shillong Plateau.

[9] Living root bridges have also been created in the Indian state of Nagaland,[10] in Indonesia at Jembatan akar on the island of Sumatra, and in the Banten province of Java, by the Baduy people.

[12] Historically, the earliest written record of Sohra's (Cherrapunji's) living root bridges is by Henry Yule, who expressed astonishment about them in the 1844 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

As the rubber fig tree is well suited to anchoring itself to steep slopes and rocky surfaces, it is not difficult to encourage its roots to take hold on the opposite sides of river banks.

As long as the tree from which it is formed remains healthy, the bridge will naturally self-renew and self-strengthen as its component roots grow thicker.

[19] In the East Khasi Hills, living root bridges nearby Cherrapunji are known to exist in and around the villages of Tynrong,[21] Mynteng, Nongriat, Nongthymmai, and Laitkynsew.

[22] East of Cherrapunji, examples of living root bridges are known to exist in the Khatarshnong region, in and around the villages of Nongpriang, Sohkynduh, Kongthong, Rymmai, and Mawshuit.

At over 50 metres (160 ft) in length, the longest known example of a living root bridge[24] is near the small Khasi town of Pynursla in India, which can be accessed from either the village of Mawkyrnot or Rangthylliang.

[25] For example, in the village of Kudeng Rim in the West Jaintia Hills, a rubber tree next to a football field has been modified so that its branches can serve as living root bleachers.