Friday, October 9, 2015

World's Oldest & Biggest Banyan Tree - A Small Forest - Nearly 650 Year old - Andhra Pradesh - India








Thimmamma marrimanu is the name of a banyan tree . Marri means banyan , manu means tree . Its branches spread over 5 acres and is recorded as BIGGEST TREE in GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS . A small temple dedicated to Thimmamma lies under the tree

From a distance it looks like a small forest amidst sprawling dry lands. Move closer, though, and you can see it is just one tree, albeit the world's biggest. The glorious canopy of this giant banyan tree covers 2.1 hectares and and has 1,100-odd prop roots.Standing in Thimmamma Marrimanu village, in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district, the banyan has survived the slings and arrows of nature's outrageous moods for nearly 550 years and finds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. But of late it was beginning to succumb to damage from vandals and children playing on its branches.