Inca rope bridge

The bridges were constructed using ichu grass{{cite web

|url= http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2013/06/10/the_last_incan_suspension_bridge_is_made_entirely_of_grass_and_woven_by.html|title= The Last Incan Suspension Bridge Is Made Entirely of Grass and Woven by Hand|author= Atlas Obscura|date= June 10, 2013|publisher= Slate|access-date= April 10, 2018}} woven into large bundles which were very strong.

Part of the bridge's strength and reliability came from the fact that each cable was replaced every year by local villagers{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/peruincidentsoft00squi#page/n605/mode/2up/search/bridge |page =545|title=Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas|location=New York|publisher=Harper Bros.|date= 1877|author= Squier, Ephraim George|quote=Each bridge is usually kept up by the municipality of the nearest village; and as it requires renewal every two or three years..."|author-link =E. G. Squier}} as part of their mit'a public service or obligation. In some instances,{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} these local peasants had the sole task of repairing these bridges so that the Inca highways or road systems could continue to function.

Repairing these bridges was dangerous, with those performing repairs often facing death.

In 1615, in Quechua author Huamán Poma's manuscript The First New Chronicle, Poma illustrates the Guambo rope bridge in use. He describes the masonry bridges as a positive result of the Spanish colonization of Peru, as the new bridges prevented deaths from the dangerous repair work.{{cite book |author=Brown, Dale |title=Incas: Lords of Gold and Glory |publisher=Time-Life Books |location=New York |year=1992 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/incaslordsofgold00time/page/68 68] |isbn=0-8094-9870-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/incaslordsofgold00time/page/68 }}

The greatest bridges of this kind were in the Apurímac Canyon along the main road north from Cusco;{{cite book|author=Leonard, Jonathan Norton |title='Ancient America', Great Ages of Man Series |publisher= Time/Life Books|date= 1968 |page=185}} a famous example spans a 45-meter gap{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/peruincidentsoft00squi#page/n605/mode/2up/search/bridge |title=The Great Hanging Bridge Over the Apurimac|work=Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas|date= 1877|author= Squier, Ephraim George|author-link= E. G. Squier|publisher=Harper Bros.|location=New York}} that is supposed to be the inspiration behind Thornton Wilder's 1928 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927).

Made of grass, the last remaining Inca rope bridge, reconstructed every June, is the Q'iswa Chaka (Quechua for "rope bridge"), spanning the Apurimac River near Huinchiri, in Canas Province, Quehue District, Peru. Even though there is a modern bridge nearby, the residents of the region keep the ancient tradition and skills alive by renewing the bridge annually in June. Several family groups have each prepared a number of grass-ropes to be formed into cables at the site; others prepare mats for decking, and the reconstruction is a communal effort. The builders have indicated that effort is performed to honor their ancestors and the Pachamama (Earth Mother).{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/world_of_wonders/2011/02/the_last_incan_grass_bridge.html |title=The Last Incan Grass Bridge|author=Foer, Joshua |date=February 22, 2011|work=Slate}}

File:IRB-1-OldBridgeSags-keshwa3h.jpg|{{center|The old bridge sags
(Slide show)}}

File:IRB-9-NewBridgeComplete-keshwa-2.jpg|{{center|Notice how much less the new bridge sags}}

File:IRB-2-BuildersGather-KC603-pol.jpg|{{center|Builders gather during the renewal}}

File:IRB-3-LayingOutRopeStrands-KC603-2.jpg|{{center|Preparing side lashings}}

File:IRB-4-StrandsAcrossGorge-IRBKC603-1.jpg|{{center|Main cable and hand-ropes are in place}}

File:IRB-5-LashingSides-KC603-4.jpg|{{center|Lashing the hand-ropes to the main side cables.}}

File:IRB-6-BringingDeckMat-KC603-8.jpg|{{center|Trimmed mat rolls form the bridge deck.}}

File:IRB-8-NewBridgeSideView-KC603-11.jpg|{{center|The new bridge is now complete and in use.}}

File:IRB-7-MUDDY2.jpg|{{center|Bridge in use during the rainy season.}}

{{Clear}}

{{portal|Civilizations}}

• Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, a rope suspension bridge in Northern Ireland
• Inca Bridge, rope bridge, secret entrance to Machu Picchu
• Simple suspension bridge. see the image of the Inca rope bridge built with modern materials and structural refinements
• Suspension bridge, modern suspended-deck type

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal|author=Chmielinski, Piotr |date=1987|title=Kayaking the Amazon|journal= National Geographic Magazine|volume= 171|number= 4|pages=460–473}}
• {{cite periodical |author=Finch, Ric |date=Fall–Winter 2002|title=Keshwa Chaca: Straw Bridge of the Incas|location= Ithaca, NY|periodical=South American Explorer|number=69 |pages=6–13}}
• {{cite journal|author=Gade, D. W. |date=1972|title=Bridge types in the central Andes|journal= Annals of the Association of American Geographers|volume= 62 |number=1|pages=94–109|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8306.1972.tb00846.x}} Showed the bridge at Huinchiri and predicted the art of building it would be lost within another generation, which proved untrue.
• {{cite news|author=Hurtado, Ursula |title=Q'eshwachaka: El Puente Dorado|work= Credibank |location= Peru)|pages=22–23}} Describes the documentary film directed by Jorge Carmona.
• {{cite news |author=Malaga Miglio, Patricia |author2=Gutierrez, Alberto |title=Qishwachaca|work= Rumbos |location= Peru|pages=30–34}}
• {{cite news|author=McIntyre, Loren|author-link=Loren McIntyre|date=1973|title=The Lost Empire of the Incas|work= National Geographic Magazine|volume= 144|number= 6|pages=729–787}}
• {{cite book|author=McIntyre, Loren|date=1975|title=The Incredible Incas and Their Timeless Land|url=https://archive.org/details/incredibleincas00mcin|url-access=registration|location= Washington D.C.|publisher= National Geographic Society|isbn=978-0-87044-177-6 }}
• {{cite book|editor=Roca Basadre, David |editor2=Coaguila, Jorge |date=2001|title=Cañon delApurimac, La Ruta Sagrada del Dios Hablador|location= Lima|publisher= Empresa Editora ElComercio|page= 78 }}
• {{cite news|work=Nova |title=Secrets of Lost Empires: Inca|date=1995|publisher=PBS }}
• {{cite book|author=Von Hagen, Victor |date=1955|title=Highway of the Sun|url=https://archive.org/details/highwayofsun00vonh |url-access=registration |location= New York|publisher= Duell, Sloan and Pearce|page= [https://archive.org/details/highwayofsun00vonh/page/120 120] }}

{{commons category|Incan rope bridges}}

• {{cite web|url=http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2003/03-21/bridge.html |title=Inca Bridge to the past|website= Boston University|date=March 21, 2003}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3839 |title=Inca Bridges, a Library of Congress lecture|website=Library of Congress}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.discover-peru.org/inca-roads-chasqui/|title= Inca Roads and Chasquis] |website= Discover-Peru.org}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/dojoklo/albums/72157625890262293 |title=Photo Gallery of the Construction of the Keshwa Chaca Inca rope bridge near Huinchiri, Peru | website =flickr.com|author=Klosterman, Doug |date=7 June 2008 }}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.rutahsa.com/k-chaca.html |title=The Last Inca Suspension Bridge: A Photo Album|website= Rutahsa Adventures adventure travel}}

{{Native american styles}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inca Rope Bridge}}

*Inca

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Category:Inca

Category:Ropework

Category:Footbridges

Category:Suspension bridges

Category:Cultural heritage of Peru