Many months ago I watched a documentary on the preparation of an Incan rope bridge constructed annually by a local community and made only out of straw and natural fibers.  Everyone in the community chipped in to help construct the bridge and it turned into a multi-day event. I thought it was super cool and since then I had always wanted to visit the site. Today I was privileged to finally be able to go with fellow co-workers, volunteers and new friends. The weather was perfect and it was all-in-all a really nice day. Thanks once again to the amazing Ninoska for helping to organize and plan the whole day for everyone!!!

History of the bridge:

These Incan rope bridges were important for transportation of people, livestock and messages in the Incan Empire. They are also a testament to the great ingenuity of the Incan people when it came to engineering. This tradition probably dates back to the 15th century. The last bridge of this kind is the Q’eswachaca bridge which spans the Apurimac River located near Huinchiri, Peru. (1)

Construction of the bridge:

Every June the local people keep this bridge building tradition alive by cutting the old bridge and constructing a new one. People in the community, about 700 in total, are charged with preparing different parts of the 120 foot bridge (mainly ropes made from natural fibers and mats for decking the bridge) and it all comes together in a group effort. They weave the smaller fibers into larger and larger cables which are suspended across the canyon. (1) There are four of these cables used for footing and two more which are used as handrail supports. These are all attached with smaller fibers and eventually a stick matting is placed to make for easier walking.

In the past, the bridge would have been constructed and maintained by tax labor of the people, meaning everyone in the community worked as a form of taxation to the community. Today, it is completed as a form of respect for their ancestors and for the Earth Mother, also known as “Pachamama” in the local Quechua language. (1)

Other activities:

We all crossed the bridge despite being warned by giant signs saying that it was too dangerous to do so. It was a super fun experience and honestly not as scary as it looked like it would be. The views were amazing and the weather was perfect.

After the bridge we went to check out 4 very pretty lakes which were nearby. We walked around one of the lakes for a little bit and we hoped to go fishing in another but it started to rain so we had to cut this part of the trip a bit short. On the way back to Cusco we decided to stop by Andahuaylillas to try and visit the Temple of Andahuaylillas but it was closed because the local priest was celebrating his birthday and apparently that required closing the church for the day…  To make up for this we went to Saylla to eat chicharrón, and it was glorious as usual.

How we got there and back:

In our particular case, since we were such a big group at about 30 people we decided to rent two vans for the entire day. They brought us all the way to the bridge, hung out with us as we explored, brought us to all the sites we wanted to see, and lastly back to Cusco. For the whole day of transport which was maybe 12 hours they charged us S/. 70.00 per person.

Bibliography:

1) “Inca Rope Bridge.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.