| Type Name: | Inca rope bridges |
| Image Title: | The annually reconstructed Queshuachaca ("rope bridge") in the Quehue District is the last of its kind. |
| Sibling Names: | None |
| Descendent Names: | Simple suspension bridge |
| Ancestor Names: | Rope bridge |
| Carries: | Pedestrians, livestock |
| Span Range: | Short |
| Material: | Grass or other fiber rope, appropriate decking material |
| Movable: | No |
| Design: | Advanced for its time |
| Falsework: | No |
Inca rope bridges are simple suspension bridges over canyons, gorges and rivers (pongos) constructed by the Inca Empire. The bridges were an integral part of the Inca road system and exemplify Inca innovation in engineering. Bridges of this type were useful since the Inca people did not use wheeled transport – traffic was limited to pedestrians and livestock – and they were frequently used by chasqui runners delivering messages throughout the Inca Empire.
The bridges were constructed using ichu grass[1] 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[2] as part of their mit'a public service or obligation. In some instances, 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.[3]
The greatest bridges of this kind were in the Apurímac Canyon along the main road north from Cusco;[4] a famous example spans a 45-meter gap[5] 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).[6]