Keshwa Chaca - Oldest Surviving Inca Rope Bridge

Image from Panoramio is by tourist5

Inca rope bridges were simple suspension bridges over canyons and gorges and were an intrinsic part on the Inca road system. Not many such bridges have survived. However one such - Keshwa Chaca in Peru built hundreds of years ago by Inca civilization is still functional mainly because it is re-constructed annually by the local villagers.

Each year in June, the people of the village of Huinchiri and nearby places come together to reconstruct this bridge over the Río Apurimac Canyon. They use the same technique which was used by their Inca ancestors.

Image from Flickr is by bridgink

Image from Flickr is by blaiseribet

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Image from Panoramio is by bridgink

Although a steel girder bridge has now been constructed, but the villagers have maintained the age old tradition and re-build the bridge annually. In strict sense a new bridge is laid out each year but broadly speaking it can be termed as Oldest Surviving Inca Rope Bridge.

Image from Flickr is by bridgink

A nice slide show about the bridge can be seen at http://www.dojoklo.com. Open the web site and then click on the "Keshwa Chaca" link at the top of the page. (Link courtsey - dojokolo)

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Source of Info and more info: http://www.rutahsa.com