Inca Bridge
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Inca Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Close-up view of the Inca Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 13°10′15″S 72°32′38″W / 13.170777°S 72.543829°W |
| Carries | Pedestrians |
| Locale | Machu Picchu, Peru |
| Other name(s) | Inka Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Inca trunk bridge |
| Material | Trunk |
| Location | |
 | |
The Inca Bridge or Inka Bridge refers to one of two places related to access to Machu Picchu, in Peru.
One of the two was built by the Incas as a secret entrance to Machu Picchu for the Inca army.[1]
The Inca Bridge (trunk bridge)
[edit]
This Inca Bridge is a part of a mountain trail that heads west from Machu Picchu. The trail is a stone path, part of which is cut into a cliff face.[2] A twenty-foot gap was left in this section of the carved cliff edge,[3] over a 1,900-foot drop,[3] that could be bridged with two tree trunks, otherwise leaving the trail impassable to outsiders.[4]
The Inca Bridge (rope bridge)
[edit]This Inca Bridge was an ancient Inca grass rope bridge[5] out of Machu Picchu, crossing the Urubamba River southeast of Cusco in the Pongo de Mainique. Every one or two years, a replica bridge is constructed from dried grasses and wood. The biannual changing of the bridge is celebrated as a major event by locals.
Other rope bridges
[edit]The Q'iswa Chaka (Quechua for "rope bridge"), believed to be the last remaining Inca rope bridge, spans the Apurímac River near Huinchiri, Peru in the province of Canas.
The Mawk'a Chaka (Quechua for "old bridge", hispanicized spelling Mauca Chaca), an historic suspension bridge over the Apurímac River, near Quebrada Honda, the town of Curahuasi and the Cconoc thermal baths (13°31′46″S 72°38′35″W / 13.52944°S 72.64306°W), disappeared by the end of the 19th century after 300 years of service.[citation needed] There are still remnants of the access tunnels and the bridge supports. Local organizations are planning to rebuild the bridge with its access roads and tunnels to serve the hiking community and provide a view of the gorge.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]- Puente del Inca ("Inca Bridge"), a natural arch that forms a bridge over the Las Cuevas River in Argentina.
References
[edit]- Citations
- ^ PeruPeruPeru.com (2008). "Day 19: Machu Picchu / Cusco". Peru The Grand Tour, 21 Days 20 Nights (travel agency). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
[...] hike Huayna Picchu the pyramid-shape mountain above Machu Picchu, walk to the Inca Bridge a secret entrance used by the Inca's army, or toward the Inca Trail to find the historic Sun Gate.
- ^ MachuPicchuPeru (2006-01-26). "Machu Picchu". Machu Picchu 2006. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
[Inca Bridge photograph] Inca Bridge – carved into the cliff
- ^ a b DeLange, op. cit.
- ^ Dunn, Jerry Camarillo Jr. (2007). "Machu Picchu". How Stuff Works.com, Travel, Destinations. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
The famous Inca Bridge is located along an ever-narrowing mountain trail that, at some places, is cut into a sheer cliff. The builders cleverly left a gap in a buttressed section of the trail that they could bridge with two logs. As needed, the logs could be removed to make the road impassable to outsiders.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, Hispanic Heritage in the Americas, "Machu Picchu"
- Sources
- DeLange, Machu Picchu Ruins, "Inca Bridge" Archived 2016-10-23 at the Wayback Machine – Definition, and two pictures (close-ups of the trunk bridge)
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