by Five hundred years ago when the Incas were expanding their empire over the highlands of the Andes, they developed an incredible network of roads to move armies, people and goods quickly and efficiently over the mountains. But the landscape was treacherous comprising mostly of high peaks and deep valleys, which meant they needed bridges, and lots of them.
The bridges were an integral part of the incredible Inca road system that stretches for 40,000 kilometers, from modern-day Ecuador to Argentina. Depending upon the availability, the bridges were made of a variety of materials – wooden logs, stones, floating reeds or hand-woven from straw and tall grasses that grew on the high Andes. These bridges had short lives and needed to be replaced every few years. After the last of the Incas disappeared in the early 17th century, so did almost all of these bridges. Only one has survived, thanks to the effort of the local villagers who rebuild it each year using the same technique used by their Inca ancestors.
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The bridges were an integral part of the incredible Inca road system that stretches for 40,000 kilometers, from modern-day Ecuador to Argentina. Depending upon the availability, the bridges were made of a variety of materials – wooden logs, stones, floating reeds or hand-woven from straw and tall grasses that grew on the high Andes. These bridges had short lives and needed to be replaced every few years. After the last of the Incas disappeared in the early 17th century, so did almost all of these bridges. Only one has survived, thanks to the effort of the local villagers who rebuild it each year using the same technique used by their Inca ancestors.
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