Inca rope bridge

Inca rope bridges are simple suspension bridges of woven grass that the Inca Empire built over canyons, gorges and rivers as part of its road system. Since the Incas did not use wheeled transport, the bridges carried pedestrians, livestock and the chasqui runners who delivered messages. Local villagers replaced each cable every year as part of their mit'a public service, dangerous work in which repairers often faced death. The last remaining one, the Q'iswa Chaka over the Apurímac River near Huinchiri in Peru, is still rebuilt by local residents every June.