Sacred Valley Tour from Ollantaytambo to Cusco
$130 Full Day
Overview
30 m
Span of woven grass
Every June
Rebuilt entirely by hand
2013
UNESCO listed
12.5 hrs
Door to door
Qeswachaka is the last of its kind. The Inca built and maintained hundreds of suspension bridges across the gorges of the empire, woven from plant fibre and replaced before they wore through. Only this one survives. It hangs across the Apurimac in Quehue district, Canas province.
To understand what has been lost, it helps to know what these bridges were for. The Inca ran an empire on some thirty thousand kilometres of road, without wheeled vehicles and without draught animals. Everything moved on foot. Soldiers, llama trains, and the chasqui runners who carried messages across the empire in relay. The Andes are cut by gorges, and a gorge stops a road. Suspension bridges were the answer, and the Spanish chroniclers who first crossed them wrote about it with a mixture of admiration and open fear.
Why It Is Still Here?
It survives because it is still being made. Four communities, Huinchiri, Chaupibanda, Choccayhua and Collana Quehue, cut the old bridge down every June and weave a new one in its place. The material is q’oya, a tough highland grass, twisted by hand into cords called q’eswa and then braided into cables thick enough to carry a person.
What you stand in front of is about thirty metres of woven grass. Four heavy cables carry the walking floor, two lighter ones serve as handrails, and the whole thing is lashed to stone anchors set into the rock on either bank. There is no metal in it anywhere, and no part of it was made in a factory. It hangs above the Apurimac, a river the Inca held sacred, in a canyon that does most of the work of making the crossing feel serious.
You will also see the name written as Q’eswachaka, Queswachaka, Queshuachaca or Keshwa Chaca. All the same bridge. The Quechua parts are q’eswa, meaning braided rope, and chaka, meaning bridge.
UNESCO inscribed the knowledge and rituals of the annual renewal on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. Peru had recognised it as national cultural heritage four years earlier. Neither designation is what keeps it standing. The communities are.
That distinction is worth carrying with you when you cross it. The bridge under your feet will be a few months old at most. What holds you up is five centuries of knowledge, passed down by people who do the work rather than write it down.
Tour Highlights
- ✓ Hundreds of Inca rope bridges once spanned the gorges of the empire. This is the only one still standing, and the only one still being made.
- ✓ Outside the June rebuilding, one person at a time. It moves underfoot, which is the point.
- ✓ UNESCO listed in 2013, but what is protected is the knowledge rather than the object. The bridge is replaced every year by the people who inherited how.
- ✓ Outside the June festival you will often share the canyon with nobody but the family collecting the entrance fee.
- ✓ A short descent from the road to the bridge and back up. This is a day about a place, not a hike.
- ✓ Our crew for this route works this province and can explain the weaving, the roles and the ritual rather than reciting the plaque.
What to Expect
A long day with more stops than the name suggests, and the bridge is only one of them. Expect around eight hours in a vehicle, split either side of the crossing. An early start at half past four, breakfast in the dark at Combapata, and Cusco again by about five in the evening. That is earlier than most of our long day trips, which is worth knowing if you want your evening back.
Expect very little walking. A short descent to the bridge and back up, then a level fifteen to twenty minutes by the lagoons after lunch. Poles are handed out for that if you want them.
Expect the crossing to be optional, and to feel less solid than it looks. The bridge is taken one person at a time and it moves underfoot. Some people go straight over, some stand halfway for a while, and some watch from the bank. All three are normal and nobody is counting.
Expect facilities to be basic once you leave Combapata, and bring cash, because nothing out here takes a card.
And expect more than you booked. Most people come for the bridge and spend the drive home talking about the lagoons.
The ritual
Come in June if
✓ You want to watch the ritual, not the result
✓ Crowds and other vehicles do not put you off
✓ You are willing to book well ahead
✓ You accept you may not be able to cross
The bridge
Come any other month if
✓ You want to walk across the bridge
✓ You would rather have it quiet
✓ Your dates are already fixed
✓ You want photographs without a crowd in them
i
Before you book flights
Dates move.
The renewal falls in the second week of June, but the exact days are set by the communities and not by a calendar we control. If you are travelling specifically for the ritual, write to us before you book flights and we will confirm what is known at the time.
Best Time to Go
Four seasons rather than three, because June is its own category.
Green is the season we recommend Red is when departures are limited
Second week of June
The ritual
What to expect
The rebuilding. Three days of work, a fourth of celebration, and crowds
Our view
The ritual, not the bridge. The old one is cut down, so there may be nothing to cross. Book far ahead.
May to September
Best
What to expect
Dry and clear, cold at dawn. The bridge standing and taut
Our view
The season. Firm roads, good light, and you can walk across it.
April and October
What to expect
Shoulder months. Mixed weather, fewer vehicles
Our view
Perfectly good, and quieter still. Worth it if your dates are fixed.
November to March
What to expect
Rain, cloud, and soft ground on the unpaved section
Our view
Limited departures. The last stretch of road becomes unreliable.
Note the tension in that table. June is when the tradition is most alive and it is the one time you cannot use the bridge. Most travellers should come between July and September and cross it.
Tour Itinerary
1
Pickup in Cusco
Collection from hotels and hostels from half past four. We leave once the whole group is aboard, usually around five.
Bring cash in soles, layers and sun protection. Sleep in the vehicle. The first stretch runs south on tarmac down the Vilcanota valley.
Altitude 3,400 m
2
Buffet breakfast at Combapata
3
The Combapata viewpoint
4
Pabellones, in Yanaoca district
5
Qeswachaka, in Q'ewe district
6
Buffet lunch back at Combapata
7
The four lagoons
8
Rumipunku
9
Back in Cusco
✓
Inclusions
- ✓ Pickup from your hotel or hostel in Cusco
- ✓ Tourist transport for the whole day
- ✓ Professional guide, Spanish and English
- ✓ Buffet breakfast at Combapata
- ✓ Buffet lunch at Combapata
- ✓ Trekking poles for the lagoon walk
- ✓ Oxygen and first aid kit on board
- ✓ Stops at the Combapata viewpoint, Pabellones and Rumipunku
X
Not Included
- X Entrance ticket at the bridge, 20 soles for foreign visitors and 10 soles for Peruvian nationals, cash on the day
- X Boats on the Apurimac river, 5 soles, optional
- X Drinking water and snacks
- X Travel insurance
- X Dinner on return to Cusco
Departure Information
Available: Daily departures
Group Size: Up to 9 people
Start Time: 4:30 AM
Pickup: Your Hotel in Cusco
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Qeswachaka?
Qeswachaka is the last surviving Inca rope bridge. It spans the Apurimac river in Quehue district, Canas province, and is woven entirely from q'oya grass. Four communities rebuild it by hand every June.
When is the Qeswachaka bridge rebuilt?
Can you visit Qeswachaka outside June?
Can you walk across the Qeswachaka bridge?
Is Qeswachaka UNESCO listed?
How far is Qeswachaka from Cusco?
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