The

Q'eswachaka suspension bridge,

which dates back to the Inca empire in

Peru

and whose conservation ritual is

Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,

collapsed due to the deterioration of the ropes that could not be renewed because of the pandemic, the authority reported on Wednesday cultural of Cuzco.

"Yesterday [on Tuesday] they reported the collapse of the suspension bridge due to lack of renovation due to the pandemic," a source from the

Decentralized Directorate of Culture Cuzco

told AFP

,

who requested that his identity be reserved.

A technical team traveled from Cuzco, the

ancient capital of the Inca empire

(15th-16th centuries) to southeastern Peru, to assess the damage.

The renovation of the rope walkway occurs

every year between the months of May and June,

but the mandatory confinements due to the coronavirus pandemic prevented the work.

Since secular times, this task has been carried out by residents of four peasant communities in the Quehue district, in the Cusco province of Canas, near the bridge.

The platform was located in Quehue, on the

mighty Apurímac River,

at 3,700 meters high.

The structure of the bridge,

28 meters long

and just over a meter wide, is made by farmers, who work the vegetable fiber called ichu and braid it in ropes.

The work lasts for three days, until the knotted ropes shape the bridge.

A popular festival closes the communal task.

In 2013 Unesco included the Inca ritual and conservation techniques in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Q'eswachaka bridge "is a palpable example of the continuity of a cultural tradition that has existed since pre-Hispanic times," according to Peruvian authorities.

"It is a historical icon of ancient Peru and its recognition by UNESCO is a tribute to the original Quechua communities that for centuries have preserved it and kept it in use," anthropologist

Luis Guillermo Lumbreras,

former director of

the National Institute

, told AFP in 2013.

of Culture.

The Q'eswachaca is the last bridge of its kind that is preserved and that has maintained its original state, from generation to generation, for more than five centuries.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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