The bridges were constructed using ichu grass[1] woven into large bundles which were very strong.

In some instances,[citation needed] these local peasants had the sole task of repairing these bridges so that the Inca highways or road systems could continue to function.

[3] The greatest bridges of this kind were in the Apurímac Canyon along the main road north from Cusco;[4] a famous example spans a 45-meter gap[5] that is supposed to be the inspiration behind Thornton Wilder's 1928 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927).

Made of grass, the last remaining Inca rope bridge, reconstructed every June, is the Q'iswa Chaka (Quechua for "rope bridge"), spanning the Apurimac River near Huinchiri, in Canas Province, Quehue District, Peru.

The builders have indicated that effort is performed to honor their ancestors and the Pachamama (Earth Mother).