Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Bridge of the Inca (Puente del Inca) is a natural arch that forms a bridge over the Las Cuevas River, a tributary of the Mendoza River. It is located near the small village of Puente del Incaes, in Las Heras Department, Mendoza Province, Argentina. The nearby hot springs are also named Puente del Inca.
Charles Darwin visited the site in 1835 and made some drawings of the bridge with large stalactites.
In the early 20th century, a resort and monastery used the hot springs to treat certain illnesses. There is still a spa further down the river at Cacheuta. Tourists arrived by train at the resort, at a railway station that is still standing (now abandoned). This was one of the last Argentine stations of the Transandine Railway before the train continued into Chile through a long tunnel under the Andes.
The area is located between the two trail-heads for climbing Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. The abandoned railway station has been turned into a mountaineering museum, "Museo del Andinista", founded by a group of mountain climbers from Rosario to display the cultural history of the area. The museum is open to the public during the summer and is run by the founding group of friends.
The Incan Bridge has shown signs of deterioration. However, it remains stable under its weight under.
The water that flows from the hot springs is extremely rich in mineral content, to the point that it has been known to petrify small objects in a layer of minerals. Similarly, the piles of debris left by the glaciers were encrusted over time into a single solid mass. Finally, during a period where the climate was extremely wet, a powerful river formed in the valley. It cut a channel through the lower, least encrusted layers of debris, which gradually eroded into the large opening of the arch.
#argentina #Inca #Incan #Arc #southamerica #PuentedelInca #4k
Bridge of the Inca (Puente del Inca) is a natural arch that forms a bridge over the Las Cuevas River, a tributary of the Mendoza River. It is located near the small village of Puente del Incaes, in Las Heras Department, Mendoza Province, Argentina. The nearby hot springs are also named Puente del Inca.
Charles Darwin visited the site in 1835 and made some drawings of the bridge with large stalactites.
In the early 20th century, a resort and monastery used the hot springs to treat certain illnesses. There is still a spa further down the river at Cacheuta. Tourists arrived by train at the resort, at a railway station that is still standing (now abandoned). This was one of the last Argentine stations of the Transandine Railway before the train continued into Chile through a long tunnel under the Andes.
The area is located between the two trail-heads for climbing Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. The abandoned railway station has been turned into a mountaineering museum, "Museo del Andinista", founded by a group of mountain climbers from Rosario to display the cultural history of the area. The museum is open to the public during the summer and is run by the founding group of friends.
The Incan Bridge has shown signs of deterioration. However, it remains stable under its weight under.
The water that flows from the hot springs is extremely rich in mineral content, to the point that it has been known to petrify small objects in a layer of minerals. Similarly, the piles of debris left by the glaciers were encrusted over time into a single solid mass. Finally, during a period where the climate was extremely wet, a powerful river formed in the valley. It cut a channel through the lower, least encrusted layers of debris, which gradually eroded into the large opening of the arch.
#argentina #Inca #Incan #Arc #southamerica #PuentedelInca #4k
