The Rumichaca Bridge ( Quechua rumi stone, chaka bridge, "stone bridge") is the principal highway passage between Colombia and Ecuador . The bridge is located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the city of Ipiales , Colombia and 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the city of Tulcán , Ecuador. The bridge is located in the Andes at an elevation of 2,763 metres (9,065 ft). The Pan-American Highway crosses the bridge.
6-764: Rumichaca received its name because here a natural stone bridge crosses the Carchi River (called the Guáitara River in Colombia). The stone bridge is often called the "Inca Bridge." The Carchi River was called the Angasmayo by the Incas and early Spanish colonists. The bridge, according to Spanish chroniclers, was the northernmost outpost of the Inca Empire , wrested from the Pasto people in
12-615: The Carchi becomes known as the Guáitara River which is a tributary of the Patía River . The Pasto people lived along the Carchi River in pre-Columbian times. At the northernmost point of the Inca Empire the Pasto were never fully conquered by the Incas. The Carchi was known as the Angasmayo River by the Incas and the early Spanish colonists. A natural stone bridge at Rumichaca
18-505: The border of Ecuador and Colombia . The river flows eastward across the high plateau of El Angel. The Carchi has a total course of about 45 kilometres (28 mi), forming the border between Colombia and Ecuador for about 20 kilometres (12 mi). It passes between the cities of Tulcan, Ecuador and Ipiales, Colombia and beneath the Rumichaca Bridge , the principal terrestrial link between Colombia and Ecuador. Entering Colombia,
24-405: The early 16th century. Atop this natural bridge are the old Colombian and Ecuadorian customs houses. Prior to the completion of the modern bridge in 1973, the stone bridge was used as a border crossing for goods and people. The modern bridge, with a span of 200 metres (660 ft), is 80 metres (260 ft) upstream from the stone bridge, The bridge is the most important artery for commerce and
30-425: The others continued on to Peru, Chile, and Argentina. 0°48′55″N 77°39′54″W / 0.8153°N 77.6649°W / 0.8153; -77.6649 Carchi River 0°48′55″N 77°39′54″W / 0.8153°N 77.6649°W / 0.8153; -77.6649 The Carchi River is a river of Ecuador . It rises on the slopes of Chiles Volcano , elevation 4,698 metres (15,413 ft), on
36-728: The transport of goods between Colombia and Ecuador. In 2013, 57.9 percent (about US$ one billion) of Colombia's exports to Ecuador crossed the border on the Rumichaca Bridge. In the same year, 77 percent (about US$ 650 million) of Ecuador's exports to Colombia crossed the Rumichaca bridge. From May 2017 until July 2019 nearly 1.7 million Venezuelans entered Ecuador, most of them across the Rumichaca Bridge. The Venezuelan refugees and migrants were fleeing hunger and hyperinflation occurring in their country. Four hundred thousand remained in Ecuador and
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