Rumichaca Bridge
title: "Rumichaca Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bridges-in-ecuador", "bridges-in-colombia", "international-bridges", "inca-empire", "stone-arch-bridges"] topic_path: "general/bridges-in-ecuador" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumichaca_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox bridge"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Rumichaca Bridge |
| native_name | |
| native_name_lang | es |
| image | Colombia,Apertura_del_nuevo_puente_internacional_de_Rumichaca.(11058622346).jpg |
| caption | Entering Ecuador on the modern Rumichaca Bridge. |
| open | |
| extra | |
| :: |
| name = Rumichaca Bridge | native_name = | native_name_lang = es | image = Colombia,Apertura_del_nuevo_puente_internacional_de_Rumichaca.(11058622346).jpg | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Entering Ecuador on the modern Rumichaca Bridge. | pushpin_map = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = | os_grid_reference = | qid = | refs = | carries = | crosses = | locale = | starts = | ends = | official_name = | other_name = | named_for = | owner = | maint = | heritage = | id = | id_type = | website = | preceded = | followed = | design = | material = | material1 = | material2 = | length = | width = | height = | depth = | traversable = | towpath = | mainspan = | number_spans = | piers_in_water = | load = | clearance_above = | clearance_below = | lanes = | life = | first_length = | first_diameter = | second_length = | second_diameter = | third_length = | third_diameter = | capacity = | num_track = | track_gauge = | structure_gauge = | electrification = | architect = | designer = | contracted_designer = | winner = | engineering = | builder = | fabricator = | begin = | complete = | cost = | open = | inaugurated = | rebuilt = | collapsed = | closed = | replaces = | replaced_by = | traffic = | toll = | map_type = | map_relief = | map_dot_label = | map_image = | map_size = | map_alt = | mapframe = | mapframe_zoom = | mapframe_width = | mapframe_height = | mapframe_marker = | mapframe_marker_color = | mapframe_lat = | mapframe_long = | map_caption = | extra = The Rumichaca Bridge (Quechua rumi stone, chaka bridge, "stone bridge") is the principal highway passage between Colombia and Ecuador. The bridge is located 3 km from the city of Ipiales, Colombia and 7 km from the city of Tulcán, Ecuador. The bridge is located in the Andes at an elevation of 2763 m. The Pan-American Highway crosses the bridge.
The stone bridge
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 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
The modern bridge, with a span of 200 m, is 80 m upstream from the stone bridge, The bridge is the most important artery for commerce and 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. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Rumichaca_3.JPG" caption="The old customs houses of Colombia and Ecuador sit atop the stone bridge."] ::
Venezuelan refugees and migrants
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 the others continued on to Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
References
References
- {{Ref Laime
- Casas Gragea, Angel Maria and Orbes Revelo, Belky, "Border Integration and Land Transport of Merchandise between Colombia and Ecuador", p. 56, http://www19.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/integracion_comercio/i_INTAL_IYT_38_2014_CasasGragea_Revelo.pdf{{Dead link. (November 2025)
- Google Earth
- Almeida Reyes, Dr. Eduardo (2015), "El Camino del Inca en las Sierra Norte del Ecuador y su Valoracion Turistica", Revista de Invetigacion Cientifica, No, 7, pp. 75-87
- Casas Gragea and Orbes Revelo, p. 57, http://www19.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/integracion_comercio/i_INTAL_IYT_38_2014_CasasGragea_Revelo.pdf{{Dead link. (November 2025)
- (28 August 2019). "Colombia and Ecuador Population Movement - Information bulletin no. 1".
- "Acnur: 30 000 ciudadanos venezolanos llegaron a Ecuador en la primera semana de agosto del 2018".
- "Venezuelan Migration could Raise GDP Growth in Ecuador by us to 2 Percent".
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