Not all bridges are cold steel and concrete. Around the world, people have created crossings using nature, tradition, and clever hands. These five are among the most unusual—and most beautiful.

High in the Andes, four Quechua-speaking communities gather each year to rebuild a bridge made entirely of grass.

Using nothing but q’oya fiber and ancient Inca technique, they twist, braid, and haul until a new span stretches over the Apurímac River.

It’s been done this way for centuries.

In the dense jungles of Meghalaya, some bridges grow instead of being built.

The Khasi people train the roots of rubber fig trees across rivers, shaping them over decades into walkable arches.

These living bridges only get stronger with time—and some even grow two levels tall.

The world’s longest teak bridge stretches across a shallow lake near Amarapura.

Built in the 1800s from reclaimed palace wood, it looks delicate, but it’s used every day. The bridge was once part of a royal route linking the old capital to surrounding monasteries.

At sunrise, it glows gold. At sunset, it vanishes into silhouette.

In the rainforests of British Columbia, this wooden bridge swings high above a canyon lined with fir and cedar.

Built in 1889 by a Scottish engineer using hemp rope and cedar planks, it was originally used to access a remote cabin. Today, it's part of a treetop adventure trail that lets visitors wander among 100-foot Douglas firs.

Fog sometimes drapes the trees in silence. Step onto it, and the forest feels like it’s breathing.

This stone bridge in Kromlau Park forms a perfect circle when reflected in the water below.

Built in the 19th century, it’s too fragile to walk on—but it draws visitors for one reason: it looks like something out of a fairy tale.

Until next time,

Emails From Afar Team

While this newsletter brings you the magic, the strange, and the downright odd by email, Letters From Afar takes it a step further—with real letters sent through the mail.

Our snail mail subscription whisks you away to the world’s most exciting destinations, one handwritten letter at a time.

Written from the perspective of an explorer from the past, each letter invites you to journey to distant lands through the most old-world form of communication: a letter delivered to your door.