09 Aug 2017
World's longest suspension bridge launches in Swiss Alps
BY Kim Megson
The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has opened in the Swiss Alps, offering brave trekkers a shortcut across one of the region’s most dramatic valleys.
The 494m long Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge, which is 86m above the ground at its highest point, stretches between the towns of Grächen and Zermatt along the Europaweg foot trail, with the peaks of the Matterhorn in the distance.
Swiss engineers Lauber Seilbahnen and Swissrope built the structure in just ten weeks.
The bridge takes around ten minutes to walk, cutting down a circuitous journey that previously took up to four hours. The trail takes walkers from between 1,600m and 2,200m above sea level.
The nerve-jangling crossing is the latest in a series of gravity-defying attractions to open in recent times. In 2015, a glass suspension bridge was launched in Hunan's Shiniuzhai National Geological Park, offering bold tourists a chance to cross a 180m deep chasm between two cliffs.
Last year, a 1,000 ft high glass slide opened near the top of Los Angeles’ Bank Tower.
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