Capilano Bridge in Canada: photo, description, entertainment, map
Capilano Bridge today is a whole entertainment complex, which is visited by more than 900 thousand tourists annually. We invite you to join us on a journey and find out why it is so famous.
History of the bridge
In the late 18th century, Scottish engineer George Grand Mackay purchased 24 square kilometers of land in British Columbia. These places are rich in natural resources, but the most important and profitable of them is the forest. Red cedar, Douglas fir, western hemlock – all these trees are very valuable in construction, especially since their height reaches 90-100m.
The local humid climate does not allow fires to spread and creates all conditions for their full development. McKay took up deforestation on his property. To create more comfortable work in 1883, he built a suspension bridge over the canyon, which divided the site.
The Scot then did not even suspect that such a creation, simple at first glance, from ordinary boards and hemp ropes would make him famous not only in Vancouver, but throughout the world. The longest in Canada, 136 m, at a height of 70 m, the bridge, instead of a logging assistant, has become a great attraction. This was understood by its next owner Makikran.
Beginning in 1935, household items of local Indians, their totems, began to appear in the park nearby. The bridge has turned into an open-air freak show, a city landmark. Since 1983 Nancy Stibbard has been the next owner.
Memories of the Squamish Indian Tribe
Today it is a whole entertainment complex for recreation and entertainment, which is visited by more than 900 thousand tourists annually. And there really is something to see here. A large collection of totems of the Squamish Indian tribe, their utensils, which you can touch with your hands, get acquainted with the conditions of their life, their work.
This tribe had a leader named Joe Capilano. This man, in the opinion of his people, knew the language of birds, animals, knew how to negotiate even with the sky about good weather. In some ways, they were right, since Joe visited Ottawa, and even London, to talk with King Edward VII of Canada about the fate of the indigenous population, its rights. He achieved the preservation of the memory of the tribe, perpetuated his name. “Capilano” is called in Vancouver a lake, a river, a highland, a road, a park, a suspension bridge.
Bridge walk
Now this bridge plays more of an entertaining role. Walking along it, as they say, “tickles the nerves.” Ropes with boards, of course, have long been replaced by more durable materials. Engineers involved in the repair calculated a load capacity of 100 tons. There is even a joke about 96 elephants that can fearlessly cross to the other side. But even confidence in the reliability of the design does not eliminate the influx of adrenaline during the promenade along the surface staggering over the abyss.
Centuries-old pine trees, the tops of which are nearby, sway to the beat of the wind, its noise leaves an indelible feeling of the power of nature. The river, deep below, turns stones in stormy streams, trembling the hearts of travelers who have decided to test their courage. Of course, on a quiet, fine day, it is very beautiful and, one might say, calmly.
It is good to make a stop, watch the squirrels jumping on the branches, listen to the murmur of water, admire the greenery caressed by the sun's rays, merge with nature, so to speak, until the next stream of tourists begins to move along the bridge. Again, trembling, staggering, and the “leaving” the support from under the feet, admiring exclamations and children's laughter. Before the reconstruction, the local Indians called the bridge “Laughing” for the sounds it made when it moved from the wind or walking people. So “fun” he remained to this day.
Treetops Adventures
In 2004, the park acquired another attraction – Treetops Adventures. These are seven tracks on the west coast, suspended at a height of 30m. Tourists move from tree to tree, looking at samples and models of everything that the local lands are rich in. Something like a local history museum, only on the trunks of three-hundred-year-old firs. And around are fascinating pictures of a dense forest from a fairy tale. The role of the “hut on chicken legs” here is played by life-size models of Indian dwellings.
The bravest visit the Cliffwalk. This is an unusual path attached directly to the rock of the canyon. Some of its parts are made of transparent material, that is, you can see the abyss under your feet. Such impressions are not for the faint of heart, although very interesting. At the end of this path, brave tourists will find a surprise – a charming waterfall.
There are also many wooden paths along the ground, carefully bending around each trunk that is on the way. A lot of pavilions, places for recreation, viewing platforms, which offer stunning views of the virgin nature, preserved for posterity as an example of respect for the ecosystem. Even the souvenir shop and cafe are arranged here very harmoniously.
The park and Capilano Bridge are closely connected with the history of the conquest of these places by “white people”, the fate of the Squamish tribe, its leader. It is gratifying to see how the echoes of distant times live and delight contemporaries, warming their souls with love for the world around them.