Gephyrophobiacs Beware! 10 Extremely Scary Bridges

Gephyrophobiacs (fear of bridges) and acrophobiacs (fear of heights) beware!

Are you looking for a little adventure in your life? Are you tired of the same ole, same ole? Well I may just have what you’re looking for… 

The bridges I’ve listed below will literally scare you breathless, throw in some wind and things get really interesting. 

Are you ready? Lets have some fun.

Trift – Switzerland

The Trift Bridge was constructed in 2004 and is one of the Alps longest and highest pedestrian suspension bridges. In 2009, a replacement bridge was put in place that contained higher handrails and stabilizing cables to help reduce the violent swinging caused by the wind.

The views are incredible and attract 20,000 visitors a year. The bridge leads to the Trift Glacier and spans the Triftsee Lake below.

Getting to the bridge is an adventure in and of itself. In the small town of Meiringen, Switzerland you catch a ride in a cable car and then on a gondola. After that, you have to hike about 2 hours to finally reach the bridge.

Location: At the Trift Glacier, near the town of Gadmen in the Swiss Alps.

Height: 328 ft.

Length: 558 ft.

Hussaini Hanging Bridge – Pakistan

Imposing gaps between rickety planks of weathered wood wedged erratically between metal cables and rope is all that keeps you from taking a swim in the Borit Lake below. Add in the sway from the wind and you have yourself an adventure of epic proportions! It does little to ease nerves that a previous, older, broken bridge hangs in tatters next to the “new” one.

This bridge provides the only means of travel connecting locals to the larger cities of northern Pakistan, making the long and dangerous walk across its shaky foundation a necessity for locals.

A monsoon in 2011 washed away the bridge you see pictured here, however another similar bridge is being built where this one once stood.

Ojuela Bridge – Mapimí, Mexico

This wooden bridge is 117 years old, it was restored as a tourist attraction in 1991. The bridge connects the ghost town of Ojuela to an ore mine, long ago abandoned. The ghost town is spooky and has a strange aura to it.

Tourists can explore the town and the ore mine today.

Location: The ghost town of Ojuela, an old mining settlement in the northern state of Durango, Mexico.

Height: 360 ft.

Length: 1,043 ft.

Canopy Walk, Ghana

Deep within the forests of Ghana’s Kakum National Park there is a footbridge soaring 110 ft. from the ground. Made of rope and wood and only about a foot wide, the Canopy Walk gives visitors a birds-eye view of the lush forest and vegetation below.

It’s a 20-minute trail-walk from the reception and restaurant area to the bridge. The trail climbs 600 ft. to the edge of the valley.

Stepping onto the bridge, you feel it sway and bounce, which only adds to the adventure. You pull yourself along by grasping the rope handrails to the first of six wooden platforms, a round treehouse that serves as a sort of way station.

Location: Kakum National Park in Ghana, Africa

Height: 110 ft.

Length: 1,000 ft.

Millau Viaduct, France

My personal favorite bridge in the world is by far the Millau Viaduct! The bridge is a work of art and was designed by structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and architect Norman Foster. On some days driving over the bridge puts one in or above the clouds, in fact, the Eiffel Tower can nearly fit underneath it at its highest point.

The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the valley of the River Tarn near the town of Millau in southern France. Construction was completed in 2004, and claimed to be the highest bridge in the world at the time, that honor currently goes to the Sidu River Bridge in China, which stands a whopping 1,627 ft. The Millau Viaduct is the 15th highest bridge in the world.

The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest engineering achievements of all time, and I would have to agree.

Location: The Tarn Valley, near Millau in southern France.

Height: 919 ft. (from the deck to the water)

Length: 1.55 miles

Capilano Suspension Bridge, Canada

Constructed in 1889 from hemp and cedar, the Capilano Bridge in British Columbia, Canada is a simple suspension bridge. It was completely restored in 1956 and attracts over 800,000 visitors a year.

The bridge is part of a park called Treetops Adventure, which includes a rain forest ecotour, award-winning gardens, nature trails, North America’s largest private collection of First Nations totem poles, period decor and costumes, and exhibits highlighting the park’s history and the surrounding temperate rain forest. Plus there are seven footbridges suspended between old-growth Douglas Fir trees on the west side of the canyon.

The bridge has become famous, appearing in several television series including: MacGyver, Sliders, The Crow and Psych.

Location: The District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Height: 230 ft.

Length: 460 ft.

Glass Bridge – Hunan, China

Terrifying, scary, horrifying, frightening – these are just a few of the words used to describe what I elect as the “Worlds Scariest Bridge.”

China recently opened their heart-stopping Glass Bridge, and has terrified thousands of people since. The bridge straddles two mountain peaks 1,000 ft apart in an area known for its high winds. It’s almost guaranteed that your journey across will be intensified by the wind rocking the bridge side to side. And to make things even scarier, the deck is made of glass! What?!? Yes, that’s right, there is glass under your feet so you can look down 590 ft to the valley below.

Location: Pingjiang county, in the province of Hunan, southern China

Height: 590 ft.

Length: 1,000 ft.

The Hanging Bridge of Ghasa – Nepal

Constructed to ease the traffic caused by local animal herds, The Hanging Bridge of Ghasa stretches high above a river valley and serves as a short-cut to the market for herders and farmers as well.

Today, animals and farmers mainly populate the bridge, but thrill seeking adventurers can’t resist the urge to test their courage. Are you one of them?

Location: The south side of the Annapurna circuit in Nepal

Height: 450 ft.

Length: 1,128 ft.

Royal Gorge Bridge, Colorado

I had no idea that I was afraid of heights until I crossed the Royal Gorge Bridge for the first time as a child. That day sticks in my memory as if it happened only last week. I have recently crossed it again and I have to admit that I was just as terrified as when I was a child! I was dumb enough to peak over the side when I was half way across and found that my body had locked up on me, I couldn’t move! I became dizzy and was certain that I would drop to my death any second. I somehow found the strength to push myself away from the railing and hurriedly finished across.

The Royal Gorge Bridge is a suspension bridge and held the distinction as the world’s highest bridge from 1921 until 2001. It’s still the highest suspension bridge in the United States.

Location: Canyon City, Colorado, USA

Height: 955 ft.

Length: 1,260 ft.

Sidu River Bridge – China

Last but certainly not least we have the worlds highest bridge, the Sidu River Bridge. It tops out at a mind numbing 1,627 ft from the valley below. Construction was completed in 2009 at a cost of $100 million dollars.

The first part of the bridge to be placed is called the “pilot cable” and the Chinese actually used a rocket to string it across the valley (first time ever done).

Location: Near Yesanguan in Badong County of the Hubei Province in China

Height: 1,627 ft.

Length: 4,009 ft.

Well there you have it folks, 10 scary bridges from around the world. If you’ve had the pleasure to cross any of these terrifying bridges, please tell us about it below in the comments section. Or tell us about any other bridges that scared you, I’d love to hear from you!

Click here for a list of the highest bridges in the world.

Check out an article I wrote about the Skyway Bridge in Florida here.

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Hi my name is JP Chartier and I write for Gutter Pup Adventures.com where you can expect to read well-written and entertaining articles about the people and places that often get overlooked at many popular vacation destinations around the world.