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Inca Road Network (Qhapaq Ñan)

Type Object Region Peru Time c. 1200–1532

The qhapaq ñan ("Royal Road") built by the Inca Empire was the largest overland transport system in pre-Columbian America, stretching about 40,000 km…

Timeline

  1. c. 1200–1380Cusco Valley · Cusco RegionBefore the rise of the Inca, Andean polities built footpaths along valleys and ridges, connecting settlements, terraces, and mines, providing a natural framework for the later imperial road network.
  2. 1381–1390Cusco · Cusco RegionUnder rulers such as Yawar Waqaq, the Inca state campaigned outward from Cusco, bringing existing mountain paths in conquered areas under unified maintenance, establishing relay stations for messengers and pack trains, and beginning to form standards for road width and stonework.
  3. c. 1438–1532Andean cordillera · Andes MountainsPachacuti and his successors built stone stairways, suspension bridges, and coastal desert road segments on a large scale, forming four main trunk routes and countless branches that connected the entire empire and supported military and tribute transport.

Sources