Inca Road System (Qhapaq Ñan)

Timeline

1. c. 600–1438Andean region of south-central Peru · PeruThe Inca integrated roads already built by earlier Andean civilizations such as the Wari culture, forming an initial road network around Cusco that provided a transport basis for imperial expansion.
2. 1438–1525Main square of Cusco (origin of the road network) · CuscoPachacuti and his successors built roads on a large scale; four main highways radiated from Cusco to Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, with tambo relay stations and bridges along the way, the network reaching its maximum extent in the mid-fifteenth century.
3. 1441–1450Royal Road (main line along the Andean ridge) · PeruBy this period the Inca road network connected the Andes from north to south; chasqui messengers relayed information, and troops and tribute moved rapidly along the Royal Road, making the network the lifeline of imperial political control and economic integration.
4. 1532–1600Cajamarca · Cajamarca RegionThe Spanish conquest caused the Inca state system to collapse; some sections of the road network were abandoned and others rebuilt and reused by colonizers; communities along the Andes remain the guardians of the road network's heritage to this day.