05/03/2023
ANDEAN ROAD SYSTEM.
Qhapaq Ñan - The Great Inca Trail
The Great Inca Road or "Qhapaq Ñan" in the Quechua language, was the main axis of a great road system that had approximately 30 thousand kilometers of roads. An extensive communication network that had been organized throughout the many centuries of Andean (pre-Inca) civilization and that the Incas had articulated, as part of an integrating and expansionist political project of continental magnitude called Tawantinsuyu, which reached its maximum splendor in the fifteenth century.
The road system is structured on the basis of longitudinal and transversal roads, strategically having the Andes Mountains as its backbone. People traveled along these roads and traveled with them knowledge, ideas and customs, as well as products linking and integrating diverse ecological floors. characteristic of the Andean region to later make the exchange of products.
This road network linked the entire Tahuantinsuyo through the current territories of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, crossing deserts, agricultural areas, mountain ranges, swamps, etc. All the routes started from Cusco, Imperial city. The most important during the civilization of the Incas. The Qhapaq Ñan mainly meant the base of the Inca political expansion, since it resulted in the rapid mobilization of the armies and state officials. In addition, it facilitated the transport of valuable resources, such as metals, spondylus shells, wood, coca leaves, textiles, etc.
The colcas and tambos, enclosures that were used as warehouses and resting places, were established along the roads to allow travelers to store their products and rest. They were usually rectangular in shape and divided into several independent spaces. There were tambos of different sizes: the largest had residential rooms, plazas, and warehouses, and were used to house the Inca and his entourage. The smaller ones served as an inn for the chasquis, who were messengers of the Tahuantinsuyo.
The construction of bridges was also decisive for the Qhapaq Ñan, because thanks to these, the Incas were able to cross slopes, rivers and, in general, a rugged Andean geography. Some of these platforms were built with stones and others with wood. There were also suspension bridges that were built with vegetable fibers, as is the case of the Q'eswachaka, considered the last Inca bridge that remains in force until today.
The Incas were not the only ones who built roads to unite their territories. Many of the routes that they used and integrated into their road system were built by the cultures that preceded them. These roads were exclusively local and linked sacred centers or huacas with small towns.
Some archaeological complexes of the Wari culture, such as Piquillacta, for example, had important road systems. Other evidence of pre-Inca roads is found in the Moche Valley, on the north coast of Peru, and in Lima, where roads were built on both banks of the Chillón River, in Pachacámac, and in the Cañete River valley. These roads were crossed by others that reached the Andean areas, and even the Amazon. In 2014 it was named as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
