It is known that the Inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. The network was based on two north-south roads with numerous branches, the best known portion of it being the trail to Machu Picchu. Part of the roads was built by cultures that precede the Inca Empire, notably the Wari culture, and during the Spanish colonial era parts of this system were given the status of Camino Real (Royal Road). Imagine stone paving up to 20m wide, dressed steps climbing heights of over 4500m, walkways over water and suspension bridges spawning raging rivers. Envision single runners, chasquis, carrying messages on knotted strings called quipus at lightening speed in relay from one end of the empire to the other or imagine thousands of troops marching in line, their footsteps thundering in approach. Or visualize the Inca himself, seated on a litter lined with feathers and plated with gold and silver, being carried by more than 80 lords, the road before him being swept and adorned with petals.
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