The Inca Wheel and Inca Road Network

Did the Incas have the wheel? Although the Incas were very advanced and did in fact know about the concept of the wheel, they never developed it in practice. This was quite simply because their empire spanned the world’s second highest mountain range, where there were more straightforward methods to carry goods than using the inca wheel.

The Inca Wheel

In it’s heyday – right at the time of the Spanish Conquest in the 1530’s – the Inca Empire stretched all the way from northern Argentina to Southern Colombia, an area defined chiefly by high peaks, narrow valleys and barren rocky terrain. Carrying goods was thus far more convenient by porters and on pack animals, such as llamas, who were well attuned to traversing tricky mountain slopes with heavy loads…. far easier than dragging a wagon up a mountain I’m sure you’ll agree!

The Ina Road Network

In order to make travel by foot easier, the Incas developed an extensive and complex system of roads for transportation and communications, which they called Khapaq Ñan. This covered the vast majority of their  Empire, the total length of road incorporated is thought to have been around 25,000 miles, the same as the Earth’s diameter. The most famous stretch of road is, of course, The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

Exploring Peru on Foot

At Aracari, as locally-based specialists in luxury travel Peru, we encourage you to try out the time-honoured tradition of navigating the Andes by foot and take advantage of the many incredible Peru treks available, from day hikes, to multi-day lodge-to-lodge treks, to the famous Inca trail to Machu Picchu.

Map of the Inca Road System

This fantastic map of the Inca road system comes from Wikipedia:

Related Post
La Paz Walking Tour La Paz is a metropolis of many nooks and crannies. I had visited La Paz once before in 2011 when I was living in Sucre, but when I was passing through...
Avoiding Altitude Sickness in the Sacred Valley with Muna Tea The Sacred Valley of the Incas is undoubtedly one of Peru's most breathtaking regions. Famed for its vast landscapes, rich culture, and ancient Inca r...
The Best of Lima’s Historic Centre Lima, the capital of Peru, was once just a layover for hot-footed tourists on the way to Cuzco and a Machu Picchu luxury trip. Not anymore. You wouldn...
Lisy Kuon Specialist Guide in Cusco Aracari offers guests unparalleled insight into Peru's rich history and culture with our specialists guides - experts in their fields offering unique ...
The kids of Patakancha We could not consider our tours of Peru, Bolivia and Galapagos to be of the highest calibre and authenticity without basing our operations in responsi...
8 Inspiring Women On International Women’s Day Happy International Women’s Day! We would like to introduce you to these eight inspiring women. Each of them does exceptional work preserving the c...