El Qhapaq Ñan, or Camino del Inca, was an extensive and sophisticated network of roads that climbed up to 6,739 meters high. The Inca Trail globally covered about 30,000 kilometers, in which between 2,500 and 3,000 kilometers of roads were built.
This carefully engineered road system made up of stairways, bridges, tunnels, lookouts, retaining walls, and water drainage allowed for safe and efficient passage of goods, animals, and it connected the full length of the Incan empire, starting from Cuzco, Peru, and spreading through modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.
Click play to learn more about the fascinating history of this wonder of Inca engineering:
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