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 the road system is the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
The eastern route ran high in the puna grasslands and mountain valleys from Quito, Ecuador to Mendoza, Argentina. The western route followed the coastal plain not including in coastal deserts where it hugged the foothills.
The Inca road system linked together about 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi) of roadway and provided access to over 3,000,000 square kilometres (1,200,000 sq mi) of territory.
When you consider that the Earth’s circumference is 40,075 km, the road network could almost encircle the entire planet!
