2025-05-20 | Cultural Heritage
Qhapaq Ñan – Andean Road System Cultural Heritage
Inscription: 38th Session of the World Heritage Committee. Doha, Qatar, June 21, 2014.
Qhapaq Ñan is an extensive Inca road system spanning over 30,000 kilometers, built by pre-Hispanic Andean cultures over several centuries. It reached its maximum expansion in the 15th century during the consolidation of the Tahuantinsuyo. It crosses six countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and has four main routes originating from the central plaza of Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. These routes are connected with other roads, creating links and connections supported by associated infrastructure for trade, storage, and lodging.
The Qhapaq Ñan was the road that united cities, cults, and production centers for several centuries. It represents a unique engineering achievement in a geographic terrain that links the snow-capped Andes Mountains—at altitudes over 6,600 meters (21,650 feet) above sea level—with the fertile valleys of the Amazon basin. The integration of ancestral knowledge from Andean communities and cultures enabled the exchange of social, political, and economic values. Several structures along the road provide evidence of valuable resources and goods traded such as precious metals, muyu (Spondylus shell), food, military supplies, feathers, wood, coca, and textiles transported from areas where they were gathered, produced, or manufactured, to Inca centers and the capital (Criterion (ii)).
The Qhapaq Ñan was the vital backbone of the Inca Empire and a symbol of its strength and extent (Criterion (iii)). Various elements illustrate characteristic typologies in terms of walls, roads, steps, road trenches, wastewater pipes, drainage systems, etc., with exclusive construction methods varying according to location and regional context (Criterion (iv)). The Andean road system played an essential role in organizing space and society across a wide geographic area along the Andes, where roads were used as a means to share cultural values, provide communities with a sense of identity, and allow their cultural practices and expressions to continue being passed down through generations (Criterion (vi)).
Integrity. The series of inscribed Qhapaq Ñan sites illustrates the variety of typological, functional, and communicative elements that allow a comprehensive understanding of its historical and contemporary role. The number of segments is adequate to convey the main characteristics of the heritage route, despite being fragmented into individual components.
Authenticity. The Qhapaq Ñan sites preserve their features, form, design, and the variety of specific architectural and engineering types. The materials used are mainly stone and earth, with types varying regionally, and repair and maintenance measures are carried out with traditional techniques and materials. The Qhapaq Ñan crosses landscapes that need to be monitored to ensure that modern development does not cause visual impacts. Several sites are difficult to access, and their remoteness has kept them in good condition for centuries.
Protection and Management Requirements. Qhapaq Ñan crosses six countries that signed joint declarations between 2010 and 2012 for protection under their respective legislations. At national levels, management systems have been developed in cooperation with local communities, many of which expressed interest in tourism activities to be managed and conducted at the community level. Some Qhapaq Ñan territories are seismically active areas, and architectural structures could be endangered by earthquakes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop risk protection schemes to ensure the safety of people and cultural resources. On November 29, 2012, a general policy framework was established for Qhapaq Ñan with the Management Strategy document signed by the six States Parties. In addition to this multinational agreement, management plans will be developed at the regional level for each individual section of the road network. It was also recommended that the States Parties, aiming to ensure the relationship between different sites in terms of continuity despite fragmentation, develop appropriate maps or a GIS system illustrating the functional and social relationships between the different components of Qhapaq Ñan.
Qhapaq Ñan is an extensive Inca road system spanning over 30,000 kilometers, built by pre-Hispanic Andean cultures over several centuries. It reached its maximum expansion in the 15th century during the consolidation of the Tahuantinsuyo. It crosses six countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and has four main routes originating from the central plaza of Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. These routes are connected with other roads, creating links and connections supported by associated infrastructure for trade, storage, and lodging.
The Qhapaq Ñan was the road that united cities, cults, and production centers for several centuries. It represents a unique engineering achievement in a geographic terrain that links the snow-capped Andes Mountains—at altitudes over 6,600 meters (21,650 feet) above sea level—with the fertile valleys of the Amazon basin. The integration of ancestral knowledge from Andean communities and cultures enabled the exchange of social, political, and economic values. Several structures along the road provide evidence of valuable resources and goods traded such as precious metals, muyu (Spondylus shell), food, military supplies, feathers, wood, coca, and textiles transported from areas where they were gathered, produced, or manufactured, to Inca centers and the capital (Criterion (ii)).
The Qhapaq Ñan was the vital backbone of the Inca Empire and a symbol of its strength and extent (Criterion (iii)). Various elements illustrate characteristic typologies in terms of walls, roads, steps, road trenches, wastewater pipes, drainage systems, etc., with exclusive construction methods varying according to location and regional context (Criterion (iv)). The Andean road system played an essential role in organizing space and society across a wide geographic area along the Andes, where roads were used as a means to share cultural values, provide communities with a sense of identity, and allow their cultural practices and expressions to continue being passed down through generations (Criterion (vi)).
Integrity. The series of inscribed Qhapaq Ñan sites illustrates the variety of typological, functional, and communicative elements that allow a comprehensive understanding of its historical and contemporary role. The number of segments is adequate to convey the main characteristics of the heritage route, despite being fragmented into individual components.
Authenticity. The Qhapaq Ñan sites preserve their features, form, design, and the variety of specific architectural and engineering types. The materials used are mainly stone and earth, with types varying regionally, and repair and maintenance measures are carried out with traditional techniques and materials. The Qhapaq Ñan crosses landscapes that need to be monitored to ensure that modern development does not cause visual impacts. Several sites are difficult to access, and their remoteness has kept them in good condition for centuries.
Protection and Management Requirements. Qhapaq Ñan crosses six countries that signed joint declarations between 2010 and 2012 for protection under their respective legislations. At national levels, management systems have been developed in cooperation with local communities, many of which expressed interest in tourism activities to be managed and conducted at the community level. Some Qhapaq Ñan territories are seismically active areas, and architectural structures could be endangered by earthquakes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop risk protection schemes to ensure the safety of people and cultural resources. On November 29, 2012, a general policy framework was established for Qhapaq Ñan with the Management Strategy document signed by the six States Parties. In addition to this multinational agreement, management plans will be developed at the regional level for each individual section of the road network. It was also recommended that the States Parties, aiming to ensure the relationship between different sites in terms of continuity despite fragmentation, develop appropriate maps or a GIS system illustrating the functional and social relationships between the different components of Qhapaq Ñan.