The Inca Empire built the road system centered on Cusco and extending across the Andes.
The Inca Empire, also called Tawantinsuyu, developed one of the largest and most organized transportation networks in pre-Columbian America. Its roads connected the imperial capital Cusco with territories in modern Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia.
The network included paved sections, stairways, suspension bridges, tunnels, drainage works, and tambos, which served as way stations and supply points. The main routes supported armies, administrators, messengers, and the movement of food and other goods across difficult mountain terrain.
Inca runners called chasquis carried messages through relay stations. Since the Inca did not use a conventional writing system, knotted-cord devices called quipus helped record information such as quantities and obligations. Spanish forces conquered the empire in the 16th century, but many roads and terraces continued to influence travel and settlement in the Andes.