   the inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-columbian south america. it was more than 20,000 miles long.  the construction of the roads required a large expenditure of time and effort, and the quality of that construction is borne out by the fact that it is still in quite good condition after over 400 years of use. 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. part of the road network was built by cultures that precede the inca empire, notably the wari culture. during the spanish colonial era, parts of the road system were given the status of camino real. ==main routes== 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. more than twenty routes ran over the western mountains, while others traversed the eastern cordillera in the mountains and lowlands. some of these roads reach heights of over  above sea level. the trails connected the regions of the inca empire from the northern provincial capital in quito, ecuador past the modern city 
Ancient_roads_and_tracks Archaeological_sites_in_Peru History_of_road_transport Inca Road_transport_in_South_America Transport_in_South_America