Source: "Caminos incas, propuestos para ser reconocidos por UNESCO," El Universal
(Quito), April 14, 2009.
Representatives from Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina met last week in Quito, Ecuador with the intention of placing Qhapaq Ñan, the network of imperial Inca roads on the list of World Heritage sites. The two day meeting was organized by the Ministry responsible for coordinating the Natural and Cultural Heritage of Ecuador. The participants were to seek integration and coordination of their country delegations for the support of the proposal in UNESCO.
The 600 year old Inca road system included some 30,000 kilometers of improved roads that permitted rapid communication over an area now covered by seven countries. The working meeting discussed plans to maintain and conserve the roads, a necessary step in the application for World Heritage status.
Editors note: I have seen a small part of this road network, and is seems to me to be an engineering accomplishment perhaps comparable to the road systems of ancient Persia or ancient Rome, or for that matter to the Great Wall of China. Good luck to our Latin American neighbors in their quest. JAD