Even in an area where the Incas lived no matter how harsh it was they still needed a highway. Two main roads ran from north to south. These were crossed by hundreds of smaller roads, running east to west, which linked towns and villages.

On the sandy coasts the roads had a rough surface and the lines were manly only logs lined along the roads.

In the highlands they were paved with stone or cut into the rocks. Sometimes these roads were climbed up like staircases or they would evolve through tunnels. Where the roads had to go across water bridges would be constructed. Click on the graphic on the right for a photograph of an Inca bridge.

The Incas had not discovered the wheel and so all traveling was done by foot. To help the Inca people on their way there were rest houses every few kilometers. Here the travelers could camp or cook or feed their traveling animals. On smaller roads there were smaller rest-houses.