Decade of the Qhapaq Ãan, or Andean Road System
The Decade of the Qhapaq Ãan (Andean Road System), inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 21 June 2014, during the 38th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, is celebrated in 2024 as a result of the joint work of six Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, in heritage recognition.
The Qhapaq Ãan is a system of paths and roads that connects the Andes from northern Colombia to southern Chile. It was built by the Incas and Andean peoples more than 500 years ago. This system is a testimony to the engineering and architecture of the time, and a clear testimony to the dialogue between peoples.
Qhapaq Ãan is a cultural, social, symbolic, economic and ritual intervention in a profound relationship and understanding of nature that has allowed dialogues and exchanges between diverse local populations of a rich multi-ethnic diversity since pre-Hispanic times. Important networks of exchange and encounter have been created, currently grouped in routes, among which we find: the route of the herbalist doctors, of coca, of the sacred lake, of salt, of corn and the route of the great PaititÃ.
