A slope rises beside you.

Ground that rises or falls instead of staying flat.

A steep slope.

Ground that rises or falls instead of staying flat.

Instead of placing a foot on a continuous slope, a walker moves from one surface to the next.

Ground that rises or falls instead of staying flat.

Rain can run down a slope, gather in a hollow and carry loose earth away.

Ground that rises or falls instead of staying flat.

Roads reached beyond the next ridge, into valleys, towards settlements, across rivers.

The long, high line along the top of a mountain.

Earlier Andean communities had already built routes and developed knowledge of the terrain.

The shape and physical features of the ground.

On the ground, every connection has to pass through real terrain.

The shape and physical features of the ground.

They held provisions, too.

Food and other supplies kept ready for a journey.

Inca storehouses, called colcas, could be round or rectangular.

Buildings used to keep food or other supplies safe.

Its structure is made from plant fibres, twisted and woven into ropes.

Thin threads of plant material used here to make rope.

Families prepare the fibres and make ropes.

Thin threads of plant material used here to make rope.

The transformation is gradual: fibres become cords; cords become cables; the cables become a bridge.

Thin threads of plant material used here to make rope.

He also described fibres being beaten with a stone and soaked to make them easier to work.

Thin threads of plant material used here to make rope.

Before there is a place to put a foot above the river, there are hands preparing the fibres.

Thin threads of plant material used here to make rope.

Smaller cords are combined into much thicker cables.

Thin ropes made by combining and twisting fibres.

The transformation is gradual: fibres become cords; cords become cables; the cables become a bridge.

Thin ropes made by combining and twisting fibres.

How do several cords come together?

Thin ropes made by combining and twisting fibres.

A suspension bridge carries its walkway on cables held at either end.

Very thick, strong ropes supporting the bridge.

The cables span the space between the banks.

Very thick, strong ropes supporting the bridge.

Smaller cords are combined into much thicker cables.

Very thick, strong ropes supporting the bridge.

The transformation is gradual: fibres become cords; cords become cables; the cables become a bridge.

Very thick, strong ropes supporting the bridge.

Q’eswachaka stretches across a gorge of the Apurímac River.

A deep, narrow valley with steep sides.

The work moves from something a person can hold in their hands towards a structure that reaches across the gorge.

A deep, narrow valley with steep sides.

Its structure is made from plant fibres, twisted and woven into ropes.

Turned together to make a stronger cord or rope.

Grass was cut and twisted into cord.

Turned together to make a stronger cord or rope.

How tightly should a fibre be twisted?

Turned together to make a stronger cord or rope.

Temporary lodgings called tampu housed people travelling in the service of the Inca state, including soldiers and workers.

Places where travellers can stay for a short time.

Elsewhere, walls, paved surfaces and channels helped shape a route through the land.

Covered with a hard, fairly flat surface such as stone.

Near Cusco, the Inca capital, many roads were wide and paved with stone.

Covered with a hard, fairly flat surface such as stone.