Inca Empire
Learn about Machu Picchu, amazing mountain roads, and the largest empire in ancient America!
Machu Picchu ruins perched high on a misty mountain peak with llamas grazing in the foreground
ILLUSTRATION BY Duskbloom Littles
High in the Andes Mountains of South America, the Inca Empire built the most amazing mountain civilization the world has ever seen! In just 100 years, they created the largest empire in ancient America, stretching 2,500 miles from Ecuador to Chile.
The Incas were master builders who fitted massive stone blocks together so perfectly that you can't slide a knife between them! Their most famous city, Machu Picchu, sits 8,000 feet high on a mountain peak and was hidden from the world for over 400 years until explorers rediscovered it in 1911.
Inca engineers building a stone road across steep mountain cliffs using precise stonework
The Incas built over 25,000 miles of roads through impossible mountain terrain, connecting their empire with stone paths, rope bridges, and tunnels. Chasqui messengers could run these mountain roads carrying messages across the empire in just days, helped by their trusty llamas who carried supplies.
Inca messenger running along mountain paths carrying a quipu string message system
The Inca Empire proves that with teamwork, clever engineering, and respect for nature, people can build amazing civilizations even in the world's most challenging places!
