Incan runners delivered messages across 20,000 miles of mountain trails
The Incan Empire maintained a vast communication network using elite relay runners who sprinted across rugged Andean peaks to deliver messages and fresh goods at incredible speeds.
Elite messengers known as chasquis operated a sophisticated relay system along the 25,000-mile Qhapaq Ñan road network. These runners were stationed in small huts roughly every mile, allowing them to pass quipus—knotted string records—to the next runner at full speed. This tireless chain could move information up to 150 miles in a single day across some of the world's most difficult terrain.
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