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All about the qhapaq nan

UNESCO

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Collaboration with experts and archeologists

This project has been achieved with the collaboration of the following experts and archeologists:

• Ricardo « El Caminante » Espinosa – Lima, Peru
   
  
  
  
  After a degree in philosophy from the Universidad Católica in Lima and a Masters in graphic design, Ricardo began his long walk along the arid Peruvian coast in 1995. Traveling alone, he covered the 4000 kilometers between the Ecuadorian and Chilean borders in 134 days. Soon after, he published a guide “El Perú a toda Costa” that became an immediate success
  
  In 1997, he began another epic project to walk and document the Inca road system. Starting with transversal roads that linked the Pacific coast with the Peruvian Andes, he traveled more than 2000 kilometers between 1997 and 1998. Following these journeys, he set off on another exploration: to walk a portion of the Qhapaq Ñan, the principal road of the Incas, between Quito and La Paz, a distance of more than 4000 kilometers.
  
  The publication of his book, “Qhapaq Ñan, La Gran Ruta Inca” in 2002, stirred national interest and raised awareness in the urgent need to protect this epic route. Peru and the five countries through which the road passes – Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina – are currently preparing its singular candidature for UNESCO’s World Heritage Site List.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Allen Putney, World Conservation Union (IUCN),
  World Heritage Commission – Nevada, USA
  
  Allen Putney is currently based in the Western U.S., works as an international consultant on protected areas, and serves as the Vice Chair for World Heritage of the World Commission on Protected Areas.
  He has four decades of experience in Latin America and the Caribbean in the management of natural resources, working through government agencies, international organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations, and as an independent consultant. Mr. Putney has special expertise in protected areas (sustainable finance; cultural and spiritual values; and planning, management and evaluation), and coastal zone management.
  
  The Gran Ruta Inca has been one of his pet projects for the past five years, working together with Ricardo Espinosa, the Peruvian trekker who brought the existence of this magnificent route to the attention of the world.
  
  
  
  
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  Antonio Fresco, Central Bank of Ecuador, Cultural Service – Quito, Ecuador
  
  Originally from Galicia, Spain, Antonio has been a naturalized citizen of Ecuador since 1983.
  
  Holding a doctorate in American History and Anthropology, he is also a specialist in pre-Columbian roads. His book, « Ingañan, the Inca Road Network in the Ecuadorian Andes », is a key reference on the subject.
  
  http://www.bce.fin.ec/contenido.php?CNT=ARB0000007
  
  
  
  
• Eduardo Guerrero, World Conservation Union (IUCN) South America - Quito, Ecuador
  
  
• Stephen Edwards, Conservation International - Quito, Ecuador
  
  
• Miriam Torres, The Mountain Institute - Huaraz, Peru
  
  
  
  
  Miriam E. Torres is a specialist in the management of forests, protected areas and community-based tourism in those areas.
  For the past 17 years, she has been facilitating the process of rural development based in conservation through the application of participative methodologies with the aim to not only develop conservation projects but also their local management. She became involved with the Great Inca Road (GRI) in 2003, joining the work of Allen Putney and Ricardo Espinosa, to focus on the intangible, spiritual dimension of the GRI.
  
  She has since been managing the program of Inka Naani, which aims to develop a social base for the conservation of the natural-cultural corridor which defines the GRI. Tourism is being used as a catalyst to spur action, reconnect communities that live along this section of the GRI and strengthen local leadership. The program focuses on several aspects: sustainable management of the environment, education and conservation of the road, and sustainable tourism managed by the communities themselves.
  
  She has recently begun to work on a new community-based project on a segment of the GRI in Piura in collaboration with IUCN-CAN-TMI that has implications for the entire region.
  
  http://www.mountain.org/work/andes/tourism/incanani.cfm
  
  
  
• Carmen Miranda, SAVIA – La Paz, Bolivia
  
  
  
  
  Biologist, Carmen is Vice President for the South American Commission for Protected Areas of IUCN (World Conservation Union).
  She is also the founder of Savia, a Bolivian NGO, specializing in the protection of biodiversity and the conservation of nature in sustainable ways. In partnership with the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Savia works towards the exploration and the cartography of the Qhapaq Ñan in Bolivia, especially on the sections La Paz-Sevaruyo-Tupiza and Salar of Uyuni-Reserva Ecuardo Alvaroa (REA)-Volcan Licancabur. We accompanied an archeological team set up by Savia to research and document these areas.
  
  http://www.saviabolivia.org/
  
  
  
• Daniel Gutierrez, Universidad Major de San Andres - La Paz, Bolivia
  
  
  
  
  Daniel is an archeologist connected with the Institute for the Investigation of Anthropology and Archeology of the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz.
  He specializes in pre-Columbian roads in Bolivia. We accompanied Daniel on his investigations on the sections of the Qhapaq Ñan in Bolivia, with the support of Savia: La Paz-Sevaruyo and Salar of Uyuni–Reserva Eduardo Alvaroa (REA)-Volcan Licancabur
  
  http://www.umsa.bo/
  
  
  
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  Christian Vitry, The Museum of High Altitude Archaeology (MAAM) -
  Salta, Argentina
  
  High mountain archeologist Christian Vitry has participated in a number of investigations related to high altitude ceremonial sites in the Argentinean Andes.
  Today, he works with the MAAM in Salta and is in charge of the Qhapaq Ñan project in Salta Province.
  
  http://www.cultura.gov.ar/programas/?info=detalle&id=21