Heritage with Related Tags
Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System
The site is a vast network of 30,000 km of roads built by the Incas for communication, trade and defence. Built over centuries by the Incas, partly on pre-Inca infrastructure, this extraordinary road network traverses one of the most extreme geographical terrains in the world, linking the snow-capped peaks of the Andes (over 6,000 metres above sea level) to the coast, passing through parched rainforests, fertile valleys and deserts. It reached its greatest expansion in the 15th century, spanning the entire Andes. The Qhapac Ñan Andean Road System includes 273 constituent sites spread over more than 6,000 km, which have been selected to highlight the social, political, architectural and engineering achievements of the network, as well as its associated trade, lodging and storage infrastructure, and sites of religious significance.
Cold winter desert in Turan
The transboundary heritage site consists of 10 parts spread across the temperate arid zone of Central Asia between the Caspian Sea and the Turan Mountains. The climatic conditions here are extremely harsh, with severe winters and extremely hot summers. The region is home to an exceptionally rich variety of flora and fauna that have adapted to the harsh climate. The site also showcases a diverse range of desert ecosystems, spanning more than 1,500 kilometres from east to west, with each component differing in terms of biodiversity, desert type and continuously changing ecological processes.