That’s what the roads in South America are like. There are huge differences and conditions often change with the seasons. But on the whole, the countries are passable with any type of vehicle. You just have to choose your routes accordingly.

Motorways and toll roads

The main roads are paved and there are usually good motorways. You will make good progress, especially around the big cities. You usually pay a toll, depending on the country, a few cents as in Bolivia (although their tariffs were very opaque) or always a dollar as in Ecuador.

Tolls are usually charged on the motorways, but they’re in good condition. Only the speed bumps used to limit speed are a major hazard. Most local drivers, even those with the best off-road vehicles, brake very hard just before them, so you run the risk of hitting them from behind – it pays to keep your distance. And don’t forget that you have to expect everything on a motorway: walkers, cyclists, horse riders, cows, llamas, simply everything.

Mud and potholes

Country roads are different, they may have just been resurfaced or they may be full of potholes. The mountain roads are always a surprise – even if they’re supposed to be national roads, don’t expect to drive faster than 50km/h.

The smaller roads can have potholes and you have to be prepared for anything. But this is true everywhere. That’s where a high-riding car comes in handy. It doesn’t have to be a 4×4, but a two-wheel drive without a lift is definitely limited. And above all, every pothole (and there are many) becomes a major bump in the road.

Then there are the unsealed roads: some are brilliant, others almost impassable. This mainly depends on when they were last maintained and whether it is the rainy season. This means that conditions can change within months or from one day to the next.

The mountains slide, and there are places that are known for this. After a slide there is not much left of the original road and you can forget about getting through. However, the local bus drivers usually know what the situation is like. It helps to ask or just turn around when the road ends.

Is 4×4 compulsory?

Most routes can be done without 4×4; though if it’s very muddy or steep we’re happy to have it, but there are often alternative routes that are easier.

In our experience, your own driving ability is more important than whether you have 2WD or 4WD. Some drivers get further with their 2WD than any other driver of an off-road vehicle. So it’s worth investing in a good off-road driving course before you start your travels, as you’ll also get to know the car better.

We got stuck three times

We only got stuck three times: once because it had rained so much overnight that we couldn’t drive on the muddy country roads. We had to wait a day for it to dry. The other time it was also raining and we were going up a stretch where there wasn’t really a road – but we wanted to get to that bridge. Once we had deflated the tyres and put our recovery boards in place, we got out. Another time the road was completely washed away and we had to wait until another road was built. Luckily we were never in danger.

In Bolivia, we were stuck for a while because of protests and road closures, but we got to meet a lot of the locals in the town. In Argentina we had to turn back 200 km because we couldn’t cross the river – too much water.

So actually RAIN is the deciding factor. When it rains, you often have to wait for it to stop and the road to dry out a bit or find another route.

Road works and schedules

Roadworks are an often forgotten detail. Here, unlike in Europe, they like to close the road completely, without providing a diversion and without being able to keep traffic flowing in one lane. Then the road is closed either for the whole day – as happened in Ecuador from 9am to 6pm. Or by the hour, like in Peru when we went to Machu Picchu. That means they work for 2 hours and then take an hour break to let the cars through.

The many signs with the schedule would be great – if they kept to the time on them. Sometimes they work an extra hour – or two – or they don’t work at all, in which case ‘lucky you’. As a reminder, schedules in South America are only a guide and are never binding.

As I’m writing this, I’m waiting in line again. They need to fix a pipe and everything has stopped. All day long, from 9am to 6pm. Even though only one excavator is working. But they had already announced it at the crossroads. Two women stood there with a handwritten cardboard sign – just like the ones you draw in primary school. They told us that the roadworks had been announced on the Ministry’s website a week ago, but no one had thought to put up a sign.

We just laughed and knew that we’d be waiting for 4 hours (until 6pm) or 6 hours anyway. The detour takes twelve hours and is 300 kilometres longer.

We soon leave the land of the Incas behind us. Their culture was our constant companion – from Argentina to Colombia, we stumbled across Inca stones.

But before we say goodbye to this empire, let’s look back at what this advanced civilisation meant for the region. And why we learn so little about it in school in Europe – except that it was great, built Machu Picchu and had a lot of gold.

Tawantinsuyu – The land of four parts

The name ‘Inca’ often stands for an entire people. In fact, the Incas were originally a small tribe in the neighbourhood of Cusco, that believed they descended from the sun god Inti. However, within just 100 years – roughly between 1438 and 1533 – they created the largest contiguous empire that ever existed on the American continent: Tawantinsuyu.

This ‘land of four parts’ stretched from what is now the southern border of Colombia to Chile and Argentina. The empire covered over 2 million square kilometres. It was characterised by a multitude of indigenous peoples, languages and landscapes – connected by a central administrative system and a gigantic road network.

They conquered areas where other impressive peoples lived, who are even less well known in Europe. The Chachapoyas in northern Peru adopted the quadrangular architectural style of the Incas, the Uros fled from the Incas to their reed islands on Lake Titicaca and in Samaipata they took over a sacred stone. The course of expansion was immense – until the Spanish conquered the entire area.

A road network that still exists today

One of the most impressive legacies of the Incas is the Qhapaq Ñan, the Royal Road System. It is estimated that it comprised more than 40 000 kilometres of roads that meandered through the Andes, along the coasts and into the jungle. Many of these roads are still passable today, some are still used by locals, others are hidden and forgotten next to modern roads.

We also came across Inca trails ourselves – in search of snakes in the cloud forest in Ecuador, we travelled through deep gorges, known as chaquiñán, which were created by centuries of walking. Of course, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is one of them. Although we didn’t walk it. Instead, we marvelled at the extremely precise architecture of the Incas in Pisac.

Unity through administration, not language

The empire was multicultural, but the Incas created a unified administration that held the empire together. In contrast to Europe, they knew no money, so no taxes were levied. However, the people had to perform hard collective labour. Especially the peasants, as the nobility and clergy had privileges. Nevertheless, they were well organised and distributed their goods and services throughout the empire so that disasters could be relieved and everyone was fed.

Quechua was made the administration’s language, although it was not spoken by everyone. However, it was so widespread that Quechua is still spoken today in many parts of the Andean region – not only is it an official language in many countries, but the number of speakers is even increasing.

The fact that an empire of this size and efficiency could exist without writing is a remarkable aspect – and could be one reason why the Inca Empire is often only dealt with superficially in European history lessons. The first written sources come from the conquistadors. Without written sources of their own, without chronicles from the perspective of the Incas themselves, much has only been preserved from Spanish reports – often distorted and incomplete.

The focus in European history lessons is on the fall of the Inca Empire, as the Europeans left their traces behind up until today, and not its rise.

A legacy that remains

On our journey through South America, the presence of the Incas was not always obvious – but it was constant. We continually learnt more about what ‘Inca’ actually means. We drove through the valley of the Incas’ last resistance, we walked along an old Inca trail, and we constantly saw the agricultural terraces that are still being cultivated 500 years later.

What remains is the impression of an empire that has not simply disappeared. It was defeated, yes – but it never completely dissolved. It lives on in the language, the paths, the architecture and the people.

The Inca Empire was more than Machu Picchu and gold. It was a complex and well-organised network in a huge region. For us, it was an immersion into the living history of a culture that seemed conquered and forgotten, but which still strongly characterises everyday life.