Inca aqueducts

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Ancient Inca aqueducts, wonders of "Inca civil engineering"

The Incas have built an impressively well put together network of aqueducts carved into hard rock. These were primarily used for the irrigation of their agricultural terraces built into the sides of mountains and hills.

Many of the aqueducts still function today. In many parts of the Andes, terraces are still used today for producing food for local communities.

The waterways have been carved into very hard rock, still not know how. Instead of putting rocks together, the Incas have cut way for the water into them, this way minimizing the leakage. 

Where does the water come from? From nearby rivers. The ancients have discovered that if they divert certain amounts of water from rivers, then they don't have to worry about scarce rain and drought and they could also stimulate plants to grow faster by getting enough water in time.

The aqueducts were not used for irrigation exclusively, but also for creating baths, ponds, etc.

Like the ancient Romans, the Incas were great masters of water systems.

If you want to see functioning Inca waterways/aqueducts, then Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, Tambomachay near Cuzco are good places to for such an experience. Tambomachay is a small site just 9 km from Cuzco and not too crowded (few tourists ever wonder to it mainly because there are poor transportation possibilities), overall the construction is not as impressive as the other 2, but you can see aqueducts in very good shape.