To attract tourists: Peru is expanding access to the famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu

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The permitted number of visitors per day will be increased from the current 3,600 to 3,800 per day to 4,500 visitors per day on January 1, the Ministry of Culture in Lima announced on Saturday. As many as 5,600 people are expected to visit the devastated city on “very special dates”. In September, three parts of Machu Picchu were closed due to the impact of the large number of visitors.

The former Inca city is located about 130 kilometers from the city of Cusco. It was built in the 15th century by order of the Inca ruler Pachacutec at an altitude of about 2,500 meters. Machu Picchu is considered an architectural masterpiece and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981. The long-forgotten Inca city was rediscovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham, one of the role models for the adventure film character Indiana Jones.

Tourism is an important economic sector for Peru. He has still not recovered from the Corona crisis in 2020. While before the pandemic about 4.5 million tourists came to the South American country every year, this year that number is expected to be only 2.2 million, or not even half.

(SDA)

Source: Blick