Peru evacuates 1400 tourists from Machu Picchu amid protest, hundreds more still stranded

Hundreds of tourists are stranded trying to see the abandoned Incan city of Machu Picchu in Peru because of protests. Photo / 123rf

Peru evacuated some 1400 tourists from the train station that serves the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, while about 900 others remained stranded today as protesters blocked the railway tracks, officials said.

A Unesco World Heritage Site since 1983, the ancient, fortified complex receives some 4500 visitors on average each day, many of them foreigners, according to the Tourism Ministry.

Residents placed logs and rocks on the tracks yesterday to demand a new company be chosen to run the buses that ferry visitors from the Aguas Calientes train station, at the foot of Machu Picchu, to the site itself.

Visitors arrive at Aguas Calientes by train from the city of Cusco - the Inca empire’s ancient capital - some 110km away.

The previous bus firm’s contract had come to an end after a 30-year concession, but it has continued to provide services much to the ire of residents, who demand a new company, responsive to their interests, be chosen in a fair bidding process.

“We managed to evacuate about 1400 tourists” trapped at the train station in an overnight operation before a fresh blockade today, Tourism Minister Desilu Leon told RPP radio.

Authorities have not said where the visitors were from.

Leon said a meeting was planned with local authorities and unions “to find a solution” to residents’ complaints.

Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an altitude of 2500m on orders from the Inca ruler Pachacutec.

It is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering but has repeatedly been the scene of protests by locals pressing home their social demands.

In January last year, some 1200 tourists had to be evacuated from Machu Picchu - some without even seeing it.

A year earlier, it was closed for 25 days during protests over the impeachment and arrest of then-president Pedro Castillo.

Tourism is key to the economy of Peru.

-Agence France-Presse