Machu Picchu's Irresponsible Exploitation

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Tourism Will Destroy What Was Preserved For 500 Years!

Machu Picchu tourism is degrading the ancient Inca wonder. An estimated number of approximately 2000 people (as of 2010) a day arrive to the city on an average day. Quite a busy day for the old city that could have accommodated a maximum of 750 during its "glory years" in the Inca times...

If Pizarro's army hasn't found it, mass tourism has!

And what will tourism in Machu Picchu do to the great wonder constructed by the Incas?

Stones are already shifting, moving away, as a result of so many steps. Imagine: 2000 people a day. Each person has 2 legs. They take not hundreds, but thousands of steps during their visit. Millions of steps are taken in Machu Picchu every day.

The old Inca stairs, roads already bear some marks of mass tourism. If you have seen subway station stairs and shopping mall stairs eroded, moved out of place, shrunk under the rubbing of so many shoes and boots, then you can imagine what is going to happen to Machu Picchu!

The number of tourists per day was around 100 in 1992, then it has reached 2000, sometimes even 2.500 a day!

Unfortunately there are few official and reliable statistics about Machu Picchu's tourism. We know more about the numbers in 1992, 2003 and 2008, than we know about what it happening right now or 1 - 2 years before.

There has been a steady increase of visitors to the archaeological park in the 1990 and later even more, after the year 2.000. The media (travel guidebooks, newspapers, websites, TV and radio etc.) has strongly contributed to the popularization of Machu Picchu as a travel destination.

Not only Machu Picchu is in danger, but also the ancient Inca Trail - used by many hikers to get to Machu Picchu.

This mountain road that leads from the renowned km 88 spot near the railway lines is so crowded with tourists that one might not be able to book for a trip package 2 - 3 months in advance!

The authorities are probably taking more care of the Inca Trail than of Machu Picchu.

The number of hikers on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is limited and only authorized agencies are allowed by the Peruvian Authorities to offer trip packages on this trail. This ancient Inca road system is literally cut-off from the rest of the region. You aren't allowed to walk on it, unless you book a trip from an agency.

The Greed and Endless Exploitation

There were plans to construct an aerial tramway system to bring tourists all the way up to the ruins, to offer a more pleasant alternative to those wanting to get up there on the "Old Peak", without riding the bus on the serpentines.

Fortunately the plan was dropped.

Helicopter flights were operated to the peak, then later the location was changed to the town of Aguas Calientes. Sometimes these flights have ceased, then restarted again. Until, on June 22nd, 2010, the Peruvian authorities have banned helicopter flights in a wider area, which not only includes Machu Picchu, but a vast territory around it.

The town of Aguas Calientes (currently more often called Machu Picchu Pueblo) has grown to become a town, when several decades ago it only had a few houses. Today it is a hotel and restaurant "paradise" where pizzerias and even luxury hotels are multiplying.

Irresponsibly constructed buildings have filled the valley and they are in the way of the periodically angrily flooding Urubamba River. Like we have seen in early 2010, many constructions were destroyed by the massive force of nature, including the bent and broken railway lines.

Possible Solutions to a Responsible Tourism in Machu Picchu

UNESCO wanted to limit the number of visitors to a maximum of 5.000 a day. The Peruvian Government has received entry ticket price increase proposals.

These would certainly contribute to a better conservation of the ruins.

It might sound unfair to most enthusiasts, but if we want to preserve the archaeological park as well as possible, then visitor numbers must be limited and prices increased.

We might need to think about installing additional elements for protection, such as: carpets on the stairs and on the roads of Machu Picchu, in order to better preserve the rock elements from degrading.

Access limitation to certain areas, like the hill where the Intihuatana is could also help.