Spanish
The Comptroller General of the Republic of Peru alerted the Ministry of Culture of the "risk to the conservation" of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, in Cusco, due to the "tourist overload that affects its structure and ecosystem".
In a press release, released on Monday, it mentioned that there was an "overload" of 2,505 people on the upper terrace of the Inca city from April 17 to 30 and 1,546 users between May 1 and 30, among other cases.
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They even arrive via route 5 of the Inca Trail Network, which is mostly intended for taking photos. A site that they also enter "due to errors in the ticket sales platform that make it difficult to plan the number of daily visitors". This is a series of failures, including entry to the Ruta de la Realeza, designed without a fee, which harms the sacred site. "The constant transit of visitors could cause soil erosion in areas with steep slopes and nearby areas, as well as the compaction of the ground due to the weight and frequency of tourists, deteriorating roads, stairways, walls and Inca platforms," he warned. For his part, this Tuesday the spokesperson for the Comptroller's Office, Guzmán Vera Coronel, warned that if the Ministry of Culture "does not take action, it will be seriously affected and this heritage that we appreciate so much may be restricted in terms of its access." "There are six established routes for entry to Machu Picchu, but if there is no proper control, unfortunately there will be people who will take advantage of this situation and will allow them to acquire those tickets that allow them to enter this citadel without proper control," he affirmed, interviewed by Exitosa. Last year, the Peruvian Government increased the daily capacity despite the opposing request from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). And, now, Machu Picchu could be included in the list of world heritage in danger.
