Lima.- A forest fire unleashed on the path to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, in southern Peru, led this Tuesday to the suspension of train service to the famous archaeological site, which has affected hundreds of tourists, official sources reported.
The fire originated at kilometer 107 of the route between the town of Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, and caused rocks to fall onto the tracks, the official agency Andina specified.
In that sense, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) indicated in a statement that it is “carrying out constant monitoring of the situation” and confirmed that “as a consequence of this emergency, the circulation of trains on said section has been temporarily suspended for security reasons”.
The ministry requested “the understanding of domestic and foreign tourists regarding the measures adopted” by the railway concessionaire, Ferrocarril Trasandino (Fetransa).
These measures “have as their primary objective to safeguard the integrity of passengers, operational personnel, and to guarantee safe and adequate conditions to restore the operation of the railway“, he indicated.
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For its part, Andina added that the concessionaire company “is permanently monitoring the condition of the track” and that it will authorize the dispatch of emergency trains to evacuate the people who remain at the Machu Picchu station “as soon as safety conditions allow it“.
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The company Peru Rail, which operates the trains to the Inca citadel, confirmed that three frequencies did not depart from the Ollantaytambo station this Tuesday, in addition to seven others from the Machu Picchu station.
The archaeological site, which is located more than 2,400 meters above sea level, in the jungle area of Cusco, has been receiving 5,600 daily visitors since last June, following the start of the high season, which led to an increase in the capacity initially set at 4,600 people.
In recent weeks, a high demand for tickets was reported, which are mostly sold virtually, but also at the Ministry of Culture’s office in the Machu Picchu district, which led to long lines “and discomfort” among visitors, according to local media reports.
On May 25th, the international organization New 7 Wonders warned that infrastructure risks and problems persist at the site, threatening its status as a new wonder of the world, granted by that entity in 2007.
