Historians, archaeologists, and tourism groups joined forces to fight the construction of a new international airport that would take tourists directly to Machu Picchu.
Plans for the Machu Picchu airport were first published in Peru in 2012. announced by former president Ollanta Humala. Seven years later, the decision was approved and bulldozers were sent to the Chinchero area for airport construction.. Chinchero is located at an altitude of about 3000 meters above sea level, which brings with it the weather conditions that can change suddenly. Take a train or bus to the Valley, or climb the four-day Inca Trail. However, due to Cusco Airport’s location in a city surrounded by hills, large planes cannot operate here.. The new airport planned to be built in Chinchero will also be open to aircraft types used on longer international routes.
There is only one problem.. Chinchero is a well-preserved Inca city built six centuries ago as the royal residence for the Inca ruler Túpac Inca Yupanqui. This site is more important to archaeologists and historians than Machu Picchu itself.. This situation causes protests against the government that wants to build an airport in the region.
A petition initiated by Natalia Majluf, a Peruvian art historian, urging the government to abandon the project received over 5,000 signatures.. According to the art historian; “The planned airport in Chinchero, Cusco, jeopardizes the protection of one of the most important historical and archaeological sites in the world.. This airport to be built around the Sacred Valley will affect the integrity of the Inca landscape and cause irreparable damage due to noise, traffic and uncontrolled urbanization.”
More than one million tourists visited Machu Picchu in 2018.. The number of current tickets sold per day increased from 2,500 in 2017 to 6,600 in 2018.. This situation prompted the government to take some measures in order not to disturb the natural structure and determined the maximum number of tickets that can be sold in one day as 5600.. Tickets are limited.. You spend all day in the field. There are 2 types of tickets that you can enter in the morning and in the afternoon.
However, the number of visitors to Machu Picchu is about twice the number recommended by Unesco.. In 2007, Unesco was considering classifying this area as an endangered World Heritage Site.. Despite all that, this situation was not heeded due to its financial return and more and more visitors continued to be received day by day.. So what do you think? What could be the damage that the airport, which is only a matter of time, will cause to the region?
machu picchu airport
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