Peru's Machu Picchu Reopens
To Public After Two Months
CUSCO, PERU - The ancient Inca ruins site
Machu Picchu, one of the New Seven Wonders
of the World, reopened to visitors Thursday
after a two-month closure due to a storm.
General view of the Inca citadel of Machu
Picchu in 2007.
Tourism Vice Minister Mara Seminario said
that hundreds of foreign visitors entered
the ruins following the morning reopening,
as an early downpour gave way to brilliant
sunshine.
Local officials said the entire route is
expected to reopen in June. Until then,
tourists can take the bus from Cusco to
Piscachuco and from there, they can take the
train to Machu Picchu Pueblo at the base of
the ruins.
Heavy rains battered Cusco in January and
caused mud- and rockslides which blocked the
main roads and rail tracks. The ensuing
flooding of Vilcanota River damaged
buildings and a bridge, trapping some 4,000
tourists and causing some 240 millions U.S.
dollars in economic losses.
The access to Machu Picchu has been
restricted until April because of repair
work.
Machu Picchu, also known as "the Lost City
of the Incas," is the most famous tourist
attraction in Peru, and is located 80 km
northwest of the southern Peruvian city
Cusco.
The American historian Hiram Bingham was the
first one to draw international attention to
the Inca ruins in 1911. Machu Picchu
welcomes around one million visitors per
year, with an average of 2000 to 2500 daily
visitors.
The American actress Susan Sarandon attended
the reopening ceremony at the invitation of
Peru's Trade and Tourism Minister Martin
Perez to promote tourism in Cusco after the
disasters. |
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