Visitor restrictions to Machu Picchu temporarily lifted

[Originally published August 11, 2011] Peru’s Ministry of Culture and tourism sector hammered out an agreement this week to lift restrictions on the number of visitors to Machu Picchu following fallout from last month when hundreds of tourists were turned away because the famed Inca ruins had reached it’s official 2,500-person-per-day capacity.

The Ministry of Culture’s regional director in Cusco , David Ugarte, said that this measure is temporary — until the high season ends in September.

This year, the while Peru has celebrated the 100th anniversary of Hiram Bingham’s scientific discovery of the Inca Citadel, visits have average 3,300 tourists daily from Monday to Friday, with the number rising as high as 4,500 visitors per day on the weekends.

UNESCO will have the final say.

The chief of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, told reporters last February that tourist access must be limited to protect and preserve the site.

“Machu Picchu is a victim of its own success, because the interest is huge,” Bokova told reporters. “But at the same time, for us and for the Peruvian people, there is an interest in protecting it.”

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