Google gets OK to scan Machu Picchu into Google Street View

Peru’s Ministry of Culture has signed an agreement with Google to scan the famed Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, along with 90 other archaeological sites, into its Google Street View platform.

“The Ministry of Culture has made its recommendations and set the guidelines necessary for the implementation of the project,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.

The project “will spread the archaeological heritage of the country through virtual tours through the GSV system.”

Google sought permission two years ago to scan the famed Inca citadel and other archaeological sites into its GSV system.

At the time, Maite Iturria, the Google Street View manager for Latin America, told Peru’s daily El Comercio that Google Inc. initiated discussions with Peru’s Ministry of Culture to allow one of its Street View Trekkers — essentially a Google employee with a 360 degree camera for a backpack — to roam the nation’s ancient cultural heritage sites.

“We want to build the perfect map and Peru is one of the countries in the region with the greatest amount of cultural wealth, and we want to be able to count on that,” Iturria said.

Google intends to inventory world-renowned UNESCO Cultural Patrimony sites, like Machu Picchu and Chan Chan, as well as lesser known ruins, like the pre-Inca site of Huaca Huantinamarca in Lima’s residential  San Miguel district, pictured below.

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