Machu Picchu closed for two months

Last night, The Peruvian Minister of Tourism and Foreign Trade, held a meeting with leaders of Peru's Travel Industry, to report on the evacuation efforts from Machu Picchu - which he oversaw personally in the Cusco area until yesterday, and to reach consensus on the next steps to be taken in re-opening access to the Inca Citadel.

The good news is that everyone who needed to be evacuated - foreign visitors and local inhabitants - from the the town of Aguas Calientes, starting point for the visit to the site located some 900ft/300m above, has been safely transported into Cusco by air and the evacuation efforts have officially concluded. The air-lift will continue for as long as necessary, to insure a supply route for the town and to shuttle personnel and resources that will be needed for the reconstruction efforts. According to the Minister who was there on Saturday, the actual Machu Picchu Archaological Park does not seem to have been damaged at all; this will be confirmed by a team of UNESCO experts who will visit this week. The touring routes in Cusco and the Sacred Valley are "fully operational" and guests presently in the area are visiting without inconveniences.

The bad news, for the local inhabitants, is that there are some 40,000 homes affected by the rains/flooding throughout the Cusco Region and neighbouring areas; and more locals will be affected in the days and weeks to come by the imminent decline in the area's tourism flows, on which many of them depend for their incomes and livelihood.

The bad news, for foreign visitors, is that opening up the road/rail access to Machu Picchu is estimated to take two months, and the consensus reached last nite with the Minister in regards to opening access to the site by air/helicopter, is that this alternative should not be made available during those same months, primarily because: all resources need to be devoted to the reconstruction efforts and the re-establishing of the road/rail access; February and March are rainy months in the Andes and flying is advisable only for emergency cases. The official announcement from the Peruvian Government will be made public later today: MACHU PICCHU VISITS WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE DURING FEBRUARY AND MARCH.