Among the Inca archeological sites that abound in Peru, none draw nearly as many tourists as the famed citadel of Machu Picchu. [...]
Now, in a move that has drawn a mixture of horror and outrage from archaeologists, historians and locals, work has begun on clearing ground for a multibillion-dollar international airport, intended to jet tourists much closer to Machu Picchu .
— The Guardian
"In an effort to manage growing visitor numbers, Peru has tightened entry requirements to the site, limiting visits to morning and afternoon shifts after Unesco threatened to place Machu Picchu on a list of world heritage sites in danger," reports The Guardian.
5 Comments
Greed.
do we have to ruin everything....
Good way to ruin the Ruins
Some distant future civilization will dig up the remains of the airport in the jungle and try without success to understand the culture that built it.
Actually the article is misleading. The existing airport is at Cusco, which is on a high desert plateau at 10,500 feet in elevation. It is already an international airport and is serviced by medium sized jet transports. The runway is 11,000 feet long. This airport is 47 miles southeast of Machu Pichu. The proposed airport at Chinchero would also be on the high dry plains but at 12,000 feet of elevation. Chinchero is 36 miles southeast of Machu Pichu, and only eleven miles from Cusco. Oddly enough Machu Pichu is only at 8,200 feet of elevation. There are mountains in the vicinity of both the site and the actual and proposed airports that rise to 17,000 feet.
So, the new airport, if built, would be 11 miles closer to the site but still 36 miles away and the airplanes would be taking off an airport situated 4,000 feet higher than the Machu Pichu site in any case.
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