Tourist influx could destroy Machu Picchu | International News | News | Telegraph
Machu Picchu was one of the few Inca citdels that escaped the destruction of the Spanish Conquistadores, perched some 8000 feet above sea level on a shelf jutting out of the Andes Mountains.
More than 500 years later it seems the new wave of invaders, tourists clad in Timberland boots and North Face jackets and armed only with hard currency, may succeed where the conquistadores failed.
advertisement
Experts have warned the choice of the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu as one of the "new seven world wonders" could lead to such an influx of tourists that the site is destroyed.
The once-lost city high in the Peruvian Andes was already a UNESCO World Heritage site, but its inclusion on Saturday in a new list of the world's wonders, chosen by more than 100 million online voters, could double the number of daily visitors from 2,500 to 5,000, prompting archaeologist Luis Lumbreras to publish an article in La Republica daily on Monday.
"There is a danger that it could be destroyed by abuse," said the former head of the National Cultural Institute.
Powered by ScribeFire.
No comments:
Post a Comment