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- The mist shrouded ruins of Machu Picchu
capture the imagination. They are the best surviving example of Inca planning
and technology, and famous for the way they have been integrated with the
spectacular mountain sanctuary that surrounds it. Machu Picchu has been
a sanctuary for both body and spirit, allowing the time and space to sit
in contemplation and wonder at the mastery of a people who could create
such a place in such harmony with its environment.
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- To protect these very real and intangible
values for all of humanity and future generations, the ruins and the incomparable
mountain sanctuary around it were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list
in 1983 and kept safe UNTIL TODAY.
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- Now these qualities of Machu Picchu are
being thrown aside to serve corpoate priorities giant hotel and cable cars
to be built in the ruins. The Peruvian government is providing land, selling
the public railway and ignoring oppositon to enable a private interest
to set up business in this historical sanctuary. To do this it is overriding
its own laws and international heritage agreements.
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- In July 1999 construction begins for
a cable car that will carry up to 400 people an hour into the ruins. It
will carry them above the Urubamba River, crossing to a giant new hotel--16,000
square metres (172,000 square feet)--reportedly to be built on top of an
unexplored Inca cemetery. There tourists will have to pass through a complex
of souvenir shops, art boutiques, craft galleries and restaurants, in order
to enter the ruins.
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- Ultimately planners reportedly want to
push 4000 visitors a day through the ruins"double the current numbers.
As the ruins are not big this will mean an endless turmoil of bodies. Just
managing the numbers will require a limit to the time visitors can visit
There will be no quiet corners in the ruins!
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- UNESCO cautioned the Peruvian government
in April that Machu Picchu may be removed from the World Heritage List
if work begins on the construction of the cable car. This means there
will be no way to stop further developments. Future generations"even
visitors next year"will not have the same opportunity to enjoy the
majesty of the ruins that is possible today.
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- In a public letter in April, 50 of Peru,s
leading citizens, archeologists, educators, geologists and anthropologists
called on the world community to condemn this project. Its impact will
be irreversible:
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- An unexcavated Inca cemetery not yet
studied will be destroyed the original Inca water channel to Machu Picchu
will be destroyed the planned 6 story 172,000 square feet modern hotel
expansion will dominate the whole site. the proposed hotel is to be constructed
entirely in an area with high risk of landslide. extensive blasting will
further destabilize the area and the fragile ridge under Machu Picchu.
there will be a dramatic increase in the rate of deterioration in all areas
of the Ruins.
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- GOVERNMENT UNDER PERUVIAN LAW As Machu
Picchu historic monument has been expressly declared a Cultural Heritage
of the Nation [Article 1 of Law No. 24047], the State has the obligation
to protect it, which implies safeguarding it from all attempts to alter
its intangible nature.[Law No. 23765]
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- The archeological remains, buildings,
monuments, sites, etc. of historic value are plainly identified as cultural
treasure integral to the cultural Heritage of the Nation, and as such,
are protected by the State.[Political Constitution, Article 21]
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- [Protection would be required to include]
the ground and subsoil on which {Machu Picchu} is located, the air and
the surrounding extended space of 32,592 hectares [General Law of Protection
to the Cultural Heritage of the Nation Article 3, Para 1b, and Supreme
Decree No. 001-81-92]
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- CRIMES DEFINED UNDER PERUVIAN LAW - Destroying
or altering a cultural asset constitutes a crime [Article 230 of the Penal
Code] It is also a crime to use the public authority to facilitate commission
of unlawful acts against the cultural heritage. [Article 229 of the Penal
Code]
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- GOVERNMENT UNDER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Peru is required "to identify, protect, conserve, restore and transmit
to future generations its world heritage sites.[Legislative Resolution
No. 23349 ratifying the Convention on the Protection of the World-Wide
Cultural and Natural Heritage approved by UNESCO in Paris on November,
16, 1972]
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- Peru is legally obliged to protect and
conserve its archaeological , historical and artistic heritage for future
generations. [Convention on the Defense of the Archeological, Historical
and Artistic Heritage of the American Nations (CONVENTION OF SAN SALVADOR),
of June 16, 1976]
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- PERUVIAN AUTHORITIES ACT AGAINST THE
LAW IN MACHU PICCHU
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- In spite of profuse and comprehensive
national and international legislation obliging government to protect and
safeguard historical legacy, the Peruvian government established PROMCEPRI"the
Commission for the Promotion of Private Concessions"which has proceeded
to "surrender...the concession for the Tourist Cable Car for the Transportation
of People to and from the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. [Legislative decree
No. 839 Art. 4]
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- LOCAL COMMUNITY DENOUNCES HOTEL/CABLE
CAR PROJECT - cancellation of bus transportation to the ruins will end
a major source of employment the new tourist center will intercept earnings
of current sellers, vendors, restaurants when the profitable public Enefer
railway is sold to the hotel/cable car interests, it will cease to be a
source of income for the Peruvian government and people.
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- THE ATTRACTION OF MACHU PICCHU - Three
things characterize the unique attraction of this World Heritage site for
tourists"and its growing popularity attests its unique ability to
meet these expectations.
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- 1. Unspoiled places. In this highly-paced
world, there is a yearning for unspoiled places. Many visitors are drawn
to this ancient city, high in the Andes by a sense of its remoteness. 2.
Natural environment. Others are enchanted by images of its incomparable
mountain environment and the chance to immersethemselves in the mystery
of a culture far away from the 20th century. 3. Spirituality. Still others
are drawn by the intangible qualities of this mysterious place. They come
hoping for a profound psychic or spiritual experience in some quiet corner
of the ruins.
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- TODAY The ruins themselves are not as
large as their reputation. After the trainloads of tourists arrive in the
late morning each day, one tour group will often follow through these sites
on the heels of another, like beads on a string. There are only a handful
of paths in Machu Picchu (see above). They are narrow and crowded at times,
when long strings of people file past each other on their way from from
one principle site in the ruins to another. Nevertheless Machu Picchu still
offers the chance to slow down and savour its intangible gifts. There are
quieter times in the morning and afternoon, gaps in the flow of tour groups"and
there is still room for one to step off the beaten track. Return to the
top of the page
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- HOW WILL IT CHANGE?
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- The proposed plan disregards the intangible
assets of Machu Picchu, which will be severely impacted in 3 areas at least:
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- 1. The Gateway. It envisages a large
modern tourist complex positioned in a way that will reportedly require
all visitors to pass through it order to enter the ruins. Visitors who
have come to see one of humanity,s greatest sacred monuments, will first
have to pass the gauntlet of souvenir shops, galleries, craft boutiques,
clothing stores, cafes and restaurants on the way from the cable car to
the ruins. This wil also be their last impression of Machu Picchu when
they leave.
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- 2. Flood of tourists. The current arrival
of a great number of tourists once a day, will be superceded by a non-stop
flow of up to 400 tourists an hour, pouring into the ruins hour after hour
throughout the day. The ruins, already considered by many to be overcrowded,
will face a projected doubling of the numbers of visitors.
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- 3. In the ruins With so many now envisaged
in the ruins at one time the following effects are likely, if not inevitable:
Those looking for a quiet place will have to go further in their search,
thereby subjecting areas previously left unvisited to increasing pressures
of traffic.
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- 4. When visitors in the ruins pause to
photograph the awesome beauty of the Urubamba River valley, and the sheer
mountains that rise above it they will find the once pristine mountain
view interrupted by the movement of cable cars ferrying tourists back and
forth to the hotel. Whenever a visitor in the ruins turns to look up
at the Sun Gate or the agricultural terraces toward the entrance, their
view will be dominated by a modern six-story high hotel on the side of
the mountain.
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- MANAGING THE NUMBERS As the negative
impact of increasing numbers of people become evident upon completion of
the project, certain management decisions will have to be considered:
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- Creating new access and exit routes in
order to reduce inevitable line-ups and bottlenecks This would further
damage the ruins.
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- Designing a one-way track around the
ruins to resolve the congestion of tourists on the limited number of paths.
Making it compulsory to join a guided tour, in order to benefit from the
efficiency of moving people in groups. Limiting time allowed for a visitors
in the ruins in order to reduce the buildup in numbers that would otherwise
happen if people stayed for a full day. Restricting private wandering
in the ruins, thereby marginalizing more and more people seeking a personal
and private experience in favor of tour groups.
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- Establishing a tour script, to replace
the ad hoc presentations of current guides. This would standardize the
time for groups to spend in each site, and overall management of time and
movement could be quantified.
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- ANY BENEFITS FOR THE TOURIST?
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- Those supporting the project claim that
it has three major benefits for the tourist:
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- 1. Comfort of the cable cars. 2. 15-20
minutes faster travelling in the cable cars than travelling in the buses.
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- (COMMENT: The tourists who come to Machu
Picchu have chosen to travel for many days in order to have a unique experience
in a special place. It is doubtful that 10 minutes of comfort or15-20
fewer minutes of travelling would compensate them for being deprived of
the very qualities they had come to experience. Especially if it would
also lead to additional degradation and controls listed above. )
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- 3. View from the Cable Car.
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- (COMMENT: There will be no view into
the ruins. The cable cars are going to be rising from the bottom of the
river valley at Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu on the ridge above. .
However there will be a panoramic view of the switchback road that zig
zags up the side of the valley.)
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- JUNE 10-11 Cusco, Peru PROTEST MARCH
A large gathering of protesters began the second day of their 40 km march
of sacrifice,. This is a last-minute effort to bring the impending construction
of the cable car and hotel complex to world attention. Marchers overnighted
last night at km 88, which is also known as the beginning of the famous
Inca Trail. Km 88 is a basically motley collection of a dozen booths lined
up along the tracks to sell refreshments to trekkers. With no accommodation,
or tents the protesters have bedded down on the blankets and plastic they
have carried with them. Dinner last night was also limited to the snacks
they could carry with them. They have begun their march today, and plan
to arrive at 3 pm for a major rally in Aguas Calientes below Machu Picchu
. They intend to denounce the government for selling out their national
cultural treasure of Machu Picchu to private national and international
business interests. The townspeople of Aguas Calientes will billet them
in their homes and in the school.
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- YOUR HELP IS CRITICAL A quick scan of
headlines this morning in 108 on-line media outlets found no mention of
the march or of Machu Picchu. It is likely that the reports will come following
the completion of the rally in Aguas Calientes.
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- WHAT YOU CAN DO:
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- Please alert the news media in your area
to the plight facing this UNESCO site and give them the address of the
website for further details and updates: www.mpicchu.orgr
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- Materials and documents supplied by the
- Comite de Defensa del Santuario Historico de Machupicchu y el Desarrollo
de su Pueblo
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- Telephone: Peru 011 51 84-241118 Mailing
address: 123 Plaza de Armas, Oficina 309, Cusco, Peru Email: acmg@chaski.unsaac.edu.pe
Website: http://mpicchu.org/index.html
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- Other links of Interest for Machu Picchu:
Labyrinthina - http://www.flinet.com/~labyrinthina/index.htm Qosqo - http://www.bestweb.net/~goyzueta/qosqo/
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