Machu Picchu could close 2 days per week

March 12th, 2007

Machu Picchu closed two days per week. That is what Peru’s Geological Institute suggested during a recent conference. The polemic measurement aims at reducing the massive arrival of tourists to the Inca citadel, and thus preserve it from wearing and damage. According to the Geological Institute (Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico de Perú, INGEMMET), the 3,000 daily visitors to the archaeological complex, plus the arrival of buses and trains, could exceed its normal carrying capacity.

The granitic rocks on which the archaeological complex stands are already showing signs of fractures. This, according to the geologist Patricio Valderrama, could provoke some descends in the structure of Machu Picchu.

The Geological Institute is studying the bearing capacity of Machu Picchu, in order to determine the ideal number of daily visitors.

The 2-day closure proposal, however, means a higher tourist congestion on the open days; this, obviously, will impoverish the Machu Picchu experience (and eventually scare visitors away). A better alternative, both for the tourism industry and Machu Picchu’s integrity, would be to impose a limit on the daily number of tourists.

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