Peru: Machu Picchu closed over local train dispute

Peru suspended the entrance to Machu Picchu due to a protest that blocked the only railroad to reach the tourist destination located in a remote area of ​​the Andes and the Amazon.

"So we hope that on these days, through the dialogue that has been established with the representatives of the central government, with the local government of Machu Picchu, and also with the tourist industry, there will be conditions to reopen it." Culture Minister Alejandro Neyra said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Due to the new coronavirus pandemic, Machu Picchu was closed for almost eight months, and in November the government reopened it, placing hopes on the reactivation of local tourism.

At present, international tourism -which was previously the majority- is now minimal and local Peruvians are now those who arrive in Cusco with the intention of visiting Machu Picchu.

But many are discouraged from visiting the renown citadel, 70 kilometers from Cusco, because they cannot find train tickets available in the lowest priced wagons offered to Peruvian tourists by the only two existing transport services, PeruRail, since 1999, and Inca Rail, since 2009.

The price of a round trip ticket to Machu Picchu costs about 6.60 US dollars for Peruvians and the cheapest for an international tourist, about 70 US dollars.

When a Peruvian tourist does not find lower-priced tickets, sometimes they end up buying the one offered to the international tourist.

The protesters ask that PeruRail schedule three daily trips each with six cars for Peruvian tourism and request Inca Rail to allocate another two daily frequencies with four cars for Peruvian tourism.

PeruRail said in a statement that the protest affected more than 1,000 national tourists "who had planned their trip to Machu Picchu on our tourist trains."

The company added that "they are not in a position to face" the protesters' request.

Machu Picchu is the magnet of tourism in Peru and attracted 1.5 million visitors in 2019, of which 76% were foreigners.

The Inca citadel was built in the 15th century as a religious sanctuary for the Incas and is located in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon at 2,490 meters of altitude.