Tag Archives: inca trail

Peru’s Machu Picchu wins award as best ecotourism destination in South America

The Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru has won the 2010 World Travel Award as the best ecologic tourism destination in South America.

Winning the award was equal to winning the Oscar for best picture the Peru’s Promotion Commission for Export and Tourism (Promperu) said in a press statement.

Machu Picchu in Peru

Machu Picchu in Peru

After more than 185,000 tourism operators in the world nominated Machu Picchu, the World Travel Award’s jury chose the city over other destinations such as Brazil’s Pantanal and Argentina’s Patagonia and Iguazu falls.

Peru will receive the award on Nov. 7 in London in the World Travel Market and hope that the success of Machu Picchu will bring tourists to Peru and encourage them to visit the less popular places particularly in the north of the country.

Machu Picchu is located in a mountain of Urubamaba Valley, some 110 kilometers from Cusco city, capital of the ancient Incan empire and is famous also for the Inca trail – the hike which leads to Machu Picchu from the Sacred Valley.

Road access to Machu Picchu looking likely

The latest news from Peru is great for travelers.  Peru’s Congress voted unanimously Thursday in support of building a new access road to Machu Picchu.

In a 75-0 vote, lawmakers declared that paving the narrow dirt roads connecting the towns of Ollantaytambo, Santa María and Santa Teresa, located northwest of Machu Picchu, is  “a public necessity and a priority of national interest.”

In January, train service to Machu Picchu was cut off after the Vilcanota River overran its banks, wiping out the rail line and stranding thousands of tourists  for days until they were airlifted out by helicopter. The Inca Citadel, Peru’s biggest tourist attraction, was closed for two months.

Machu Picchu “is an economic resource and a symbol for the nation, and for that reason it is the duty of the state and the Congress to hand down the laws that allow us to guarantee its conservation and adequate accessibility,” said José Carrasco, chairman of the Congressional Budget Committee.

Since the disaster in January, pressure has been mounting from Peru’s tourism sector to develop other routes in and out of Machu Picchu, not only to provide emergency exits from the zone, but also to break the near-monopoly held by PeruRail and the town of Aguas Calientes, located in the gorge below the ruins.

According to reports provided by the National Chamber of Tourism, each day Machu Picchu was closed caused losses in excess of one million dollars.

Proposed alternate road route to Machu Picchu. Click on Image to Enlarge.Proposed alternate road route to Machu Picchu. Click on Image to Enlarge.

Congressman Jorge Foinquinos, chairman of the Foreign Trade Commission, said proposed legislation to build the alternative road access is needed “to provide for every contingency that may occur in the area and not depend exclusively on a rail line.”

The move by Congress puts it on a collision course with Peru’s National Institute of Culture (INC), which has made it clear that it — as the gatekeeper to Machu Picchu — is opposed to creating a new access route that could let the tourism floodgates fly wide open.

Peru’s government has worked hard to appease UNESCO’s demands to lessen the impact of visitors to Machu Picchu. The Andean nation narrowly escaped being added to the list of endangered World Heritage sites following the record surge of visitors in 2008, when the number of tourists far outpaced carrying capacity for the site on several days.

The UNESCO-sponsored Management Plan for Machu Picchu called for no more than 917 visitors per day – and no more than 385 visitors at any one time – while the INC has recommended a maximum carrying capacity of 2,000 visitors. Peru’s central government advocated in 2002 for 3,400, and the parties settled in 2008 on a daily limit of 2,500 visitors.

The deal was struck after the Peruvian government proposed a $132.5 million emergency plan to preserve the ruins and limit the flow of tourists, as well as take measure to prevent forest fires and landslides.

Carlos Canales, president of Peru’s National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur), has called into question the technical basis that the INC used for setting that limit at 2,500 visitors per day and advocates doubling the figure.

The INC’s study “was not prepared by specialists,” Canales contended in Monday’s edition of Peru’s main business daily Gestión. “Nor have international methodologies been used to measure the environmental impact and the burden caused by the number of visitors.”

“You can distribute the number of tourist routes into the sanctuary and you could easily double the amount estimated by the INC and reach up to 5,000 visitors a day,” Canales said in a statement on Canatur’s Web site.

Buenos Aires to Cusco

Buenos Aires to Cusco is perhaps one of the best known routes through the very heart of South America. It is commonly known as the “Gringo trail” and over the past 30 years as backpackers have discovered South America it has become more and more popular. Chimu Adventures offers a fantastic 21 day tour along this route which can be customised to suit you! Check out Buenos Aires to Cusco tours here for details!.

The route starts in Buenos Aires and winds its way up to Iguacu falls. One of the worlds largest waterfalls. In fact it is not one waterfall, but hundreds. A spectacular site in a fantastic setting Iguacu falls is one of the “must sees” in South America.

From Iguacu we travel to Salta, in the Northwestern frontier of Argentina. Salta is a legendary city to travelers. With its colonial heritage buildings in the middle of the wild desert hills it is reminicent of a wild west movie set. The imposing cactus  trees and red canyons and sands add to the appeal of this Argentinean frontier town. The San Antonio de los Cobres and the Salinas Grandes salt flats are other highlights of this region.

From Salta we move accross the Bolivian border at Villazon and into Bolivia. Bolivia is blessed with some of the most amazing scenery in South America. Much of the country is above 4000m above sea level, and to the east of the Andes lies the Bolivian Amazon. It is a land of contrasts, Bolivia is also South America’s poorest country with no access to the sea. From Villazon we travel to the incredible Salar de Uyuni – The legendary Salt plains with coloured lagoons, vast salt deserts and an amazing array of wildlife including the pink flamingo. On our “Gringo trail” tour we spend a few days here and then move onto La Paz, at 4200m above sea level it is bound to take your breath away!

Lake Titicaca is the next destination. the mysterious lake is the world’s highest navigable lake and nco3800m above sea level. The first Inca, Manco is said to have arisen from the lake and from this miraculous birth went on to unite the ancient peoples of South America into the Inca empire, with its capital in the next destination, Cusco.

Cusco has long been a centre for travelers. The heart of the Inca empire, all Inca roads lead to Cusco and via these paths or Inca trails the Inca transported food, people, their armies and messages. It was an incredible feat of infrastructure and evidence of this can still be seen today. Cusco is home to many original Inca ruins, as well as magnificient Spanish colonial mansions. Museums and markets abound and there is something to entice every traveler. From Cusco we visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas, including Pisac and Ollayantambo amongst other sites.

Whilst the tour ends in Cusco, it is also possible to extend the tour to the magnificent Inca trail, and Chimu Adventures can help with your Inca trail bookings and reservations. There is a permit system in place by the Peruvian authorities, and booking well in advance for the Inca trail is best advised. If not up to the Inca trail, we have a host of other tours that may appeal, visit Chimu Adventures for more details. This tour can also be done from Cusco to Buenos Aires, depending on your itinerary we can change this for you.