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Threatens to destroy the Inca city of Machu Picchu
The Inca city of Machu Picchu has over 1.5 million visitors each year. That's on the limit of what the Peruvian World Heritage Site can handle.
Now a new, criticized airport is to be built nearby to bring even more tourists to the area.
Machu Picchu is one of the world's most famous tourist attractions. The Inca city in Peru is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has more than 1.5 million visitors per year.
The large number of tourists is putting great pressure on the Inca city with its fragile and valuable ruins. There are twice as many visitors as UNESCO recommends. Therefore, strict restrictions have been imposed on how and when tourists can visit the area.
But a planned airport in the nearby Inca city of Chinchero could put even more pressure on Machu Picchu. Preparations for construction have already begun, with bulldozers removing tons of soil, The Guardian reports. The airport will be able to accommodate flights from all over Latin America and the United States.
Can destroy ruins and nature
It has sparked an outcry from archaeologists, historians and local residents.
“This is a built landscape; there are terraces and roads created by the Incas. Putting an airport here would destroy it,” Natalia Majluf, a Peruvian art historian at Cambridge University, told The Guardian.
She has organized a petition against the new airport. Critics say that an increased number of planes flying low over the area will have a detrimental effect on the Inca ruins and nature.
Source: aftonbladet.se
