How is machu picchu changing over time

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Now, visitors buy tickets for specific hours. The new rules have led to emotional reactions from tourists, some of whom may have crossed continents to see Peru's most famous tourist site.

Visitors spend slightly less time at the site now too. The older half-day rule let them explore the site for four hours, though it wasn't strictly enforced. Now they get to stay as long as it takes for them to finish their chosen route, which can be between one and three hours, said Bastante. The hourly quota system is here to stay — even after the pandemic eases — because it has made crowd management more efficient, said Bastante.

Planning a trip to Machu Picchu has changed too. Visitors can no longer expect to buy tickets on the spot, or even a few days prior, because of how quickly they sell out. Bastante recommends booking tickets one or two months in advance. He also suggests booking tickets before booking flights and hotels, adding that Machu Picchu "is not a last-minute destination anymore.

Authorities launched a new ticketing website in It lets travelers see how many empty slots are available for each hour. Most dates in the next two months are already full, but tickets were more readily available after that. Authorities have also restricted the number of trekkers on the Inca Trail. The four-day hike from Cusco to the entrance of Machu Picchu is a popular way to get to the site, though most visitors travel via rail on a 3.

The Inca Trail can now only accommodate half of its previous limit, or about hikers per day, said Fernando Rodriguez, operations manager for Intrepid Travel in Peru. The Inca Trail faces similar Covid restrictions as Machu Picchu — group sizes of eight plus a guide, mandatory mask-wearing when social distancing is not possible — even while hiking and at campsites, Rodriguez said.

In , four circuits, or fixed routes, were put in place at the Citadel for better crowd control and site management. After slowly climbing the massive steps, some as high as my waist, I was hit with a sinking feeling. Despite the excitement I felt when booking this trip, stories of overcrowding had left me apprehensive, and here was that worry made manifest: A stunning viewpoint… Disneyland-packed with amateur photographers. I walked to the rail expecting to see Machu Picchu teeming with people—a veritable rat maze of tourists.

To my surprise, however, the park felt almost empty, with small tour groups evenly dispersed throughout the ruins. This outlook was the busiest spot by far. Built in the 15th century by order of the Inca ruler Pachacutec, Machu Picchu was only populated for an estimated 80 years, at which time it was mysteriously abandoned.

In , the site saw 1. It dramatically diminishes the quality of life for the people who live there. It changes the experience of the tourists who visit. The plan involves the building of a visitor and orientation center, and a new exit ramp, as well improved means of controlling crowds and dispersing visitors. In Inca times, archeologists approximate that no more than people lived in Machu Picchu at once.