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9h ago

Peru Moves Most Tourists Out of Machu Picchu Bottleneck as Protests Cut Rail Link

Residents protesting the handover of the shuttle‑bus concession disrupted the rail route, prompting a U.S. travel warning.

File photo: tourists walk around Machu Picchu in Peru in 2018.
A view of Machu Picchu in the early morning before the crowd of tourists fill the archaeological site. The tourist attraction Machu Picchu has been blacklisted. As a result of its high number of daily visitors, Travel and Tour World recently declared it, one of the tourist sites not worth visiting. Machu Picchu receives thousands of tourists every day, overcrowding the space and negatively impacting the archaeological structure, the Inca trails, and the local ecosystem. (Photo by Antonio Cascio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Peruvian authorities said about 1,600 tourists have been evacuated in total, following an initial overnight operation that moved roughly 1,400 people.
  • Around 900 travelers were left in Aguas Calientes at one point after residents blocked the Ollantaytambo–Machupicchu Pueblo rail line with rocks and logs.
  • PeruRail reported that “third parties” excavated part of the route, undermining track stability and delaying evacuations.
  • Police said 14 officers were injured during attempts to temporarily clear the line as confrontations with protesters broke out.
  • The Machu Picchu Defense Front is pushing for a community‑linked replacement for the expired 30‑year bus concession, and demonstrations were briefly paused to allow evacuations as the U.S. Embassy issued a travel advisory.