Peru protests trap tourists at Machu Picchu
Train tracks to the Inca citadel blocked by rocks
Tourists at Machu Picchu in Peru had to be evacuated to the nearby city of Cusco, after being trapped in and around the Inca ruin.
Protesters used rocks to block the train lines between the Unesco World Heritage site and Cusco. Some tourists were forced to hike to the nearest town of Ollantaytambo.
There has been political unrest and violence since the ousting and detention of the country’s president, Pedro Castillo, on 7 December, after he tried to shut down congress and rule by decree in an attempted coup.
The protesters blocking access to Machu Picchu are believed to be supporters of Castillo and have caused road and air travel disruption, as well as on the trains.
However, flights between Cusco and the capital city Lima are operating normally, according to Peru’s tourism ministry. The airport in Arequipa, the second-largest city, reopened on 19 December, allowing stranded tourists to fly to Lima on commercial flights.
The US Embassy in Peru has advised that there are ‘roadblocks, traffic congestion, and disruptions are expected in the city’. It also recommended that people should ‘avoid areas of demonstrations, as protests and demonstrations can be unpredictable and quickly turn violent’.