Hundreds of exhausted travelers, locked in Peru after visiting the famous attraction – the mysterious city of the Incas – Machu Picchu – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are now finally being evacuated.
According to CNN, tourists were stranded in the city after the overthrow of the country’s president and mass protests that erupted in response to the event. After interruptions and closures last week, airports and trains have resumed operations. “Civil unrest gripped Peru in early December when former President Pedro Castillo was impeached and arrested, and his removal from power accelerated the country’s long-running political tensions. Rail and air services were disrupted when protesters stormed airports,” the newspaper reported.
It was clarified that the railway was the only way to get to Machu Picchu and back. And since the railway connection was blocked, the tourists who came for an excursion to the ancient city of the Incas were also trapped. PeruRail, Peru’s rail operator for the country’s southern and southeastern regions, said last Saturday that trains were resuming to and from Machu Picchu as an emergency. “To this end, we are coordinating with the Machu Picchu municipality to ensure proper boarding of tourists on these trains, prioritizing the care of the elderly, people with health problems and families with children,” it said. statement of the department.
According to train operator PeruRail, which serves the popular route, the evacuation of stranded travelers has already begun. Those stranded are being taken by bus from the community of Piscakucho to the city of Cusco, where Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) is located. It is 75 km.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Transport of Peru, made last Friday, the airport in Cusco has resumed flights after reports of the suspension of the departure point amid the riot in the country. “Passengers who need to travel during curfew hours can use their travel tickets as a security guarantee,” the department said.
However, the riots in Peru also affected other airports in the country, forcing them to cancel flights and remain idle. Thus, on Monday, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Peru announced on its social media pages that the largest international airport in the south of Peru resumed its work, and the first flight took off from there at 6:15 in the morning. It is about Alfredo Rodriquez Ballona International Airport in Arequipa. Inca Manco Capac International Airport in Juliac is also expected to resume operations starting Tuesday, according to the agency.
As the mayor of Machu Picchu, Darwin Buck, noted, about 300 foreign tourists were locked in the popular excursion city. Among them, South Americans, Americans and Europeans, Ukrainians were not reported. In a conversation with CNN last Friday, he said that the authorities are conducting preparatory work for the evacuation of travelers. Helicopters were called in to evacuate tourists as land routes were blocked by demonstrators. It was clarified that the evacuation efforts are carried out jointly by the mayor of Machu Picchu and the Ministries of Foreign Trade and Tourism, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and the District Municipality of Machu Picchu.
People were injured during the street demonstrations. The official figures are as follows: the death toll from the demonstrations has risen to 20. According to a statement from Peru’s Ministry of Health, they died as a result of ongoing protests in various cities across the country. Another 63 people are being treated in hospitals. The number of injured exceeded 500 people, more than 150 demonstrators were detained.
In response to the dangerous activity in the country, a number of countries have issued displacement warnings in the popular country:
- Thus, the British Embassy in the capital of Peru, Lima, advised British citizens to register through the iPeru platform through the online form and the local authority at the Cultural Center on Avenida Pachacutec.
- The U.S. State Department has issued travel advisories for citizens traveling through Peru, which it has listed as Level 3 “travel review” destinations. The agency strongly recommended that all travelers to Peru sign up for the U.S. Embassy’s STEP notice if they have not already done so.