by LINDSAY ROGERS
Machu Picchu Is Closed to Visitors Indefinitely
For the uninitiated, Machu Picchu is a site of 15th century Inca ruins located on a mountain ridge in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru. Once a royal estate for Inca emperors and nobles, Machu Picchu was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and later, in 2007, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Per a report from Daniel Politi of the Associated Press, the Culture Ministry said it had closed the country’s most famous tourist attraction, in addition to the Inca Trail leading up to the site, “to protect the safety of tourists and the population in general.”
“Cusco, where Machu Picchu is located, has been the site of some of the most intense clashes, leading to significant loss of tourism revenue. The Cusco airport was briefly shut down this week after protesters tired to storm it,” Politi wrote, adding, “Train service to Machu Picchu has been closed since Thursday due to damage to the tracks.”
