Originally from Seattle, Jessie Kwak and her husband Robert Kittilson are living in Peru and sharing their experiences on their new website Unpaved South America.
With Jessie doing the writing and Robert capturing the images, the website will highlight the lesser-known destinations in South America.
By Jessie Kwak
Machu Picchu will be closed at least until the end of February, due to massive flooding and landslides in the Cusco region. In the last few weeks, Mother Nature has sent Peru’s tourist economy into a tailspin: it’s estimated that the losses from Cusco and Machu Picchu average around $1 million a day.
The site sees half a million visitors a year, who provide a steady stream of foreign cash to support a countless number of formal and informal tourism industry workers in the area.
The people of the region. The torrential rains and subsequent flooding of the last weeks has left more than 23,000 people homeless. The people who have been the most affected are those who have the least, whose one-room homes and 2-hectare cornfields are their only assets. Some 16,000 hectares of crops were destroyed in the flooding, and although the government has promised aid to farmers, it’s unlikely to be nearly enough.
Rescue operations and press coverage have been overwhelmingly balanced in the favor of foreign tourists, causing local resentment. While tourists were airlifted out of Aguas Calientes (otherwise known as Machu Picchu Pueblo) Peruvians were stuck on the road between Cusco and Abancay for days without food or shelter, and without the all-important press coverage. Although many other regions in the Peruvian highlands were affected, Cusco has received the most attention because of its importance as a tourist destination.
Impact on tourism. Fetransa, the company in charge of the railway, is hoping that the railway will be fixed within two months, and that they will be able to provide access to Machu Picchu within three weeks. The plan is to repair the road between Ollantaytambo and Santa Teresa in order to get tourists into the area (you’ll still have to hike several hours from Santa Teresa to Machu Picchu itself). The journey will be more complicated than ever, but no worries, tour companies will still be falling all over themselves to charge you top dollar for the service.
Want a citadel that's older than the Inca empire itself? Try Kuelap.
Many people are canceling their trip to Peru simply because they’re unable to visit one of Peru’s thousands of archaeological sites; with their major cash cow out of commission for a month or more, Peru’s tourist department is rethinking their strategy of only marketing Machu Picchu. They’ve suddenly realized that Peru has much more to offer than a single overhyped (albeit impressive) set of Inca ruins, and have launched a new campaign: “Meet Peru Now.”
Looking for other untouched Inca citadels? Try Choquequirao. Want a citadel that’s older than the Inca empire itself? Try Kuelap. Were you just in it for the hiking? Then don’t miss the Cordillera Blanca. For a broad, hardly comprehensive, sketch of what Peru has to offer, check out my post on alternatives to Machu Picchu on our blog.
Helping out. Want to help? This article on Living in Peru has a list of places to send donations.
Follow Jessie on Twitter at @Jkwak.
on Feb 5th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
There’s a lot of pressure on Machu Picchu because of tourism. This landslide is a terrible disaster for the Peruvian people and the loss of tourism could be even worse. But it might be a good thing if they start marketing sites other than Machu Picchu.
on Feb 6th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I think it’ll be a good thing for everyone. The government’s already starting to market tourist routes in Northern Peru, whose sites are equally impressive and varied as those in Southern Peru. It’s my hope that travelers will take this opportunity to get to know a different side of the country, and not just cancel their trip entirely.
And like you point out in your link, Machu Picchu really deserves a break!
on Feb 11th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Having just visited Peru a few months ago I completely agree. Of course Machu Picchu is amazing, but there really are so many other great sights and attractions in Peru that get very little attention in comparison. Maybe now that will begin to change. I hope you don’t mind if I link to this article from my own site. Cheers!