Very early in the morning, Peruvian and foreign citizens from Chile, Venezuela, Colombia and France arrived and entered.
The Inca citadel of Machupicchu, considered one of the seven wonders of the modern world, experienced a special day when the entrance doors to the sanctuary were officially reopened, in the middle of the health emergency that the country is experiencing.
There were 675 people who had the opportunity to enter on this first day of official access to the citadel, after registering via the web and getting a place to access the ancient site for free.
The first to enter, at 6:17 am, was the Peruvian Victor Alfonso Gavidia Cabrera, from Lima who lives in Machupicchu. He received the book “Archeology and Anthropology of Machupicchu”, delivered by the head of the archaeological park, José Bastante. Two minutes later, two Chilean tourists entered, Juan José García and María Victoria Morán. At 6:22 am, the French Veronique Collin and Arnaud Nicolas managed to enter the citadel, being part of the first group of privileged visitors to this historical place.
“The citadel is spectacular and we can see that the Inca culture is incredible. We are very happy and proud to be the first to enter Machupicchu, after such a long time, ”said the Chilean visitors.
Most of the visitors on this first day were national compatriots, Venezuelans, Colombians and French, who waited more than seven months to visit this iconic symbol of our culture.
Given the great demand of national and foreign tourists to enter the citadel, the Minister of Culture, Alejandro Neyra, announced that the period of free entry was extended until December 31 next. This includes Machupicchu and the network of museums and archaeological sites throughout the country that is run by the Ministry of Culture.
Upon entering the sanctuary, a series of biosecurity protocols are being taken, including temperature measurement, disinfection and hand washing. Likewise, the use of masks is mandatory. The entrance capacity to Machupicchu will be for the moment 675 people per day, that is, 30% of the total capacity. The groups enter by schedule, each of 8 people and they go at a minimum distance of 20 meters from other groups. All visitors must reserve their entry in advance via the web.
Cusco, November 03, 2020
