LAN announces new destinations with the Visit South America Pass

LAN has released a new destination within the South American Airpass program: Colombia.  Passengers may, through LAN.com, select a flight of entry into the continent, to design an itinerary of at least three destinations in the region and take advantage of rates of the company, and now has chosen Colombia between their countries.

The Galapagos Islands , Machu Picchu, Iguazu, Easter Island, the Atacama Desert and now all the wonders of Colombia, are available to program users LAN.

Colombia has become the eighth largest network of destinations available in the South American Airpass. Bogota, Cali, Cartagena or San Andres Island are already available to the traveler with the South American Airpass.

LAN continues offering, under the South American Airpass, his classic “recommended circuits” which proposed routes for all tastes:

–  “Galapagos and Machu Picchu.” Quito-Galapagos-Islands-Guayaquil-Lima-Cusco.

– “Inca Trail and Lake Titicaca.” Lima-Cuzco-Juliaca-Lima.

– “Wonders of South America.” Lima-Cusco-Lima-Iguazu Falls-Lima.

– “Urban America.” Quito-Lima-Buenos Aires-Santiago de Chile.

– “Cultures enigmatic.” Santiago-Easter Island-Santiago-Calama-Santiago de Chile.

-“Food and wine”. Lima-Buenos Aires-Mendoza-Santiago de Chile.

The company offers users the best South American Airpass travel conditions, allowing earn 100% of the mileage in their frequent flyer program LANPASS and applying the more lenient baggage rate of transoceanic flights.

Inca Trail hailed as one of World’s Greatest Hikes

From the Peru News Agency

An article published by US weekly magazine ‘Time’ tells adventure lovers why the Inca Trail between Cusco and Machu Picchu in Peru is one of the world’s greatest hikes.

Mark Adams, author of the New York Times best seller ‘Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time’, explains that Peru’s Inca Trail is perhaps the world’s greatest hike because it combines the best of two types of travel: reach a destination and the pleasure of the journey itself.

He describes the hike as “a four-to-five day walk to the spectacular lost city of Machu Picchu that winds through the zone where the snowcapped Andes Mountains crash into the lush Amazon jungle, creating some of the world’s most dramatic and beautiful terrain.”

In his article, Adams agrees with many experts who believe that the Incas, the advanced South American civilization, blazed this 27-mile trail five centuries ago as a holy pilgrimage that prepared visitors to enter Machu Picchu.

Adams also notes the fact that the Peruvian government now limits Inca Trail traffic to 500 persons per day, including the porters who must carry all food, tents and other necessities.

Moreover, he recommends would-be hikers to sign up through an authorized guiding service, usually months in advance since spots sell out quickly.

UNESCO To Inspect Machu Picchu

This year was the 100th anniversary of Hiram Bingham’s arrival at Machu Picchu reintroducing this archaeological site to the world.  At the peak of summer with thousands of people arriving each day officials began turning away visitors for the first time.

Peruvian officials determined that 2000 people per day could visit the site without causing damage to the citadel or interfering with the quality of experience visitors experienced.

Susan Baca, the Ministry of Culture announced on Monday that a UNESCO delegation would be arriving in January to assess the situation and confirm that Machu Picchu is safe at the current level of tourism.

There are currently 11 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Peru including Chan Chan, Chavin, the City of Cusco, Historic Center of Lima, Historic Center of Arequipa, the Nazca Lines, the Sacred City of Caral – Supe, Huascaran National Park, Manu National Park, Machu Picchu and Rio Abieso National Park.

New Limits Set for Machu Picchu and Inca Trail

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham an event that seemingly triggered such an influx of tourism that for the first time tourists have been turned away from the Lost City of the Incas when the citadel reached maximum capacity.  Additionally this week also saw the announcement by Peru’s Minsitry of Foreign Trade an Tourism (Mincetur) on the results of the Limits of Acceptable Change and Carrying Capacity of the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu.  The carrying capacity is measured as the maxiumum number of people who can visit the site at the same time without causing significant damage, destruction of the monument or the reduction of quality of visitor satisfaction.

“After a hard technical work we have concluded that Machu Picchu can receive up to 2 million visitors each year,” said Peru’s Deputy Tourism Minister Mara Seminario.

However, Seminario noted that a proper management is required to implement the new capacity, and this will allow easing the flow and arrange the time of visits, as well as improving the infrastructure and implement a series of improvements.

The deputy minister added that the survey methodology carried out by consulting firm Candes and financed by World Bank’s Vilcanota project shows that the Effective Carrying Capacity, that is, the maximum number of visits that a monument can have at a specific moment, is 2500 visitors.  The Inca Trail is limited to 500 permits per day – the permits are measured by number of people beginning the Inca Trail that day including guides, porters and visitors.

Machu Picchu New Routes and New Restrictions

Tourism authorities in Cusco announced yesterday the opening of a new path in Machu Picchu.  The new route which will be under evaluation for the next 15 days will permit visitors to view the Incan Walls and natural landscape of Huayna Picchu.

The hike three-hour hike which is restricted to 400 visitors a day will operate beginning at 6am each day. Depending on the evaluation by the Management Unit of the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary (UGM) the new route may become permanent.

The new route is expected to help elevation the problems presented by the influx of tourism.  The Master Plan of the National Archaeological Park of Machu Picchu and UNESCO recommends a maximum of 2,500 visitors per day.    This  week as Machu Picchu celebrates its 100 year anniversary tourists have been stranded on the bridge located at the main entrance to the city when the site exceeded the 2,500 person capacity.  The authorities are working on a solution to the problem.

Huayna Picchu the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu is a popular day hike for those visiting Machu Picchu.  The mountain is home of the Temple of the Moon one of the three major temples of the Machu Picchu Area. The current route allows 400 visitors a day and permits are usually gone early in the morning.  The new route will double this amount.  Authorities have also announced that they are increasing the admission to Huayna Picchu from S/.14 to S/.150.

Machu Picchu and Peru 100 Years Ago

As the celebrations at Machu Picchu continue, National Geographic published awesome photos from Hiram Bingham’s 1912 Yale Expedition.

See them here

enjoy!

Machu Picchu Celebrates 100 Years Rediscovery

This month has been one of celebration in Peru, it was 100 years ago that Machu Picchu was rediscovered and brought to the worlds attention.  Machu Picchu is a 15th century Incan city created of stone structures built in the Andes Mountains of Peru.  The Incans had abandoned the site prior to the arrival of the Spanish and the site was never discovered during colonial times.

In the early 1900’s Hiram Bingham had traveled to Chile as a delegate to the first Pan American Scientific Conference.  On his way home a local prefect convinced him to stop and visit the pre-Columbian city of Choquequirao. Bingham was inspired with the idea of finding other undiscovered Incan cities, and returned to Peru in 1911 with the Yale Peruvian Expedion and was led by local guide Melchor Arteaga to Machu Picchu, a site which was forgotten by all but local people.

Bingham would return to Machu Picchu in 1912 and 1915 with the support of Yale and the National Geographic Society.  His “discovery” enchanted the world.  Bingham would late become the basis for the character “Indiana Jones”.

Today Machu Picchu is a UNESCO world hertiage site, one of the 7 Wonders of the New World, and one of the most revered archaeological sites in the world.  To celebrate the rediscovery Peru has set aside a month of celebration including the redesign of the 10 sole note which now features Machu Picchu on the reverse side.

Over a million people visit  Machu Picchu each year, in an effort to showcase the need for conservation the citadel is closed today except for a select 700 visitors .

Machu Picchu artifacts returned by Yale to go on display July 5

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu by Yale Professor Hiram Bingham.  Bingham was not a trained archaeologist, in fact at the time he discovered Machu Picchu he was a lecturer for the University.  His life’s focus changed when in 1908 he traveled to Chile to attend the First Pan American Scientific Congress. On his way home from the congress he traveled through Peru where he met a local prefect who convinced him to visit a Pre-Colombian site – Choquequirao known as the sacred sister of Machu Picchu.  The site so impressed Bingham that he returned to Peru in 1911 with the Yale Peruvian Expedition in search Vilcabamba the Lost City of the Incas.  

On July 24, 1911 he was led by locals to Machu Picchu a site which had been largely forgotten.  Bingham returned twice and excavated thousands of artifacts: ceramics, tools, jewelry and human bones.  After a legal dispute between Peru and the University the items have been returned to Peru and will go on display at  Casa Concha in Cusco starting July 5.

Peruvian Culture Minister Juan Ossio made the announcement Thursday after talks with Victor Raul Aguilar Callo, rector of Cusco’s San Antonio Abad University (UNSAAC), which owns the recently restored Casa Concha in the city’s downtown. Casa Concha, a 16th century mansion in Cusco, will be the new home for the artifacts, as well as the site of the collaborative center between UNSAAC and Yale.