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Tourism Effects On Machu Picchu

High in the Andean mountain range, nestled on a ridge between two mountains high above the valley floor below sits the amazing city and archaeological site of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is about 1400 kilometers south of the Equator on the eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes. The site lies near the head waters of the Amazon River and is on the ridge between two prominent mountain peaks – Machu Picchu and Hauyna Picchu – about 500 meters above the valley bottom (Wright and Kenneth, 2-3). Machu Picchu, believed to be the royal estate of the Inca ruler Pachacuti, is the most well-known of all the Inca archaeological sites. Professor Hiram Bingham discovered the site in July of 1911 and excavated it with the help of National Geographic and Yale University (Bingham, "The Story of Machu Picchu," 172). When Professor Bingham discovered the Incan city it was hidden by a thick layer of forest vegetation, but after years of excavation, he uncovered and documented the findings of Machu Picchu (Bingham, Lost City, 223). Now, 94 years later, thousands of tourists fly from around the globe to visit the sacred and awe-inspiring site each year.
The effect of tourism on the people of Peru, the site, and the countries economy is staggering. More than 300,000 people a year go to Peru to make the trek to Machu Picchu where they marvel at the 500 year old structures built from blocks of granite chiseled from the mountainside (Roach). Tourists travel by helicopter, train, foot, and bus and the reasons for visiting the site are variable and many in number – to fulfill a romantic dream, a spiritual quest, or simply because they want to visit one of the world's must-see sights to name a few. The question that needs to be asked and researched is: How is tourism affecting the archaeological site of Machu Picchu? The reasons for visiting Machu Picchu are not as important as is to understand the impact that the tourists and tourism industry is having on the site, the people, the...