Tourist buses to Machu Picchu causing disputes
Disputes over tourist buses to Machu Picchu resulted in over 1,400 stranded visitors being evacuated. The remains of a 15th Century Inca city and UNESCO world heritage site is the most popular attraction in Peru.
“There have been some conflicts between people from different communities here,” says Cristian Alberto Caballero Chacón who runs bus firm Consettur which has taken over 4,000 people daily to the site. The tourist buses run by the company take visitors on a 20-minute drive from the town of Aguas Calientes. The alternative route would be a two-hour walk.
The conflict revolves around Consettur losing a license to a rival company in the remote region of the South American country. Public transport is the only way to access it without a hike through the Andes mountains.
Tourists have to take a two to three and a half hour train ride to Aguas Calientes, before transferring to the tourist buses for the final part of the journey. In September, local protesters were angry that Consettur was being replaced by what they felt had been an insufficiently open bidding process. The protesters blocked the railway line with rocks, causing authorities to have to evacuate the tourists and clear the tracks.
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