one million people are visiting Machu picchu a year

The Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, considered one of the new seven wonders of the world, receives on average one million visitors a year, officials said.

The head of the Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Cusco, Ricardo Ruiz Caro, told Andina news agency that the famous ruins receive an average of 3,300 Peruvian tourists and foreign newspapers.

He added that, for that reason, authorities are considering a number of mechanisms to "balance" the best time of the visit and decongest the area of the citadel.

"We want to use the time more efficiently, because the study of carrying capacity that is already culminating states that only two of the twelve hours of solar arc we are the ones used with great intensity," he said.

Ruiz Caro also ruled out the possibility of establishing a schedule of nightly visit to Machu Picchu because, he stressed, it is naturally very sensitive from the biological and environmental issue area. "We have to analyze if the night use alter living systems . We believe that the short term there is no possibility of a night time, "he said.

The official also considered that the large number of visitors to the monument is not a problem, but the conditions of their use. "Under current conditions, which have not changed in about 40 years, we are very close to the limit of what It is reasonable to receive for sightseeing. But understand that if
a new management model, where the tourist space are multiplied, the number can vary substantially, "he said.

Ruiz Caro stressed that the high number of visitors generated an important commercial activity and jobs, which found that "only put a policy limiting the number of visitors, for the rest of society creates a problem of opportunities They lost ".