Peru’s Machu Picchu reopens

Latin America’s most visited site reopens after heavy rains cut off access in January.

Machu Picchu floods
About 4,000 visitors had to be airlifted from the Machu Picchu during the January rains [EPA]

About 4,000 tourists were trapped for several days and had to be rescued by helicopter.

Five people were killed.

The railway from the city of Cuzco was damaged in hundreds of places. It has now been partly repaired, but visitors still have to travel part of the route by bus.

The ruins were not damaged in the rains.

The Machu Picchu is the most visited site in Latin America and the source of 90 per cent of Peru’s tourism income.

The site, nestled atop a verdant mountain in the Andes, averages 1,500 to 2,000 visitors a day.

Source: News Agencies