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 Ð'- Machu Picchu and Hauyna Picchu Ð'- 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 Ð'- 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 country, and the environment. It is also important to investigate the possible implications of what will happen in the future and whether Machu Picchu will be preserved for future generations to come.

There are both costs and benefits to the impact of tourism on Machu Picchu and to the community.

Social Costs and Benefits

The social costs and benefits to Machu Picchu are an important part of the puzzle when investigating the full impact that tourism has had on the community and the site. One of the benefits of tourism is that it brings in money from outside the community that helps to support community facilities and services that otherwise might not be developed or supported. It also encourages civic involvement and pride from the people. The tourist industry helps to provide cultural exchanges between local people and tourists from around the globe. There is also the immense benefit from the encouragement of and preservation of the celebration of local festivals and cultural events that might otherwise be lost over time. The final benefit to the social aspect of Machu Picchu's community is that the tourism industry helps to facilitate the infrastructure and facilities that are used by tourism (e.g. the railway) and in doing so, it can prove to also benefit the residents as well (e.g. transportation maintenance and support). (Barcelona Field Studies Centre S.L., Machu Picchu: Impact of Tourism)

Tourism also has its costs/down-sides. One of the social costs to the community because of tourism is that it may attract visitors whose lifestyles and ideas may conflict with the community's (which commonly happens throughout the world, a good example of this can be seen in the settling of North America, and the effect it had on the Native Americans). Tourism could also lead to the overloading of porters which would lead to health problems. A loss of traditional values and culture is a possible outcome as well, through imitation of visitor behavior or cultural diffusion resulting from normal, everyday interactions (which the Peruvian people are an example of, through the acceptance of Christianity into their culture, but it is interesting to see how they both worship the land and the Christian/Catholic God and trinity). There is also the impending problem that with the increase of tourism in Machu Picchu there will also be an increase in the crowding and congestion on the roads, footpaths, and in the narrow streets of the site. In addition, tourists also compete with residents for available services and facilities (a prime example of this is the local train service in Peru, in which many backpackers tend to use the local train service rather than the much more "luxurious" and expensive tourist train). An increase in visitors to the area will also lead to an increase in the crime in the area. Finally, a big social/community impact from tourism has been the desecration of burial sites and the removal and display of human remains from Machu Picchu to further stimulate the tourist industry, which has ultimately led to the destruction of the Indian spiritual heritage. (Barcelona Field Studies Centre S.L., Machu Picchu: Impact of Tourism)

Environmental Costs and Benefits

The environmental costs to increased tourism to Machu Picchu out number the benefits in many ways. Environmentally, tourism does help to facilitate increased awareness of the need for conservation and preservation of natural, cultural, and historical resources. Machu Picchu could also be considered a clean industry, but that might be asking a lot when one looks at the impact that tourism has had on the environment surrounding Machu Picchu (Barcelona Field Studies Centre S.L., Machu Picchu: Impact of Tourism). With over 2000 people visiting the citadel of Machu Picchu every day, and that number growing by 6% or more each year, the site is slowly eroding away by tourist feet ("The Americas: Road to Ruin," The Economist). In addition to erosion caused by foot-traffic, there is also the impact that poor drainage and heavy rains have play on the site since it was discovered.

Machu Picchu is located among steep slopes that are constantly being eroded by heavy rains and landslides are common there (Barcelona Field Studies Centre S.L., Machu Picchu: Impact of Tourism). The Incans created one of the most advance drainage and water way systems yet found. Out of necessity they had to be resourceful with their water in order to survive on the granite faces and the surface of the mountain ridge, as well as be productive agriculturalists growing corn, potatoes, and other plants as food sources on terraced fields (Bingham, "In the Wonderland of Peru" and Wright and Kenneth, 47-56). With such an advanced drainage system