The Machu Picchu Citadel receives an average of 3,300 visitors each day, according to the Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Cusco (DDCC). Authorities plan new measures to prevent overcrowding.
The Machu Picchu archaeological monument receives an average of 3,300 Peruvian and foreign tourists per day, and so a set of mechanisms are being proposed to better balance the timing of visits to prevent overcrowding of the space in the citadel.
Ricardo Ruíz Caro, head of DDCC, said the opening hours for the Inca monument is 07:00hrs -17:00hrs, but he added that the possibility of a half-hour extension is being contemplated.
"We want to use the time more efficiently because the study of the load capacity, which is now being finalized, shows that only 2 of the more than 12 hours of our solar arc are very heavily used," he noted.
In this regard he dismissed the proposal to establish a schedule of nightly visits for Machu Picchu because the area is very sensitive from both a biological and an environmental standpoint.
After reporting that Machu Picchu receives an average of one million visitors a year, the official made it clear that the problem is not the number of people visiting this Inca monument but the driving conditions.
In statements to the Andina News Agency, Ruíz Caro also mentioned the upcoming construction of a visitor centre to be located in the Machu Picchu Valley, which will better manage the number of visitors to the monument.
He acknowledged, however, that the number of visitors generates significant commercial movement and meaningful jobs for the people of Cusco and Peruvians in general.