www.totallylatinamerica.com

As you may already know over the last few months heavy rains to the region of Cusco have caused widespread damage to many communities and infrastructure. How will this affect your travel plans in the coming months? Read on for the latest information on your Peru travel.

www.totallylatinamerica.com/machu-picchu/tours.php

From December through to February is considered the wet season in the highlands of Peru, and is in sharp contrast to the dry months the rest of the year brings. This year however, when the rains came they were relentless and hard falling day after day for nearly one month solid.

Rain of this magnitude anywhere in the world will cause dramatic results, but in Peru the effects were somewhat more harsh as many homes are made from Adobe (a mixture of earth and straw). This type of construction is actually very good, providing that roofs and outer walls are protected from the elements.

The heavy rain fall, saw the rivers of Urubamba and Vilcanota (close to Machu Picchu) rise to levels not seen in 15 years, and with it flooding of local communities, and of course the destruction of many adobe houses.

To add to the pain, the main train route into Machu Picchu, which runs next to the Urubamba and Vilcanota rivers was also damaged. This meant that visitors to Machu Picchu were stranded at the Archeological site as the only route out was by train.

The Peruvian Government declared a state of emergency on January 24, 2009 and helicopter airlifts started to evacuate visitors to the local town of Ollantaytambo where they could return by land to Cusco. The evacuation took approximately 3 days, as the weather conditions continued to hamper the area.

www.totallylatinamerica.com/machu-picchu/tours.php

So what now for Travel to Machu Picchu?

A recent inspection of the train line to Machu Picchu has revealed that there was over 28 Km’s of damaged track between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes, and 8 points of significant damage. Current estimates to repair the rail line, are between 1-2 months, but this could be longer if weather conditions hamper repairs.

The use of helicopters into the area are not allowed at this time, as a recent study determined that vibration from the helicopter blades were damaging the construction of Machu Picchu.

Therefore, the Regional Government of Cusco have pledged to open an old existing road route from Santa Teresa to the Hydroelectric station located behind Machu Picchu, this means that access by road from Cusco is possible. The time scale to open the road (which is only a short passage) is said to be 15 day, but realistically this could be a week or two longer as rains continue to fall into at this time.

There are logistical issues still to be sorted out with regards to the road, including how to ferry the many visitors in and out of the area without congestion and with saftey in mind. This information is yet to be announced. But as soon as it is available then we shall let you know.

For those travelling in February and March, you need to contact your travel agent, and discuss the options which are available to you at this time.

Good luck, and don’t be put off as travel to Machu Picchu and Peru is an incredible experience.

Totally Peru Team.

Open your eyes to an amazing country…….

www.totallylatinamerica.com

Tags: Cusco, Machu Picchu Tours, Machu Picchu Travel, Peru Travel, Peru vacations, Tours to Peru, Train line to Machu Picchu

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.