Peru to deport tourists for allegedly damaging, defecating at Machu Picchu

 

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is seen in Cusco, Peru, in this December 2, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

 

LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian police said on Tuesday they would deport five tourists and prosecute another after they allegedly damaged stonework and defecated among the ruins at Machu Picchu, an Incan citadel that is one of South America's most renowned tourist attractions.

 

Authorities said the tourists, from Chile, Brazil, France and Argentina, snuck into the ruins and caused a rock to fall from a wall of the Temple of the Sun, damaging it. One of the foreigners allegedly defecated inside the Incan city.

 

An Argentine man will remain in the country to face charges for "destroying Peru's cultural heritage" after he acknowledged a lead role in the vandalism.

 

Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage site visited by more than one million tourists a year. The mysterious, centuries-old stonework has long intrigued visitors, but a spike in tourism has raised concerns about damage to the delicate site.

 

The United Nations has previously warned of urgent problems with deforestation, the risk of landslides, uncontrolled urban development and illegal access to the sanctuary.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-15

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Been to Machu Picchu many moons ago, cannot for the life of me think what would possess any ******* to vandalise the ruins, stunning place

 

It's not exactly the sort of place that your average idiot vandal could just stumble across... 

An off topic trolling post has been removed. 

Quote

The United Nations has previously warned of urgent problems with deforestation, the risk of landslides, uncontrolled urban development and illegal access to the sanctuary.

 

Mass tourism doing what it does, destroying places. Thailand with it's Kobkarn-started policies of quantity over quality is another prime example.

The behavior of some tourists is sometimes extremely shameful and they are from every nation. No reason when next time Chinese or Indians doing something stupid to point on their nationality.  

Doesn't say he was a vandal. It says he 'caused a rock to fall'. I've never been there....presumably at a heritage and visitor site there were toilet facilities tucked away somewhere?, exactly the same as at all Thai Heritage and visitor centres.

Are there not any toilets there?

There are toilets at the overnight camping areas outside the site itself

   

1 hour ago, Bluespunk said:

Been to Machu Picchu many moons ago, cannot for the life of me think what would possess any ******* to vandalise the ruins, stunning place

 

It's not exactly the sort of place that your average idiot vandal could just stumble across... 

 

I agree with that.  But tourists have been vandalizing ancient sites since ancient times.  In fact, some of the graffiti is even given protection as historically significant in a lot of places.

 

It's not hard to imagine someone seeing thousands of graffiti carvings and figuring it's okay to add their own.  That doesn't make it right.  Nor do I know for sure that's what happened here.  

 

As far as the defecating, sometimes emergencies happen, especially in a 3rd world location with 3rd world hygiene.   If you're 200 meters from the can, and only have 20 meters of pinching left...  Could be total lack of respect, or could have been a medical issue.  I wasn't there.  I don't know. 

 

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

One of the foreigners allegedly defecated inside the Incan city.

They need to post a photo or it never happened ????

49 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I agree with that.  But tourists have been vandalizing ancient sites since ancient times.  In fact, some of the graffiti is even given protection as historically significant in a lot of places.

 

It's not hard to imagine someone seeing thousands of graffiti carvings and figuring it's okay to add their own.  That doesn't make it right.  Nor do I know for sure that's what happened here.  

 

As far as the defecating, sometimes emergencies happen, especially in a 3rd world location with 3rd world hygiene.   If you're 200 meters from the can, and only have 20 meters of pinching left...  Could be total lack of respect, or could have been a medical issue.  I wasn't there.  I don't know. 

 

When I was there, there were available bathroom facilities outside the main entrance anyway, primitive but usable.
 

This was in the early 90s and back then our guides said you couldn’t get back in if left the site to use them. May be different now, not been back. 

 

Everyone I was with coped well enough though...but we knew we were privileged to be there and didn’t <deleted> on the cultural heritage of the country. 

Edited January 15, 20206 yr by Bluespunk

47 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Everyone I was with coped well enough though...but we knew we were privileged to be there and didn’t <deleted> on the cultural heritage of the country. 

 

They don't call it Montezuma's Revenge for nuthin'.  I don't think they could spell (or pronounce)  Atawallpa, Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, Atahualpa's Revenge.

 

Edited January 15, 20206 yr by impulse

Reported off topic post removed.

Kilroy was here. Who is John Galt?

Mucho Poopoo

12 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

When I was there, there were available bathroom facilities outside the main entrance anyway, primitive but usable.
 

This was in the early 90s and back then our guides said you couldn’t get back in if left the site to use them. May be different now, not been back. 

 

Everyone I was with coped well enough though...but we knew we were privileged to be there and didn’t <deleted> on the cultural heritage of the country. 

Visited in 2013.  Sounds like nothing had changed from what you described.   Never more than 10 minutes away from the toilets just outside the gate from anywhere on the site.  

 

Boggles the the mind to think that some people go to the effort of getting there, which is not insignificant, and carry on like that.  Pretty damn hard to topple a stone too.   Those things have stayed in place for 500 years, such is the craftsmanship.