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Stretch of Inca Trail shut down due to forest fire near Inca citadel of Machu Picchu

Route 5 of Peru’s Inca Trail was temporarily shut down Wednesday, after a forest fire was detected in a protected area surrounding Machu Picchu – Peru’s top tourist attraction.

The blaze, which was put out by more than 300 firefighters, affected 90 hectares of land and burned down a rest area, six handrails and fire hoses located along the Inca Trail, reported Peru’s national Culture Institute, or INC.

Stretch 5 has been temporarily shut down and an alternative route opened. The lack of vegetation, reported the INC, increases the risk of rocks becoming loose and falling onto the path, which could potentially harm trekkers or tourists.

According to the UNESCO, one-third of the forests and underbrush in the protected area surrounding Machu Picchu have been affected by fire, often set by local farmers attempting to clear chacra of undergrowth. In 1997, a fire destroyed vegetation immediately surrounding the ruins and reached the lowest terraces of the site.

And, last year, a wildfire destroyed 700 hectares of underbrush in a protected area surrounding Machu Picchu, until it was brought under control by more than 700 firefighters.

Meanwhile, Peru farmers demanding the repeal of laws they say privatize the administration of water for irrigation launched a strike Wednesday, snarling traffic on major highways, and halting trains to Machu Picchu.

Thousands of protesters, led by Cuzco’s Board of Irrigation, piled tree branches and stones onto major highways in Cuzco, Madre de Dios and Puno to protest waters laws they claim will drive up their irrigation costs while facilitating access to this precious and fast diminishing resource for corporate and industrial farmers.

Last year, two water laws were passed by legislative decree, creating two public agencies to oversee water management and distribution. Then, in January, with 76 votes in favor, none in disfavor and eight abstentions, Congress approved Peru’s National Water Law.

Though small farmers fear these public agencies will be privatized, and their access to water will be reduced, the government assures that the new legislation is aimed at securing Peru’s water supply in the long term.

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