One Million Tourists Visit Machu Picchu in 2011

The ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, uncovered from overgrowth and obscurity 100 years ago by U.S. explorer Hiram Bingham, will have received at least one million tourists by the end of this year, according to Percy Canales, president of the National Chamber of Tourism, Canatur. The number of visitors represents a 30 percent hike [...]

Rolling Stones Front Man Mick Jagger Arrives at Machu Picchu

British rock star Mick Jagger arrived at the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu on Thursday, as part of a trip to Peru that has included a sit-down with President Ollanta Humala and a visit to an eco-lodge in the jungle region of Madre de Dios. The front man for the Rolling Stones, Jagger travelled [...]

Cusco’s Casa Concha opens doors for Machu Picchu exhibition

Cusco’s Casa Concha, owned by the Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad de Cusco (UNSAAC), has opened its doors for two weeks to exhibit more than 360 artifacts from Machu Picchu that were recently returned by Yale University. The artifacts will be displayed in two rooms in the Casa Concha, located about half a block from [...]

Machu Picchu centennial celebrations begin

Peru began celebrations  Thursday for the 100th anniversary of the “discovery” of the Inca citadel Machu Picchu with musical shows and light displays at the site for some 200 guests, including President Alan Garcia. During the day, dances were performed in the streets of Cuzco, the starting-off point for the thousands of tourists that visit Machu Picchu [...]

Machu Picchu, Maize and the Advantage of Backwardness: More Comments

Nick Asheshov’s article on Machu Picchu, Maize and the Advantage of Backwardness has triggered comments from a former Central Bank president,  British and American archaeologists, an explorer, and an author and film-maker.  The following are the most recent comments in this ongoing conversation: Graham Thiele, at the International Potato Centre, Lima, is concerned that “a reader [...]

COUNTRY NOTES: Machu Picchu, Maize and the Advantage of Backwardness

By Nicholas Asheshov – Special for the Machu Picchu Centennial – Machu Picchu and the Inca Empire were the creation of an import from Central America, maize, and a dramatic climate shift that turned the Andean highlands from inhospitable wet-and-cold to pleasant, as it is today, dry-and-warm. For more than half a millenium before this [...]

Machu Picchu remains from Yale arrive in Cusco

Archaeological remains from Machu Picchu, which recently returned to Peru from Yale University, have arrived in Cusco where they will be displayed at the Casa Concha, owned by the Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad de Cusco (UNSAAC). The pieces arrived in Lima in early April and were put on display at the Government Palace before being [...]

Inauguration of Machu Picchu artifacts in Cusco planned for July 7

The inauguration of the exhibit in Cusco of archaeological remains from Machu Picchu, which were recently returned to Peru from Yale University, is scheduled for July 7, state news agency Andina reported. Over 300 pieces, which are currently on display in the halls of the government palace in Lima, are expected to arrive in Cusco [...]

Government Palace opens doors to show Machu Picchu artifacts

Artifacts from Machu Picchu, which were taken from Peru almost a century ago and recently returned by Yale University, have been put on display at the Government Palace, state news agency Andina reported. Authorities have set up 16 showcases to display some 360 archaeological pieces from Machu Picchu in the government’s Golden and Tupac Amaru [...]

Yale to return all Machu Picchu artifacts by December 2012

Yale University is planning to send to Peru the last shipment of Machu Picchu artifacts by December 2012, state news agency Andina reported. The first shipment of the archaeological pieces, which were taken from Peru almost a century ago, arrived on Wednesday to celebrations. The 46,635 fragments and artifacts will be returned in two stages, [...]

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