The Peruvian tourism industry can finally and happily announce its railway line is reopening on June 30. The train from Cuzco to Agua Calientes hasn’t been able to run since last January after torrential rains destroyed sections of the track.
Landslides triggered by days of heavy rain destroyed this important railway line that takes tourists to Agua Calientes near Machu Picchu. Work has been done to rebuild the network and to strengthen areas that were weakened after the slides.
The natural disaster last January forced the evacuation of over 3000 people by helicopter. They had suddenly become trapped at the historic Inca site when the railroad had to shut down. The rains were so violent that even roads and footpaths were impassable.
Protected by UNESCO, access to the site was blocked. Authorities worried the area could be damaged by so many visitors walking on the soft ground.
Machu Picchu is an Inca site dating from the fifteenth century and is the main tourist attraction in the country.