After protests, local companies to transport tourists to Machu Picchu

Protesters who blocked access last week to the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu have ended their protest movement after locally-owned companies were granted the right to transport tourists to the site for four months, a Peruvian official said Monday.

"The mobilization has ended. The residents gathered in Lima, where several agreements were reached," Oscar Luque, a representative for the Ombudsman's Office of Peru, told AFP.

A week ago, protesters blocked train tracks to demand their interests be represented in the search for a new bus operator ferrying visitors on the last leg of a trip from the city of Cusco to Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes.


More than 1,500 visitors were evacuated amid clashes between protesters and police.

Now, two locally-owned companies will transport visitors to the site "for four months" before open bidding on the bus contract begins, Luque said.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, the ancient, fortified complex is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering, and receives around 4,500 visitors a day, according to the tourism ministry.