These days a series of advertising spots about Peru, that seek to build a country-brand through the slogan “Peru. The Inkas country”, are being broadcasted in local television. This cut is an interesting one; first, because it privileges an area of this country that is precisely the one that gets most tourism. Of the three spots that I could watch, two are in the highlands -Puno and Cuzco/Machu Picchu- and one in the forest -and that one I barely saw it once, I don’t even remember what it was about. I wonder if this decision linked to the topic of country-brand is at all right, even when I assume there’s a good market study under these spots. Shoulden’t they emphasize other regions of Peru that have great tourism potential? I’m thinking Trujillo, with Chan Chan and the different huacas in the area; Kuelap; Lambayeque, with the Lord of Sipan tomb; Iquitos; Pucallpa; Mancora; Nazca; among other destinations. I know some will say: but, aren’t these destinations well known? The truth is, at least here in Argentina, only those of us who have visited these places have an idea of how interesting the north of Peru is. The problem is: is “The Inkas country” a slogan wide enough to include destinations that we associate to other precolombine cultures such as Chimu, Mochica, or Nazca and Paracas? It is clear that most of the tourists who think of Peru, they associate it with Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Now, well, is it necessary to advertise to reinforce this image? or should we make our bet to diversify the supply and help tourism in Peru lose its dependency on Cuzco?

By the way, the spots are frequently seen at National Geographic channel, on cable tv. If it’s going on any other channel, let us know.

It’s quite usual for me to receive email o blog comments inquiring about the Inca Trail, the famous two to four days trekking experience to get to Machu Picchu. There are several issues where many questions arise. This entry consists of an arbitrary FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about the topic:

1) Can you do the Inca Trail without hiring a tour? No, you can’t. If you go without a hired guided tour, you won’t be able to get in. The four days trail starts in US$190 during the low season, and can go up to US$600 at high season. The price includes the train fare to the location from where the trekking begins, the service of guides, carriers and food. If you want to do the two days trail, you should consider spending around US$140. Useful tip: some agencies sell the tour for US$145, but it doesn’t include the train fare back to Cuzco from Aguas Calientes, the train station closest to Machu Picchu. Since the cheapest train tickets are sold with three days of anticipation only, you’ll have to buy the more expensive Backpacker fare, which costs US$33. Considering you’ll have to spend the night at Aguas Calientes and spend in food (more expensive at this location), you’ll notice you’ll save almost nothing. You’re better off paying for the complete tour.

2) But wasn’t it cheaper to do the Inca Trail not so long ago? Yes, of course. I did it in 1999 and cost me US$17. At that time, you could enter the place by yourself, without guides or anything. Since 2001, the peruvian government has promoted an environmet preservation policy together with a strategy to position Cuzco as an exclusive destination. On this context, nowadays only 500 people are allowed to do the trail every day, and the cost has rised considerably by demanding people to pay for the complete tour. In this way, they ensure a higher collection and more people are employed. Of course, those who want to do the trail are not quite happy about paying more, but that’s how it is.

3) How much does the train that goes from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes cost? There are two versions. The Backpacker train ticket that departs from Cuzco and costs US$66, round trip. The Cerrojo Backpacker round trip train ticket costs US$40, but you have to go to Ollantaytambo to buy it. The best thing you can do is take the Valle Sagrado tour, and stop at Ollantaytambo to buy the train tickets.

4) Can I walk my way up to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes? Yes, you can, but it’s a long way up (steep). The transportation is sort of expensive: a less than 30 minutes bus ride that costs US$12.

5) Are there any interesting archaelogical ruins on the way? Not many. The most interesting thing is the spectacular landscape. Anyways, a few minutes of walking distance from the third day stop -in which many load up in beer- there’s Huayña Wayra, beautiful inca constructions. Below, a picture:

6) Is it too dificult to do the trail? It demands a lot of physical efforts. If you’re not in good shape and want to do the trail, I’d recommend to start walking. But, to be honest, the real dare is the fact that part of the trail consists of trekking steep trails located at over 3000 m. (10000 feet) above sea level altitude. Some parts of the trail consists of climbing upstairs, which turns the trekking, into a torture -it’s much easier to walk on a flat steep surface than going upstairs. The worst thing is to start the next day; after the first 24 hour walk, your legs are crying and screaming. I’d recommend to get used to the height first; if you’re coming from Bolivia, that won’t be a problem; but if you just landed from a plane 12 hours ago, you’ll probably need two or three days to be ready.

7) How much does the entrance to Machu Picchu cost? US$20; peruvians pay half of that. You can hire guides for an extra $10, if my memory doesn’t lie to me.

By the way, as soon as I can, I’ll work on the FAQ’s about Cuzco and Bolivia.

Gadling publish a list of resources about the world’s navel: Cuzco. Of course, here in Zirma I published some months ago an article about this beatiful (and expensive) city.

Some months ago I went to Cuzco and wrote a couple entries about it (which can be reached here and here). Now, Agustin, who has a blog dedicated to South America, is there. Guess what he complains about? The obvious: high prices.

To make things worse, now the Cerrojo Backpacker train, the cheapest one to get to Machu Picchu, has gone up from 24 to 40 dollars. Apparently, the regular Backpacker train ticket still costs 66 dollars. You can read Agustin’s complaints about PeruRail at this link, and about prices in Aguas Calientes at this entry.

By the way, I just found, through Del.Icio.Us, an interesting resource with maps of Cuzco and its surroundings. You can check it out at this link.

For all those who are interested in doing the Inca Trail in the following months, Cuzco’s regional Instituto Nacional de Cultura has a website where you can check the availability of vacancies for tourists who wish to do the trail. Since there are only 500 positions available per day, these run out quickly on high season. You can check the list in this link. In fact, if you check the list for july and august, you’ll see there are no positions left, the same goes for this month. A certain number of vacancies are still open starting from september. No wonder they don’t stop raising the entry price to the trail; which such demand, there’s not much to worry about. Remember that to do the trail you must go in a guided tour, with carriers and tour guide. And the price has gone up a lot in the latest years; in low season it costs around US$ 290 and it can go up to US$ 600 during high season. You can see more about Cuzco at this and this entry. The information about the vacancies availability was originally seen at El Sur.

A couple of months ago I wrote a few entries about Cuzco and the peruvian state policy of converting this place into a less massified and more exclusive tourism center. The idea is to combine a policy that protects the environment with a raise in prices which allows to maintain profitability despite the less afluence of tourists. Such policy priviledges higher income people, and provides a discouraging scenerey for latin americans who want to visit Machu Picchu. Now, I find interesting to make a brief review of the declarations made by Peru’s Economics Minister, Pedro Pablo Kuczynsky, to the Lima newspaper El Comercio. I cite:

Journalist: You are of those people who take time to travel around the country with their family. Is there any proposal for tourism?
Kuczynsky: Yes. I’ve always thought Peru, has a unique culture and environment system, shouldn’t have massive tourism. It has to be selective, for people who is interested in the environment, in history. They will be less, but they pay more.

J: Selective ?
K: Because they leave more. But we still have to encourage backpackers because they are tomorrow’s businessmen and opinion leaders. We’ve all been 20. When I was young I didn’t have a penny and I made it through college with the help of scholarships. That’s why I think we have to be tolerant. But the strategy of tourism development to open Kuelap or preserve Machu Picchu should be selective.

Kuczinsky declarations reaffirm what I wrote in a previous entry about Cuzco, a few months ago, which is that it has a clear direction: to favor international tourism with the highest spending capacity. I always had a critical look (spanish only) against common senses that believe that first class travelers always spend more than backpackers. Several studies show that in fact tourists that spend more leave most of their money in their home countries and not the nation they visit, a phenomenom known as leakage. The only way, in fact, to make first class tourism favor the country is by making them use airlines, hotels and services of the country they visit; in this case, of peruvian flag. In Cuzco this is half-way accomplished: the government’s regulations have stimulated a demand for tour guides, carriers, etc. At the same time, city hotels are usually of national capital. The point is, that it will be of little help to make Cuzco transformate into an “ecxclusive city” if foreign visitors buy tours and airplane tickets in their hometowns.

On the other side, I wonder if the peruvian government counts with statistics that allow to analyze the impact of backpackers on the economy of Cuzco. It’s known that this kind of travelers usually have a higher consumption of local services, while first class tourists usually demand many imported or “world class” goods. If the peruvian minister of economics is only based in the size of tips, I don’t think it’s too serious. There have been previous attempts to create “first class” destinations in some other places. For example, Bali. But the government’s attempts hit a point: the local inhabitants also begun to offer lodging services for those who couldn’t afford the five stars hotels. Don’t they think that something like this might happen in Peru? I admit there’s a big difference: in Cuzco, the state has a great capacity to regulate the market, in good part because to get to Machu Picchu one has to use the monopolic transportation services, where they can charge you whatever they want for a mediocre service. But this disadvantage dissappears in destinations like the forest.

This a passionate topic to discuss. And if you’re thinking about visiting Cuzco in the future, get your wallet ready.

“Made up traditions” have a long history in the grounds of tourism. An inmense number of festivities and rituals of the pasts are held for the interest shown by the market and tourists. A very interesting case is the celebration of the Inti Raymi, a ritual of celebration for the Inca emperor, for which groups of people from many locations arrived.
The genocide caused by the spaniards put an end to these celebrations, in the name of christianism. But in 1947, this festivity was brought up as a way to celebrate the “identity” of Cuzco, which can be extended to a particular idea of “peruanity”. With time, the festivity gained a commercial and touristic connotation, to the point that today a good spot to see the ceremony costs at least $70.

According to the note published by Caretas (a magazine from Lima), 100 thousand people go to this festivity and most of them are located outside of the ceremony center, Sacsayhuaman. The results, an increasing damage to the location, which looks like a dumpster after the celebration is over, and can suffer greater damages. Something similar happens in Machu Picchu where some of the citadel’s walls are in danger of falling down due to excess tourists.

Concerning this issues, the author of the note, the journalist Teresina Muñoz-Najar, wonders if it wouldn’t be necessary by now to relocate the festival to a place where it can’t cause any damage to an archeological patrimony. Since it’s an invented tradition, more than one might think that the change shouldn’t affect too much the celebration, which holds only a remote resemblence to the original one, not even celebrated at the same location. Unfortunately, it’s more likely that this celebration will continue to be held in this location until there are irreparable damages. And this seems to be the general rule in Cuzco: with an almost devastated Inca trail and Machu Picchu in problems -not to mention the chronic difficulties in Aguas Calientes- it’s getting close the moment to take decisions that will surely decide what to privilege: the historic patrimony or tourist industry.