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Category Archives: Archaeological Sites

Cusco Tourism leader worried over Machu Picchu preservation

By Rick Vecchio | Published: May 4, 2013

The president of the Association of Cusco Tour Agencies says he’s concerned that poor management and overcrowding at Machu Picchu is taking an undue toll on the iconic Inca citadel, and he blames the Ministry of Culture. Enrique Velarde told Peru’s tourism trade publication T News that the Culture Ministry is taking too long to update [...]

Also posted in Cusco, Machu Picchu, News | Tagged endangered archaeological sites, Machu Picchu visitor totals 2012, UNESCO | Leave a comment

The early introduction of exotic Machu Picchu to travelers

By Fertur Peru Travel | Published: March 29, 2013

Today, Machu Picchu is a top “bucket-list” choice for travelers considering where to take their next vacation. But if we turn back the clock  five or six decades, we find that South America’s most iconic historic site rated hardly a blip on the tourism radar. Check out this 1955 newspaper column, which attempted to raise [...]

Also posted in Adventure Travel, Cusco, Destinations, Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, Nostalgia | Tagged Alternative vacation ideas, Exotic archeological destination, Secret of the Incas, vintage Machu PIcchu news | Leave a comment

Record breaking 1.1 million tourists visited Machu Picchu in 2012

By Rick Vecchio | Published: March 9, 2013

Visitors to Peru’s most famous archeological site, the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu, surpassed one million tourists for the first time ever in 2012. The record-breaking figure of 1,114,434 visitors  appears in the annual  totals published by the Ministry of Foreign Commerce and Tourism (MINCETUR). But the million+ Machu Picchu milestone — an average of [...]

Also posted in Cusco, Machu Picchu, News | Tagged endangered sites, Machu Picchu visitor totals 2012, UNESCO | Leave a comment

Peru rejects French archaeologist’s bid to dig up evidence of Machu Picchu Inca tomb

By Rick Vecchio | Published: February 10, 2013

Contained in the official Machu Picchu Master Plan is an intriguing theory by Peruvian archaeologist Luis G. Lumbreras.  He posits that the iconic Inca citadel is in fact Patallaqta, a “Royal Mausoleum” built — much like the Egyptian pyramids were for the ancient pharaohs — to venerate the Ninth Inca Pachacutec after his death. But [...]

Also posted in Cusco, Destinations, Machu Picchu, News, Southern Circuit | Tagged Guillermo Lumbreras, inca mausoleum, Inca Pachacutec's tomb, Pachacutec, Pachacuti, Thierry Jamin | 3 Comments

UK TV host roasted at home for eating traditional guinea pig dish while on vacation in Peru

By Rick Vecchio | Published: November 5, 2012

Cultural relativism takes on goofy dimensions in an age of celebrity Tweet-casted vacations As I write this, British Morning Show TV presenter Phillip Schofield is at 40,000 feet in an airplane somewhere over the Atlantic. He’s heading  home to England after vacationing in Peru. Perhaps he’s now passing through customs in Madrid, making his connecting [...]

Also posted in Arequipa, Cusco, Machu Picchu, News, Peruvian Cuisine, Superfoods, Wildlife | Tagged Andean Explorer Train, Animal Aid director Andrew Tyler, cuy, guinea pig, Hiram Bingham Train, Orient Express, Phillip Schofield | Leave a comment

Celebrations marking discovery of Ancient site of Caral

By Fertur Peru Travel | Published: October 14, 2012

Eighteen years ago, this month, archaeologist Dr. Ruth Shady began her breakthrough investigation of Caral, one of the oldest civilizations in the Americas. In this residential and ceremonial center she discovered six pyramids, and a series of middle-sized and small buildings, including temples, residential areas, public plazas, amphitheaters, storehouses, a circular coliseum, tombs, altars and [...]

Also posted in Ancash, Art & Culture, Destinations, Events, Festivals, News, Prominent Peruvians | Tagged ancient cultures, Caral, cradle of civilization, quipu, Ruth Shady, Supe, UNESCO World Heritage site | Leave a comment

The Moche cosmo vision explored in new book / CD

By Fertur Peru Travel | Published: September 23, 2012

The book “Cosmos Moche,” the first part of a collection — “Enigmas of Ancient Peru” — is going on sale this week. It includes an English translation and a CD about the Temple of the Moon. “This book is a valuable contribution to understanding the complex world of the Moche, a culture of farmers and [...]

Also posted in Books on Peru, Chiclayo, Lambayeque, News, Northern Circuit, Trujillo | Tagged Moche archaeology, Moche sacrifice, Moche Trail, ruta Moche | Leave a comment

The Inca Sacred Center of Machu Picchu – a Love Letter

By Rick Vecchio | Published: September 17, 2012

  The first time I laid eyes on Machu Picchu was 16 years ago, and even though I do not consider myself a particularly spiritual person, what I experienced in that moment was profound, and has stayed with me. It’s the same each time I return. For a long time, I’ve asked myself, why is [...]

Also posted in Cusco, Destinations, History, Machu Picchu | Tagged astronomical events, Inca astronomy, Inca religion | Leave a comment

Moray: a lesser known Inca archaeological ruins on par with Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuaman

By Rick Vecchio | Published: September 12, 2012

☼ Inca Tours and Travel Adventures ☼ Standing at the rim of Quechuyuc Muyu, peering down at the the central terraced monument of Moray, I was awestruck. For years, I had admired pictures, but they couldn’t begin to do the actual site justice. Still, I snapped a photo and sent it to my father in [...]

Also posted in Books on Peru, Cusco, Family Travel, History | Tagged Maras- Moray, Moray archaeological site, Moray schematic map | Leave a comment

Tour Package: Inca astronomy for star gazers of the northern hemisphere

By Fertur Peru Travel | Published: August 19, 2012

  The  Fertur Peru Travel team is excited to be offering this celestial Cusco vacation package. During your first evening in the two-mile-high Inca capital, you’ll participate in an intimate gathering at the Planetarium Cusco: Interpretation Center for Inka Astronomy and Southern Skies for a fascinating night of Inca astronomy, history, mythology, architecture and — weather [...]

Also posted in Bargain offer, Cusco, Destinations, Family Travel, Machu Picchu | Tagged Inca astronomy | Leave a comment