Report on the Flooding in Peru by Apumayo

As all of you must already know, the southern Andean region of Peru has been affected by unusual heavy rains which started on January the 23rd and ended on January the 28th, returning to its normal amounts. These rains caused an extraordinary increment of water carried by the Vilcanota River, almost 1,100 m3/second, when maximum registered was 850 m3/second, an unlikely record.

The cities affected where Andahuaylas, Ayacucho, Puno and overall Cusco, where most of the tourist areas, where closed for a few days.

At this time, weather has return to its normal, all areas including all attractions in Cusco and the Sacred Valley have normal access, but access to Machu Picchu is limited only by helicopter (Note: Commercial helicopter flights to Machu Picchu will not be allowed until noticed by the government), as huge landslides have damaged 6.15km of the railroad to Machu Picchu. In order to re-establish communication with Machu Picchu town by using the railroad, Ferrocarril Transandino S.A. FTSA has determined to restore the tracks in three stages:

1. Hydroelectric – Machu Picchu town: The work will take about 2 weeks to allow visitors and residents to use bimodal transportation to get back to Cusco, that means, train ride from Machu Picchu town to The Hydroelectric station in Santa Teresa (45 minutes) and from there by car back to Cusco (6 to 7). In order to achieve this, it will be necessary to restore the road between Santa Teresa and the Hydroelectric.
2. Piscaycucho (km82) – Machu Picchu town: The work will take about six weeks. These restorations will allow visitors to get to Machu Picchu using a bimodal transportation too. This means Train from Machu Picchu town to Piscaycucho (1:30 hrs) and from there, car ride back to Cusco (1:30 hrs). This is the main portion of the railroad to Machu Picchu, which we commonly use for our clients. This also means that for all the programs that were planned to start by train in Cusco and returning back to Cusco by train we will have to add the extra car portion to and from Piscaycucho (km 82).
3. Ollantaytambo – Piscaycucho: They expect to finish this work in about 7 weeks in order to res-establish the regular train services. This portion is commonly replaced by the one explained in the second stage.

FTSA guaranties Peruvian authorities, Machu Picchu residents, tour operators, visitors and the community, that professionals are performing their best efforts to achieve the main objectives of the above working plan in order to restore the transportation facilities on the south east railway system.

We recommend you that programs that offer Machu Picchu before March the 20th, have to be modified and offer the above mentioned alternatives or re-direct your clients to other attractions.

Fortunately, the Inca trail to Machu Picchu was not affected and it will be re-opened in March as happens every year; there are just inconveniences to return from Machu Picchu Town back to Cusco as mentioned lines above. Though if your clients prefer not to take the Inca trail we can offer them the following alternative treks:
Cultural & Panoramic Inca Trail to Ollantaytambo. 4D/3N
Trek to Choquekiraw. Canyonland & Incas. 5D/4N

At Apumayo we have designed several alternative tourist routes that can supplement a visit to Machu Picchu or the experience of the Inca Trail, as all tourist attractions in Cusco and the Sacred Valley are accessible except for Machu Picchu. If you have clients coming to Peru in the following 2 months please ask your contact at Apumayo for these alternative routes.
Volunteering and Donating Opportunities:

Our eyes must not only face the damage caused to the tourist industry which will get back to normal at the end of March, as thousands farming land hectares have been flooded and thousands rural houses have been affected and families have lost everything, help is welcome. As we have your customers coming to our country, we would like you to encourage them to provide donations or participate in volunteer initiatives, such as the ones we have been promoting in Cachiccata since some time ago. These initiatives can be:

• Houses and Schools restorations
• Healthy Meals for kids
• Community Cleaning
• Irrigation channels restoration and water filters

If you are interested in promoting these initiatives, please contact us in order to add these into your current programs or customize the program and start with arrangements.

This message is not to alarm you, it is only to inform you on what has happened and how we are dealing with this matter, as this has not been a mega disaster, it is something that happens about every 10 years as of the Global Weather Change and usually it is prevented, but this time it took authorities by surprise. Things will get back to normal at the end of March. We will keep you informed on how and when will the railroad to Machu Picchu be finally restored and trips to this fantastic attraction will get back to normal.

Nonprofit Planeterra Mobilizes Community Relief Efforts in Wake of Flooding in Peru

Concerned Groups and Individuals Asked to Make Online Donations to Peru Flood Relief and If Traveling to Cusco Bring Essential Items, Clothing and Food

TORONTO – Over 12,000 people have been uprooted and/or severely impacted by the late January rains and flooding in Peru’s Sacred Valley between Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Planeterra has mobilized an onsite team to assess the situation and help with immediate needs of the local people. The nonprofit has established an online help site: Peru Flood Relief where the public can make charitable donations.

One of the communities severely impacted by the flooding is Ccaccaccollo, home to Planeterra’s women’s weaving cooperative, a community travelers visit as part of the organization’s Project Peru voluntourism adventure.

“Because indigenous communities such as Ccaccaccollo maintain a traditional way of life and are dedicated mainly to pastoral and agricultural activities, they are especially vulnerable to heavy rains and flooding,” said Richard G. Edwards, Director of Planeterra.

A company blog describes Ccaccaccollo’s main plaza, an area usually bustling with women demonstrating their craft and selling colorful textiles, as flooded out and empty. Market stalls, usually overflowing with locally produced hats, change purses, shawls and scarves, are instead filled with mud and rocks.

Planeterra has already donated the funds necessary to fuel the equipment required to fix a main road and clear landslides. In addition, the organization is looking at ways tourism dollars might help by reworking itineraries to include some of the most impacted communities in future tour itineraries.

A donation goal of $25,000 has been set of which to date nearly $9,000 has been raised. Through a partnership with Gap Adventures that covers all of Planeterra’s administration costs, 100% of all donations will go directly to those in need.
An appeal has also gone out to anyone now in or planning to visit Cuzco. Donations of blankets, sleeping bags, warm clothes for children & adults, jackets, raincoats, tents & mattresses, dried food (rice, pasta, oatmeal, cans of tuna, sugar, salt, evaporated milk etc) and matches can be dropped off at: Hotel Tupac Yupanqui (Calle 236 San Agustin) in Cusco.

“Planeterra has committed to immediately provide the funds needed to help fix the road and clear the landslide. We will continue to help the recovery effort and are relying on support from our travelers, which will not only benefit Ccaccaccollo but many of the outlying communities as well,” explains Edwards.

In the last week of January, just half way through the rainy season, a 72-hour-period of torrential rains caused entire communities to be evacuated due to massive flooding that washed out roads, collapsed houses and bridges, destroyed crops and temporarily cut off all access to Machu Picchu. The government is doing its best to send supplies to the areas that have been hit the worst; however many communities have still not received outside support, according to Edwards who immediately sent his own staff there to assess damages and determine how Planeterra might help.

Planeterra is a global non-profit dedicated to sustainable community development through travel. Founded in 2003 by Gap Adventures, Planeterra evolved out of a long history of travelers committed to finding ways to give back to the people and places they visit. Planeterra selects the projects and works with them to arrange voluntour travel programs worldwide. For information on Planeterra’s year-round voluntour programs please call 416-260-0999 or go to: http://www.planeterra.org/pages/voluntours/4.php.

Tourist activities in Cusco and throughout Peru keep on going

Lima – Upon the successful evacuation of tourists from the town of Machu Picchu (formerly Aguas Calientes) due to the intense rainfall that occurred last week, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru, Martín Pérez, has stated the following remarks:

1. The city of Cusco, located 110 kilometers (68 miles) southeast Machu Picchu, maintains all its tourist activities under normal conditions. Rainfall in this city, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, presents the usual seasonal characteristics (moderate rainfall). Thus, all the archeological and cultural attractions in the city and its surroundings continue open to the public. The complete listing of the sites that are receiving visitors, both in the city and its surroundings, as well as updated images, can be found on www.peru.info and www.turismoperu.info.
2. The Machu Picchu Archeological Complex, as well as the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu itself, have not suffered any damage at all, according to the verification conducted by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism. A special team from UNESCO is expected to arrive soon in order to verify the situation in the citadel. This organization listed the Machu Picchu Sanctuary as a World Heritage Site in 1983.
3. Even though the citadel has not been affected by the weather, and therefore can receive visitors, the railway connecting the town of Machu Picchu (the Ollantaytambo-Machu Picchu route) has suffered serious damage in different points, especially by kilometers 78, 79 and 102. According to the private companies that run the service, the rehabilitation of this route will require between seven and eight weeks, provided the weather conditions being favorable.
4. During the evacuation of tourists, an emergency service was put into operation between Ollantaytambo and the town of Machu Picchu. However, the Government does not maintain said service to transport passengers or tourists to the Machu Picchu Sanctuary.
5. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has announced that it has started the repairing of the non-asphalted route that connects Alfamayo and the Hidroeléctrica railway station – which also connects Santa María and Santa Teresa en-route. From that point, it will be possible to take the train to the Machu Picchu railway station.
6. The Inca Trail, the traditional trekking route that reaches Machu Picchu built by the Incas and which nowadays tourists walk in several days, is closed every year during February in order to allow maintenance. This procedure is under way this year and the National Institute of Culture (INC) will assess the situation of the route in March and, according to the results to be obtained, will decide whether to reopen the Inca Trail or to look for an alternate option for those who have already bought their entrance tickets (due for March), such as modify the validity dates of said tickets or give such buyers their money back.
7. The Peruvian Government is already making all its efforts to make a second way to access Machu Picchu available in the medium term.
8. PromPerú, the Exports and Tourism Promotion Board, is about to launch, along with the private sector, a big advertising campaign to promote tour packages to Cusco as well as the destination itself, both domestically and abroad.
9. It is also worth mentioning that the weather phenomena that affected the town of Machu Picchu did not have a widespread impact; they were concentrated in certain zones of the Andes. Most high valued Peruvian destinations such as Arequipa, Iquitos, the Moche Route in the northern coast, and Paracas, south of Lima, among many others, are entirely ready for the visitors to modify their tour packages, offering dozens of attractions. Information on these destinations can be found on www.peru.info and www.turismoperu.info

Mountain Lodges of Peru wins international TO-DO contest

(Berlin, Cusco) Two years after the opening of the first trans-Anden lodge-to-lodge trek to Machu Picchu, Mountain Lodges of Peru (MLP) has won the grand prize of the renown competition TO DO! – Contest Socially Responsible Tourism. Following a comprehensive jury inspection on site, the prize was awarded during this year’s travel trade show ITB in Berlin on Friday, March 13th. “This is the result of our business strategy which from the beginning included the involvement of local communities and the use of environmentally sound practices”, Enrique Umbert Jr, General Manager of MLP is glad to point out.

The rationale for the award says: “MLP offers unusual trekking tours that satisfy the highest expectations regarding comfort and quality.”….”The company combines an economically promising strategy with comprehensive social and ecological responsibility in a plausible manner and helps to strengthen cultural identity.”

In Peru the MLP tourism concept is innovative and unique, as it is not focused exclusively on operating trips. To address environmental issues, they have set up a professional eco-team that surveys the trek, provides trail maintenance and clean-up, and assists with reforestation and wildlife conservation. Clean energy for the lodges will be obtained by micro-hydro projects that will also benefit the communities.

The social responsibility component of MLP is handled by a non-profit organization called “Yanapana” (“Help” in Quechua language; www.yanapana.org) which serves the people who live in the region. Members of the local communities have been trained to work in the lodges; they are given micro loans and technical assistance to improve the quality and sale of regional products such as preserves, weavings and vegetables. Medical care and education support for more than 1,700 children in the region is provided as well.

“During the building of the four first-class lodges in the Andes we strictly followed a concept that served the people and preserves the environment”, explains Enrique Umbert Sr, CEO of MLP. The lodges were designed by a local architect who incorporated the traditional Inca style of stone and adobe houses with straw roofs with more modern concepts of comfort and energy efficiency in such a way that the buildings completely blend into the Andean landscape; moreover, all the lodges fit well and deep into Inca mythology, architecturally and conceptually. The lodges feature rustic-elegant double bedrooms with private facilities, hot showers, heaters and Jacuzzis. Unique “Andean energetic cuisine” provides excellent and innovative meals in both lodges and along the trail, using local produce and organic food.

The travellers experience all this during the fully guided round trip from Cusco on the Salkantay lodge-to-lodge trek to Machu Picchu and back to the famous Inca capital. Over two thousand international hikers so far enjoyed this unique combination of first class accommodation and contact with people and nature. More information about the prize winning company MLP and the unique possibility to explore nature and culture in the Peruvian Andes is provided at the ITB, Berlin, March 10-15th, HALL 1.1, BOOTH 106 attended by representatives of MLP, Peru.

Further Information: Regine Vogel, Media Relations Europe
e-mail: media@mountainlodgesofperu.com
Elisabeth Leitner-Rauchdobler, Sales Europe
e-mail: elisabeth.lr@mountainlodgesofperu.com