Machu Picchu UNESCO

by Veronica Landes
(Madrid, ES)

In 1981, the state of Peru declared that Machu Picchu a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary and in 1983 UNESCO made the ancient city a World Heritage Site. In a massive internet campaign initiated in 2007, Machu Picchu made it into the New Seven Wonders of the World.

The primary archaeological treasures of Machu Picchu are the Intihuatna, The Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. The three structures are located in the Sacred District of Machu Picchu.

In what is considered to be an important breakthrough signed in 2007 and is befitting the status of a Heritage Site, the artifacts taken out by Hiram Bingham when he discovered Machu Picchu in the early part of the twentieth century will be returned by his mother institution, Yale University.

The rising importance of Machu Picchu to the world heritage only made the site more popular to tourists. Annual volume of visitors to the site is now more than 800,000 and this exerts developmental pressure to the area.

Today, the risk of landslides, fires and encroachment are happening and this may prompt UNESCO to add Machu Picchu to the list of endangered World Heritage Sites.