The head of the National Archaeological Park of Machu Picchu recently announced that cameras and drones would be two methods used to improve the observation of tourists at the famous Inca city. This announcement came as a response to the arrest of six tourists who had been caught defecating in the park. Although the behavior of these tourists is reprehensible, the response seems equally misguided as the installation of cameras and the flight of drones will permanently disrupt the sanctity of the ruins. The simple fact is, Machu Picchu needs bathrooms!
It has long been obvious that the sanitary facilities of Machu Picchu are woefully inadequate. The only facilities are located outside the entry gate and are plagued by long lines. Guests are required to pay fifty centimos in exchange for entry to the bathrooms, a small receipt, and a few squares of toilet paper. The bathrooms are clearly unable to handle the increasing number of guests that come as a result of the park’s status as the world’s preeminent tourist destination.
To begin with, the system that requires visitors to pay for the facilities is completely absurd and inefficient. A better system would be to increase the entry price on each ticket to include the bathroom fee so there is no need to waste time paying once you are on site. Having an attendant selling tickets at the bathroom entrance also slows down the process with no perceivable benefit, and visitors who without cash for whatever reason are prohibited from using the facilities.
That the bathrooms are outside the entrance gate is also problematic. Visitors who find themselves in need of a bathroom once they have entered the park will have to leave, wait in line for the bathroom, and then wait in line again to return to the park. Usually there are insufficient ticket checkers so the lines are slow and frustrating to navigate.
It is obviously important to preserve the sanctity of the Machu Picchu site, but adequate sanitation is a necessary component of that objective. There are already many improvements that have been added to manage the flow of tourists and diminish the negative effects of erosion. Paths have been widened and reinforced, and railings have been installed at various locations. Today, guests must explore the park on an established route that takes them far from the entry gate and the sanitary facilities. If a guest attempts to return against the flow of traffic, he or she is scolded by the park security.
Machu Picchu Needs Bathrooms
The site already has small huts that were built to monitor guests who wish to hike Machu Picchu mountain or Wayna Picchu. It’s important to remember that most of the outlying buildings of Machu Picchu are reconstructions, and the existing facilities and the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge exist very near to the ruins. Constructing buildings near, but not on the site is not without precedent.
There are ideal locations throughout the park where bathrooms could be installed without disrupting the site. Constructing adequate facilities could even be incorporated with building necessary retaining walls vital to the preservation and protection of the park. If it is determined that there can be no new construction areas, perhaps the Belmond Sancutary Lodge should be forfeited to the nation and repurposed into adequate sanitary facilities for the good of the preservation of the world heritage site.
Installing cameras within the ruins represents a permanent desecration. To make matters worse, observation cameras and drones do nothing correct the fundamental issues of sanitation that currently exist and are only going to become more pressing with time. It is disrespectful and wrong for tourists to defecate within Machu Picchu, but it is equally wrong that the park currently has insufficient sanitary facilities for the guests. Punishing people will not eliminate their need to go to the bathroom. A better solution is to ensure guests have access to a convenient and adequate sanitation system.
