LIMA, Oct 15 (NNN-ANDINA) — October 20 is the deadline to vote for Peru’s tourist icon Machu Picchu, nominated as the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2022, and thus allow it to obtain its fifth title in the global edition of the World Travel Awards —also known as the Oscars of World Tourism.
The Inca citadel —Peru’s flagship tourist site, a World Heritage Site, and one of the Seven New Wonders of the World— has been distinguished with this prestigious award in the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021 editions, prevailing over other important tourist destinations located in various countries around the world.
In this global edition of the World Travel Awards 2022, Machu Picchu competes with Burj Khalifa (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum (Ireland), Ferrari World Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Grand Canyon National Park (United States), Great Wall (China), Ha Long Bay (Vietnam), IMG Worlds of Adventure (United Arab Emirates), and Passadiços do Paiva (Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark, Portugal).
The nominees also include: Acropolis of Athens (Greece), Las Vegas Strip (United States), Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort (Florida, United States), Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Niagara Falls (Canada), Table Mountain (South Africa), Taj Mahal (India), Intramuros (Philippines), and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
The Inca citadel’s designation as a Historic Sanctuary in Peru was made official on Jan 8, 1981, through a supreme decree.
The sanctuary is located in Machu Picchu district of Urubamba province and covers an area of 32,592 ha.
This natural protected area is known globally as the home of impressive archaeological Inca sites, as well as historically and culturally significant monuments.
With the passage of time and greater awareness of its importance as an Inca religious, ceremonial, astronomical, and agricultural center, Machu Picchu was inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites on Dec 9, 1983.
Machu Picchu remained hidden for several years since its construction in the 15th-century. It was first revealed to the world by U.S. explorer Hiram Bingham and, since then, has been carefully restored and preserved for future generations.
On July 24, 111 years will have passed since the arrival of Bingham in this impressive stone city nestled atop a mountain ridge in Cusco.
Although the first direct references to the discovery of Machu Picchu date back to 1902, when a group of locals visited the Inca structure vestiges, it was Bingham who —sponsored by Yale University and the National Geographic Society— initiated the scientific study of the last capital of the Incas in 1911 and made it known to the outside world.
