If you haven’t heard, about two months ago, severe weather had knocked out the rail connecting the tourist attraction to the city of Cuzco. However, through the help of public and private organizations, they have repaired the damaged area and reopened some of the rail line today. They are using buses to transport passengers where the track is still being tested.

Heavy rains and landslides in January destroyed part of the tracks, killing at least five people and trapping thousands of tourists at the site. It took at least a week to rescue all the people cut off from the main city. After assessing the damage, Peru was forced to fast track the repairs because this tourist site brought in an estimated $1 million per day in revenue.

According to officials, they are looking to increase tourism head counts to about 3,000 visitors per day. They even flew in actress Susan Sarandon to help publicize the reopening event. On average Machu Picchu receives about 400,000 tourists a year, but the bad news is the surrounding cities are still dependent on that tourism money.

Machu Picchu is located almost 8,000 feet above sea level and was supposedly built by the Incas around 1400 A.D. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is about 50 miles northwest of the city of Cuzco. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu.

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