El Chinchero was probably one of my favorite places we visited this entire trip. The ornate Catholic architecture and picturesque glacial landscape really do lend themselves to something extraordinary. You can’t help but feel peaceful in this quiet little town while staring out into giant, immaculately maintained fields surrounded by stunning geography. The town is quite rural. Most people here speak Quechua.
While trying to observe the serenity of this wonderful location, I looked out into the near distance and saw large amounts of scaffolding accompanied by small cranes and construction vehicles. Everything looked so odd and out of place in comparison with the rest of the terracotta roofs and old mountain architecture. I wondered what on earth someone could possibly be wanting to build here.
An airport. That was the answer. A way to divert the influx of tourists from Cuzco to a separate location which would frankly be irreparably altered by its presence.
The landscape of the Andes is so vibrant and dictates an important way of life for so many people. In order to accommodate tourism and accessibility of remote areas like Machu Picchu, an airport was built in Cuzco. This airport has undoubtedly affected the way of life any indigenous people living near that land, but the industrialization (and possible destruction) of one area at the expense of the local ecosystem (both natural and cultural) has already occurred. This new airport would destroy 7 important national springs (which are also important water sources) if constructed. Why wasn’t the disruption caused by the first airport considered “enough”?
Unfortunately, this issue is paradoxical. As a tourist who used an airport to arrive in Cuzco and a train (whose railway construction likely wreaked eons of environmental damage), who am I to complain about the further industrialization of this area to further the tourist economy?
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