Machu Picchu security boosted after visitors spread human ashes

Tourists visit the ancient Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in the Urubamba valley, seventy-two kilometres from the Andes city of Cusco, on February 15, 2023. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

LIMA — Peruvian authorities said Tuesday they have tightened security at the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu after tourists there were filmed dispersing what were believed to be human ashes.

Last week, citizens in Peru were outraged by a non-dated video on Tiktok in which a woman at the tourist site took ashes from a plastic bag and threw them in the air, then hugged another woman.

The video had a caption about “saying goodbye with much love at Machu Picchu” and hashtags with the words “ashes” and “spreading ashes.”

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The 30-second video was first shown on the account @IncaGoExpeditions, belonging to a travel agency, before it was removed from TikTok.

Cesar Medina, the head of Machu Picchu archeological park, told AFP that officials were going to hire more guards and install more surveillance cameras.

He said there was nothing in local laws barring people from spreading human ashes in public.

But this will now be barred at Machu Picchu for health reasons, Medina said.

READ: Peru protests block access to Machu Picchu, stranding tourists

Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the site welcomes an average of 5,600 visitors a day but until now had only four cameras and a small team of security guards.

The ancient citadel, built in the 15th century by Incan emperor Pachacuti, sits at an altitude of 2,438 meters in the Peruvian Andes.