Fuente: UNESCO

NOMBRE 
Santuario Histуrico de Machu Picchu

IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORY
VI (Managed Resource Protected Area)
Natural / Cultural World Heritage Site - Natural Criteria ii, iii / Cultural Criteria i, iii

PROVINCIA BIOGEOGRБFICA  
8.35.12 (Yungay)

UBICACIУN GEOGRБFICA  
El sitio estб ubicado en la parte mбs alta de los Andes orientales, sobre el rнo Urubamba y el noroeste de Cusco (Departamento de Cusco). El parque es accesible por carretera o por ferrocarril desde la parte inferior del valle y luego el autobъs o en coche a las ruinas. 13 ° 10'S, 72 ° 33'W .

FECHA E HISTORIA DE SU CREACIУN
Establecido como un Santuario Histуrico el 8 de enero de 1981, en virtud de la Ley (Resoluciуn Suprema) DS 001-81-AA. Inscrito en la Lista del Patrimonio Mundial de la Humanidad en 1983.

БREA
32,592 hectбreas

POSESIУN DE TIERRAS  
Propiedad privada (propiedad de cuatro principales "predios": Mandorpampa, Q'ente, Torontoy y Santa Rita de Q'ente).

ALTITUD Rangos desde 1,800 m. a 3,800 m. sobre el nivel del mar.

CARACTERНSTICAS FНSICAS  DE MACHU PICCHU
El sitio estб ubicado en la zona de la selva alta, e incluye parte de un macizo montaсoso de gran disecciуn de la alta meseta de los Andes, que se eleva abruptamente desde el valle del rнo Urubamba. El бrea alrededor de las ruinas de Machu Picchu se compone de muchos pinбculos de roca expuestos como soporte de los suelos delgados, aunque en el бrea tambiйn existen los sitios con complejos sistemas de tierra para la conservaciуn de los suelos, conocidos como andenes o terrazas incas. La cuenca del Urubamba es una zona de aluviуn, casi continua, de las tierras agrнcolas de cultivo y pastoreo. Geolуgicamente el бrea es muy compleja, es una combinaciуn de rocas sedimentarias marinas del Cretбcico-Terciario y material volcбnico intrusivo, como las lavas y granitos. Los depуsitos sedimentarios son Ordovнcico esquistos, pizarras y cuarcitas. Los rнos y arroyos alimentan el sistema principal del valle del Rнo Urubamba, asн como una serie de pequeсos valles en el norte como el de Quillabamba (MAA, 1986).

CLIMA DE MACHU PICCHU
La temperatura promedio anual varia entre los 16°C y la precipitaciуn anual oscila entre los 1500 mm y 3000 mm en altitudes bajas. At 2,500 m de altitud el promedio de temperatura es de 10.2°C, y la precipitaciуn anual es de 2170 mm. La temporada de clima seco dura de mayo a septiembre y la temporada  de clima hъmedo de octubre a abril.

VEGETACIУN DE MACHU PICCHU
El sitio ha sido influenciado por el hombre durante muchos siglos, conduciendo a una combinaciуn de hбbitats artificiales, de pastizales de pбramo, matorrales de Polylepis, bosques vнrgenes parcialmente degradados y antiguas tierras de cultivo que han vuelto de nuevo a ser bosques o matorrales. En altitudes mбs bajas, parches de bosque predominan, siendo su extensiуn depende de la interferencia humana en el pasado, especialmente durante el perнodo Inca. La vegetaciуn se eleva desde el bosque seco subtropical a lo largo de los valles del rнo al bosque muy hъmedo montano bajo. Los бrboles representados en el bosque mбs denso en peligro de extinciуn a nivel local incluyen la caoba Swietenia macrophylla y especies de los gйneros siguientes: cedro, Podocarpus (la ъnica conнfera en el Perъ), Lauraceae Ocotea, Cunoniaceae Weinmannia, Nectandra y Cecropia. Un nъmero de helechos arborescentes estбn presentes, incluyendo Cyathea sp. y tambiйn las palmas como Geromoina sp. sp Guasca. y SP Riupala. (MAA, 1981). Juncos Phragmites sp., Sauces y alisos se producen alrededor de los rнos y arroyos, pastizales abiertos al mismo tiempo, arbustos y matorrales dispersos de Polylepis sp. y el bambъ se encuentran cerca de las ruinas (Parker et al, 1982). El alto pбramo subalpino altitud incluye muchas gramнneas, Festuca sp., Stipa sp. y Puya sp. como p. raimondii (I). Las crestas de las montaсas se caracterizan por sp Gaudua bambъ. (Parker et al., 1982).

FAUNA IN MACHU PICCHU 
Mammals include otter Lutra longicaudis, dwarf brocket deer Mazama chunyii, long-tailed weasel Mustela frenata, Pampas cat Felis colocolo and ocelot Felis pardalis. One of the most threatened species found within the area is spectacled bear Tremarctos ornatus (V) (Jorgenson, 1982). The bird community includes Andean Condor Vultur gryphus and Andean Cock-of-the-rock Rupicola peruviana. Low altitude areas and agricultural fields are characterised by the presence of mountain caracaras Phalcobaenus megalopterus and Andean lapwing Vanellus resplendus, whilst red-backed hawk Buteo polysoma, American kestrel Falco sparverius, speckled teal Anas flavirostris and Andean gull Larus serranus. Torrent duck Merganetta armata, white-capped dipper Cinclus leucocephalus and fasciated tiger-heron Tigrisoma lineatum are found in narrow stream valleys are associated with riverside trees. Species around the ruins include black-tailed trainbearer Lesbia victoriae, white-winged black-tyrant Knipolegus aterrimus, tufted tit tyrant Anairetes alpinus, cinereous conebill Conirostrum cinereum, blue-capped tanager Thraupis cyanocephala and rufous-collared sparrow Zonotrichia capensis. In addition, a new species of wren Thryothorus has been observed in the bamboo thickets (Parker et al., 1982). Snakes such as Boa sp. are present and there are numerous lizards and frogs in the damper areas.

Aves de Machu Picchu - Galerнa de Fotos (5)

Picaflores de Machu Picchu - Galerнa de Fotos (8)

CULTURAL HERITAGE  
The park was established to protect the landscape of the renowned Machu Picchu archaeological site, founded by the Inca culture. It is thought that it was a royal Inca residence and was perhaps the centre for collecting coca from surrounding plantations. The site eventually fell into ruin, was covered by the encroaching forest, and 'lost to science' until re-discovery in 1911. There are also the remains of the Inca Way in the area, and local legends, including that of the spectacled bear, which is thought to serve as a messenger between the spirits of the high elevations and those of the jungle (Anon, 1981).

LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION  
Much of the park area is settled with many small campesino communities and farms especially on the lower slopes. The original inhabitants were skilled in irrigation and built terraces and drainage which extend long distances across irregular ground. Agriculture (maize and barley) and livestock grazing (llamas, cattle and sheep) are the dominant economic activities and occur in over 20,000ha of the park. The local economy is also supported by tourists visiting the Inca ruins (MAA, 1981; Peyton, 1983). The nearby city of Cusco was the Inca capital and still remains an important town with over 105,000 inhabitants. It is the administrative and commercial centre for a considerable part of the Urubamba basin (INRENA, pers. comm., 1995).

VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES  
In the mid 1980s, some 180,000 people annually visited the Inca Trail and the ruins. More recently, the figure has risen to 300,000, including 7,000 on the Inca trails (Ferreyros, 1988). Accommodation includes a hotel and camping facilities. A museum exists at the ruins and there are plans to develop the area further for tourism.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES IN MACHU PICCHU
Since 1982, research has been undertaken on the ecology of the spectacled bear in cooperation with the New York Zoological Society (Peyton, 1982). Vegetation transects have been undertaken, and over 4,500 herbarium specimens have been collected. Numerous bird studies have been made (Parker et al., 1982).

CONSERVATION VALUE  
This urban creation of the Inca Empire, which appears to have been naturally cut in the continuous rock escarpment, is an area of outstanding natural beauty which encompasses patches of high altitude habitats and associated wildlife. The site also harbours populations of the threatened spectacled bear.

REFERENCES

• Anon. (1988). Fire reaps havoc in wildlife sanctuary. Animals international. VIII/27. p4.

• Anon. (1988b). Fire claim jungle bears. The Guardian newspaper. 17 August, 1988. p5.

• Dourojeanni, M.J. (1985). Management problems in the Andean National Parks and protected areas of Peru. In The Hindu Kush-Himalaya. Kathmandu: King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation and the International Centre for integrated mountain development 159-161pp.

• Ferreyros, A. (1988). Situaciуn actual de los Parques Nacionales y Otras Unidades de Conservaciуn en El Perъ. Asociaciуn de Ecologнa y Conservaciуn.

• Jorgenson, J.p (1982). Peru report. Spectacled bear specialist group Newsletter 3. 6-8.

• Jorgenson, J.p (1983). Peru field report. Spectacled bear specialist group Newsletter 4. 11-12.

• MAA (1981). Lista de informaciуn actualizada sobre unidades de conservaciуn. Ministerio de Agricultura y Alimentaciуn, Lima. Report. 2pp

• Parker, T.A. (1980). Notes on little known birds of the upper Urubamba Valley, southern Peru. Auk 97: 167-176.

• Parker, T.A. and J.p. O'Neill (1976). An introduction to bird-finding in Peru: Part II. The Carpish Pass Region of the Eastern Andes along the Central Highway. Birding 8: 205-216.

• Parker, T.A., Parker, S.A. and Plenge, M.A. (1982). An annotated checklist of Peruvian birds. Buteo books, Vermillion, South Dakota.

• Peru (1981). Machu Picchu. World Heritage nomination.

• Peyton, B. (1983). Spectacled bear habitat use in the historical sanctuary of Machu Picchu and adjacent areas. Abstract of paper presented at the 6th international conference on bear research and management, presented by the Bear Biology Association, The Grand Canyon Squire Inn, Arizona, February 18-22.

• Plan COPESCO (1974) Machu Picchu Report and plan. Centro de Servicios del Parque Nacional Machu Picchu. 114 pp

DATE: August 1987, revised May 1989, September 1989 and May 1990, August 1995

 

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