UJ #9 - Adventure in Peru

INTERVIEW
Giancarlo
Marcone
Director of the Qhapaq Ñan programme
By
Rodrigo Cabrera
Photos
Programa Qhapaq Ñan
Sede Nacional del
Ministerio de Cultura
THE QHAPAQ ÑAN PROGRAMME STARTED IN 2001 AND WAS THE RESPONSIBILITY
OF WHAT IS NOW THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE. MOST OF THE WORK THAT WENT
INTO THIS PROJECT INVOLVED THE IDENTIFICATION, RESEARCH, RECORDING,
CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF THE NETWORK OF INCA ROADS THAT
STILL EXISTS IN PERU. WE TALK TO ARCHAEOLOGIST GIANCARLO MARCONE, THE
CURRENT DIRECTOR OF THE QHAPAQ ÑAN PROGRAMME, ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS
TO MANAGE THIS VAST CULTURAL LEGACY, PART OF PERU'S AND THE WORLD'S
HERITAGE AND AN IMMENSE TOURIST ATTRACTION FOR LOVERS OF TREKKING.
What is the culture ministry’s view of managing
the Inca roads making up Qhapaq
Ñan?
The roads criss-cross the entire country; it keeps us in
contact with all of Peru and, therefore, should be at the service
of the whole country. We’re working to create a product
that can be used -by the public that is, and in the most inclusive
way possible. We want a product for everyone who
uses the road. From the original users, people who live
near it and use it every day, who should not be disturbed
by tourist use, to adventure tourists and those visitors who
want to walk it just for fun.
How is its tourist use designed?
We want to generate multiple destinations with different levels
on the route. This is where the concept of a cultural
itinerary arises. The road becomes the axis to which tourist
products are attached; the road is not the attraction as
such, but the way in which the story is told. For example,
on the Jauja-Pachacamac stretch the strategy is to gather
what this section of the road tells us; initiatives, eco-tourist
museums, cycle routes and so forth already exist. The idea
is that the cultural itinerary defined by the road includes
different cultural manifestations. This is what the project is
aiming for: revealing the different voices and stories that
exist along the road.
Christian Declercq