UJ #9 - Adventure in Peru
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INTERVIEW<br />
Right: Pilgrims Way<br />
<strong>in</strong> the sanctuary of<br />
Pachacamac (Lima).<br />
Where the Qhapaq<br />
Ñan from the coast<br />
and the highlands<br />
converge.<br />
Left: Elevated<br />
section of the<br />
road from Cusco<br />
to Desaguadero<br />
alongside Lake<br />
Titicaca.<br />
THE CASE FILE FOR<br />
QHAPAQ ÑAN AS<br />
A CANDIDATE FOR<br />
A UNESCO WORLD<br />
HERITAGE SITE<br />
WAS SUBMITTED<br />
IN 2013. THE CASE<br />
WAS MADE BY THE<br />
SIX COUNTRIES<br />
THROUGH WHICH THE<br />
ROAD PASSES: PERU,<br />
COLOMBIA, ECUADOR,<br />
CHILE, BOLIVIA AND<br />
ARGENTINA<br />
The programme is organised <strong>in</strong>to sections and<br />
it is clearly impossible to work on them all at the<br />
same time; so which have priority?<br />
We are giv<strong>in</strong>g priority to the three ma<strong>in</strong> stretches<br />
that were part of the UNESCO nom<strong>in</strong>ation; these<br />
do not <strong>in</strong>clude the sections <strong>in</strong> Cusco, which are <strong>in</strong>dependently<br />
managed: the Aypate-Las Pirqas-Las<br />
Limas section, from the prov<strong>in</strong>ce of Ayabaca <strong>in</strong> Piura,<br />
to the border with Ecuador, which is managed<br />
as a bi-national project; the Huanucopampa-Huamachuco<br />
section, part of the orig<strong>in</strong>al royal road, the<br />
true Qhapaq Ñan, between La Libertad, Ancash and<br />
Huanuco.<br />
Have you seen the first results of this experience<br />
with tourism yet?<br />
Yes, there’s one zone where we’re see<strong>in</strong>g the first<br />
small products: Huaycan de Cieneguilla, on the Jauja-Pachacamac<br />
section. This product is aimed specifically<br />
at <strong>Peru</strong>vian visitors; we want people <strong>in</strong> Lima to<br />
get out of the city of a Sunday and visit two or three<br />
po<strong>in</strong>ts on the Inca Trail, such as Huaycan de Cieneguilla<br />
and the Chontay area, where we have refurbished<br />
two hundred metres of road. For the moment<br />
this is just a symbolic effort, but it gives an advantage<br />
to Cieneguilla, a dest<strong>in</strong>ation on the outskirts of Lima<br />
suitable for family activities out of doors.<br />
What does f<strong>in</strong>ished product mean to you?<br />
Someth<strong>in</strong>g that has the m<strong>in</strong>imum amount of <strong>in</strong>frastructure<br />
for receiv<strong>in</strong>g visitors: an <strong>in</strong>formation centre, toilets<br />
and a route that can be covered. The rest can be added<br />
as required. The other way round won’t work, I can’t <strong>in</strong>vest<br />
a lot of money without be<strong>in</strong>g sure that there will be<br />
sufficient demand. Invest<strong>in</strong>g gradually starts generat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a cash flow; when the cash flow starts then other services<br />
will start to appear and the <strong>in</strong>vestment will <strong>in</strong>crease.<br />
What are the ma<strong>in</strong> challenges to the Qhapaq Ñan<br />
project?<br />
Encourag<strong>in</strong>g tourism with <strong>in</strong>terventions that make it<br />
susta<strong>in</strong>able implies a balance between visitors to the<br />
road and local people. It’s complicated, but we have to<br />
seek the proper way to <strong>in</strong>tervene, with local people tak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
part <strong>in</strong> the management of the road. We also need<br />
to be aware that the State does not get <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the<br />
tourism <strong>in</strong>dustry; therefore our projects should be designed<br />
to produce some form of bus<strong>in</strong>ess platform that<br />
makes them susta<strong>in</strong>able.<br />
Another important challenge is to prevent ownership of<br />
the road end<strong>in</strong>g up with it. Such a strategy can often<br />
be a good defence mechanism, but it can also kill the<br />
projects by allow<strong>in</strong>g them to stagnate <strong>in</strong> time. We don’t<br />
want it to be just a tourist attraction; we want it to cont<strong>in</strong>ue<br />
as a work<strong>in</strong>g road.