Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on Thursday opened the country's first-ever cable-car service to provide fast, safe and low-cost transport for tourists heading to Kuelap Fortress.
"It will create a new tourist center in the entire northern area, including Kuelap," Mr. Kuczynski said just before boarding a plane to northern Amazonas region.
The Head of State landed in Chachapoyas province. Once there, he overflew the majestic ruins and inspected the new cable-car's infrastructure.
The statesman also tried the 4-km ride himself.
The system
The state-of-the-art system uses a high-tech 8,200 long cable to run the cable-cars at an average speed of 6 meters per second. It has 26 cabins with capacity for 8 passengers each and can transport up to 1,000 visitors per hour.
This new service decreases transfer time significantly: from 1 hour 30 minutes (by car) or a 3-hour hike to 20 minutes. The round-trip ticket will cost around S/20.00 (around US$6.12).
The project required an investment of nearly S/71 million (about US$21.7 million) and was developed as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
The concession agreement is managed by Peru's Foreign Trade and Tourism Ministry.
Kuelap
Kuelap, one of the largest ancient monuments of the Americas, was a fortified citadel in northern Peru on the slopes of the Andes.
The remains of the settlement sit 3,000 meters above sea level and the original fortress covered 25,000 square miles.
This place was the political center of the Chachapoyas civilization, a pre-Columbian culture that flourished from about 900 to 1400 AD.
(END) MVF/DHT/MVB