Residents of Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of the road leading up to Machu Picchu, protested that they don’t share in the multimillion dollar tourist trade and their demonstrations May 29 shut down the train from Cusco. As many as 3,000 people a day visit the famous site, many coming on the train from Cusco, but the community at the foot of the mountain where the train terminates is deeply impoverished and survives mainly on the souvenir trade. The protesters, under the banner of the Machu Picchu Defense Front, demanded that some of the $10 million annual revenue generated by the site be invested in the town, which has insufficient water and sewage services, and threatened further protests if their demands were not met.
