AGUAS CALIENTES : The suspension of ticket sales to Machu Picchu sparked protests among angry tourists and merchants from the town closest to the Inca citadel.
The number of visitors to the jewel of Peruvian tourism was reduced from 4,044 to 5,044 in July, despite industry complaints.
Friday's protests took place in the neighboring town of Machu Picchu, formerly called Aguas Calientes, where visitors can board minibuses that take them through a narrow mountain pass to climb the ancient site.
Protestors were angry after tickets to enter Machu Picchu were only sold in the nearby city of Cusco and not in Aguas Calientes.
I paid for my train tickets with Inca Rail for a day with a tour guide. We even paid an additional fee for the bus that brings us here to Machu Picchu, where the ruins are and they have not let us in because we don't have the ticket to get in, Mexican Israel Gonzales Rizoo told AFP.