The Japanese visitor traveled to Peru with plans to see Machu Picchu. Instead, he spent seven months in lockdown. When the local tourism authority heard about his plight, they decided to organize a special visit.
Image: Instagram/jessekatayama
Advertisement
Peru's famous Machu Picchu ruins have opened for the first time after months of lockdown — but just for a single tourist from Japan.
Jesse Katayama had been waiting to visit the World Heritage Site since March when the coronavirus pandemic halted travel, forced widespread closures and left him stranded. Seven months on, the local tourism authority decided to grant him special permission to tour the Inca city.
"The first person on Earth who went to Machu Picchu since the lockdown is meeeeeee," Katayama posted on his Instagram account alongside pictures of himself at the deserted site.
"This is truly amazing! Thank you," he added in a video.
Katayama, described by local media as a 26-year-old boxing instructor from Nara, had only planned to spend a few days in the South American country so that he could visit Machu Picchu. He bought his entry ticket days before the Peruvian government declared a health emergency, and found himself stuck in Aguas Calientes, a town near the tourist site.
"I thought that I wouldn't be able to go, but thanks to all of you who pleaded with the mayor and the government, I was given this super special opportunity," he said.
Minister of Culture Alejandro Neyra said Katayama had been granted access to tour the site after submitting a special request.
"He had come to Peru with the dream of being able to enter," Neyra said. "The Japanese citizen has entered together with our head of the park so that he can do this before returning to his country."
Machu Picchu, which before the pandemic was drawing thousands of tourists a day, was initially scheduled to reopen to the public in July. But Neyra said that had been pushed back to November. When it does reopen, the site will permit 30% of its normal capacity of 675 people per day.
"We are still in the middle of a pandemic," Neyra said. "It will be done with all the necessary care."
Machu Picchu was built more than 500 years ago by the Inca empire that ruled parts of western South America before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. The ruins were rediscovered in 1911 by American explorer Hiram Bingham and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
Travel tips for fans of archaeology
Archaeological excavations and sites are among the most visited attractions in the world. Here is a selection of some of the best:
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Schmidt
A window into the past
Sometimes the earth reveals them voluntarily, sometimes they are found by chance and often they are searched for - archaeological riches. Excavation sites around the world offer fascinating insights into the origins of our cultures.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Burgi
Terracotta Army, China
Farmers came across a clay figure while working near Xi'an in 1974. Their discovery was a sensation. They had stumbled upon the mausoleum of the first emperor of China: Qin Shihuangdi, who died in 210 BC. Since then, thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers have guarded the tomb of the ruler. With about 100 square kilometers, the imperial tomb is the largest excavation site in the world.
Image: picture-alliance/H. Falkenstein
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
240 kilometers (149 miles) northwest of the capital Phnom Penh, in the middle of the jungle, lies the enchanted temple complex of Angkor Wat - part of a medieval city of millions, ornately built from sandstone. 150 years ago the French colonial rulers discovered the sunken empire of the Khmer, who once lived here. The stone reliefs on the temple walls tell their story.
Image: picture-alliance/Global Travel Images
Machu Picchu, Peru
The old Inca town of Machu Picchu was once only accessible on foot via a steep path. It is situated 2,360 meters (7743 ft.) up in the Andes. Not even the Spanish conquerors advanced to this point. The terraced city was only discovered about one hundred years ago. Built in the 15th century, it is regarded as an impressive example of the high culture of the Incas.
Image: picture-alliance/C. Wojtkowski
Uxmal, Mexico
3000 years ago the Maya founded settlements all over Central America. Especially on the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico. Uxmal is considered one of the best preserved Mayan sites. In the center of the city: the Pyramid of the Magician, 38 meters (125 ft.) high. This Mayan sanctuary took 300 years to build. As tempting as it is, you are not however allowed to climb up it.
Image: picture-alliance /Tuu
Pompeii, Italy
The eruption of Vesuvius in the Gulf of Naples in 79 AD was devastating. The ash rain buried the city of Pompeii and its inhabitants. After their corpses had decomposed, cavities remained, which were later filled with plaster by conservationists. The plastic plaster casts of people in mortal fear leave no visitor to the excavation site untouched.
Image: picture-alliance/C. Dixon
Troy, Turkey
German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann was obsessed with Troy. At the end of the 19th century he began digging in the Turkish province of Çanakkale. His guide was the Iliad, the account of the Trojan War by the Greek philosopher Homer. Schliemann actually found a settlement. An important center of the Bronze Age, but whether it is actually Troy remains unclear to this day.
Image: picture-alliance /T. Schulze
Delphi, Greece
When you hear Delphi, you immediately think of the oracle of Delphi. The city was founded in the 7th century B.C. and was the center of the world for the people of antiquity. A place of pilgrimage for kings and all who sought advice. It was given to them in the temple of Apollo, by the priestess Pythia - the oracle of Delphi.
Image: picture-alliance/S. Magal
Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy
Researchers suspect that almost 2000 ancient cities are located on the territory of the former Roman Empire. Every Roman settlement had a center with temples, administrative buildings, shops and public squares - the so-called Forum. The Forum Romanum was more than that, it was the center of the entire Roman Empire. It is still one of the most important excavation sites of ancient Rome.
Image: picture alliance/J. Moreno Castellano
Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
They are located near Cairo and are over 4,500 years old. Built as tombs for the Pharaohs Menkaure, Khafre (Chephren) and Khufu (Cheops) (from left to right), after whom they are also named. Although researchers have examined the inside of the pyramids with the most modern technology, the hidden chambers and galleries still keep their thousand-year-old secrets to this day.
Image: picture-alliance/H. Champollion
Petra, Jordan
First you pass through a narrow gorge, then you can see monumental temples carved into the rock. Many caravan routes led through the capital of the Nabataeans, which had its heyday as a trading center from the 5th to the 3rd century BC. T.E. Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia raved about Petra as "the most wonderful place in the world". To this day, the desert city enchants its visitors.
Image: picture-alliance/D. Nausbaum
Cave of Lascaux, France
Deer, aurochs and horses - these are the best preserved prehistoric paintings in Europe, discovered in 1940 in a cave near Montignac. They are said to have originated 17,000 years BC. The cave is now closed for conservation reasons. However, visitors can admire the works of art by their ancestors in a perfect reproduction of the cave.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Falco
Stonehenge, England
The megaliths near Salisbury date from the Neolithic Age and are probably the most famous stone circle in the world. Their purpose remains a mystery: cult site, temple complex, observatory? Some stones are aligned with the summer solstice. At the equinox of the day and night, thousands of people still celebrate the sunrise in this mythical place.
