Peru Opened Machu Picchu Just for This One Tourist

COVID-19 has put a halt to many travelers’ plans. But this lucky tourist was finally able to check an item off his bucket list when his request to go to Peru’s most popular tourist attraction, Machu Picchu, was granted over the weekend, following a seven-month wait.

Jesse Katayama, who is from Japan, arrived in the town of Agua Calientes, Peru on March 14, with the dream of seeing the historical site, Reuters reported. He had a ticket to enter the UNESCO World Heritage Site on March 16, but by then, the Peruvian government had closed the site to all visitors, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He has been stranded in Agua Calientes since mid-March due to travel restrictions.

Determined to see the 15th-century Inca citadel, Katayama submitted a special request to the government to open the site. He was finally granted permission to enter on Saturday when the site reopened for him.

“The Japanese citizen has entered together with our head of the park so that he can do this before returning to his country,” Minister of Culture Alejandro Neyra said during a virtual press conference on Monday. Katayama was also accompanied by two photographers.

CNN reported that Katayama was able to make the most of his unexpected seven-month stay, befriending locals and exploring other attractions like the Putucusi Mountain and the Calientes Waterfalls. He is set to return to Japan on Friday.

Neyra added that the stone ruins of Machu Picchu will reopen in November, operating at 30 percent its usual capacity per day. Over a million people visit the site every year.

Peru has recently announced plans to gradually reopen its economy this month, resuming international flights with neighboring countries on Oct. 5. As of posting, Peru had a total of 851,171 COVID-19 cases with 33,357 deaths.