Machu Picchu is a Unesco World Heritage Site and currently attracts as many as 2,500 visitors a day. A controversial 80-metre (262ft) bridge, due to open in February 2007 will create a new route to the Incan ruins and enable locals to take produce to Cusco in three hours instead of 12. Critics, however, say that the new bridge could have a damaging impact on tourism to the ruins by increasing tourist numbers, which could damage the ruins and lead to an increase in drug trafficking in the region. Unesco inspectors are due to inspect the site later this year to ascertain whether its status is endangered

