Right now, the current number of visitors allowed to visit the Incan citadel everyday is 3,800. 

Starting Jan. 1, Peru will allow up to 4,500 visitors on most days and will go as high as 5,600 on specific dates, according Peru’s ministry of tourism.

Peru tourism continues to recover from not only the pandemic but a tumultuous start to the year. The country had civil unrest in January and February amid political turmoil after protests had broken out in the country in December 2022. 

The protests resulted in the temporary closure of airports, railways and tourist sites, including the nearly month-long closure of Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail in late January. 

Those sites reopened by March but demand had been slow to recover, showing signs of improvement in the fall. 

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Travelers may even find that the lack of crowds make this an ideal time to visit its top attraction, Macchu Picchu, normally so in demand that tickets to enter must be secured months in advance.

The U.S. State Department’s Travel Advisory for Peru remains at Level 3, “Reconsider Travel,” but it has not been updated since Dec. 22, just 15 days after the first protest followed former President Pedro Castillo’s arrest in Lima. (Other countries popular with American travelers that also have Level 3 advisories include Jamaica, Colombia and Egypt.)

In the months that followed the onset of the protests, hotels, tour operators and travel agencies watched helplessly as their Q1 and Q2 reservations vanished after the Cusco airport as well as four others suspended operations after being stormed by protesters. Stranded travelers were twice evacuated by helicopter from Machu Picchu due to protestors blocking the train tracks. 

Cusco’s airport reopened Jan. 15, followed one month later by Machu Picchu on Feb. 15, after an agreement was reached by local governments and the protestors to guarantee the security of the Unesco World Heritage Site and services to reach it. 

Still, Peru is trapped in a loop of misinformation, causing even seasoned travelers to believe the country is still under lockdown. This was evident when, in response to my posts on social media, my inbox began to ping with questions from friends and strangers alike, such as “I thought Machu Picchu was closed?” “We have a trip planned in May and are considering delaying. What is your experience on the ground?” And “my son is supposed to go next month, and I’m worried. Is it safe?” 

I was delighted to field these questions because, yes, not only did my family and I feel entirely safe, including during the four days we explored Cusco on our own, but we experienced some of Peru’s top attractions in peace, without any crowds. 

The choice to visit in March was not a difficult one, in part because we were guests of Inkaterra Hotels, a nearly 50-year-old, Peru-based ecotourism company. I trusted its reputation as a tourism leader with such longstanding roots in the region. 

According to Inkaterra, it has not had to make any changes to its itineraries or programs because everything is back to normal. “The constitution has prevailed,” said Jose Koechlin, founder and CEO of Inkaterra. “Today Peru is a safe place to travel.”

Prior to leaving, I scoured news reports reinforcing that protests had lost steam and that much of the country, particularly the Cusco, Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu area where our trip was focused, had largely returned to normal. As an extra precaution, I registered our visit with the U.S. State Department and set ground rules with my family that if we sensed any tension, we’d immediately go in the opposite direction. We never had to. 

An unexpected layer of security and ease came with Inkaterra’s highly calibrated planning and execution by their travel agency, Inkaterra Experiences, which included planes, trains and automobiles as well as a bus and motorized canoe. Our point-to-point itinerary carried us from Peru’s high-altitude Andes to the dramatic cloud forest and the Amazon jungle and back to Lima for our international flight home. Every transition of this bucket-list-worthy trip was seamless, safe and on schedule.

The only place we observed heightened security was at the airports and train stations, where indoor access is limited to ticketed passengers and the parking lots are closed. In Cusco, and at the train stations in Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, passengers must walk off the airport property with their luggage to connect with prearranged transportation. Inkaterra’s contracted driver and guide services, or hotel staff, have this down to a well choreographed dance.

No crowds in the clouds

It was hard during my trip to visualize the crowds that make Machu Picchu the number-one tourist destination in South America, leading to recent measures to cap attendance at 2,500 per day. Tickets typically need to be purchased far in advance (Inkaterra’s guided excursions include pre-arranged admission and bus tickets). I’d be surprised if the capacity on the day in March we were there came within 50%, and wondered how long it would take to return to pre-protests levels. 

Our guide Joseph, from Inkaterra, set a lingering pace as my family and I made our way up the path, pausing for selfies with free-range llamas to catch our breath at 8,000 feet of altitude. No one rushed us from behind; at times, we seemed to be the only people on the trail — one of many joys of traveling in Peru so soon after its reopening following the unrest. 

When we reached the ridge for the iconic view of the 15th century citadel, it was entirely enshrouded in clouds. Joseph knew to wait, so we tightened our ponchos and huddled in to listen as he delivered our main history lesson about the ancient Inca city in the sky.

Just as he predicted, the clouds blew away, revealing hundreds of stone terraces and intact ruins that have captivated the world since black and white images were first shared after explorer Hiram Bingham was guided by locals to this very spot in 1911. We waited for one group ahead of us to take their photos before it was our turn to capture this year’s holiday card. We were delighted that our late-March travel overlapped with the end of the wet season, heightening the drama of each moment in this most sacred site of the Inca Empire. 

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“I need the inventory to meet the demand,” Fernandez said.

Although Costa Rica has long enjoyed plenty of popularity among U.S. travelers, travel advisors and suppliers say that interest in the destination has accelerated, driven in part by a pandemic-era preference for destinations that offer a wide array of outdoor activities on top of continued pent-up demand for more memorable experiences.

“Since the pandemic, someone’s bucket list has now become their to-do list,” Fernandez said. “And they are interested in really venturing off to unique destinations and expanding their experience footprint.”

Costa Rica has nearly picked up where it left off in 2019 in terms of tourism numbers. Carolina Trejos, director of marketing for the Costa Rica Tourism Board, said the country ended 2022 with the volume of international visitors arriving by air at around 10% below 2019 levels. This year, Costa Rica expects its international visitor count to bounce back to its 2019 benchmark of approximately 3.1 million visitors.

“With hotel occupancy, we’re also seeing very, very good numbers,” said Trejos. “For our high season, which started in mid-November and is expected [to run through] a week after Easter, we are expecting almost 100% occupancy.” 

Costa Rica has also seen a recent influx of more affluent travelers, who tend to spend more during their visit, “which is good news, as far as more money being invested in our communities, our small businesses, tours, services and hotels,” Trejos said.

And she added that these luxury-market travelers will soon have more options when it comes to high-end hotel and resort accommodations. The country is set to welcome new properties from several luxury brands, including Six Senses, Waldorf Astoria and One&Only, over the next few years.

Heightened demand for upscale accommodations has meant that competition for some luxury offerings can be fierce. Jude Vargas, founder of luxury travel agency Art of Voyage, reports that clients looking to book high-end villa properties in hot spots like Santa Teresa and Nosara often need to move quickly.

“If you want a really nice, beautifully designed villa, you really have to be booking out well in advance,” said Vargas, adding that she recommends clients looking for these highly desirable accommodations book a year or more out.

An opportunity for advisors

For travel advisors, Costa Rica’s growing popularity presents an opportunity.

“We get a lot of requests for Costa Rica, because it’s not an easy thing for people to book on their own,” said Carolyn Sandgren, president of Missouri-based Elite Travel Inc. & Cruise. “The perfect trip to Costa Rica [involves] flying into San Jose, spending some time up in the volcanoes and then coming down to the beach and flying home. And when you have an open jaw — where you fly into one airport, and you fly out of another — it’s a harder thing to book online.”

Sandgren said she recommends Costa Rica to clients looking for a new destination.

“When you have clients who have already been to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Jamaica and Punta Cana and they call you and ask you for something new, any seasoned agent is going to start to look to Costa Rica and moving them into Central America,” Sandgren said.

But despite robust demand, Costa Rica is still somewhat unchartered territory for a sizable share of U.S. advisors. Rental Escapes’ Fernandez, however, predicts that’s likely to change soon.

“We see more requests for Costa Rica coming in direct right now than we do from travel advisors, but advisors are reaching out and doing their homework,” Fernandez said. “As the consumer gravitates more and more toward Costa Rica, and the travel advisor becomes more educated on Costa Rica, I anticipate that we will see a tremendous amount of [business start] coming from the travel advisors.” 

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The decision was an agreement between authorities, social groups and the local tourism industry to guarantee the security of the tourist attraction and transport services.

Protests calling for the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and members of Peru’s Congress have shaken the region, including Cusco, for more than two months. The demonstrations caused a blockade of the train tracks leading to Machu Picchu.

The protests have led to 60 deaths: 48 civilians who died in clashes with security forces, 11 civilians killed in traffic accidents related to road blockades and one policeman who died inside a patrol car when it was set on fire, according to data from the Ombudsman’s Office.

The closure of Machu Picchu on Jan. 21 forced the government to airlift more than 400 tourists from Machu Picchu to the city of Cusco by helicopter.

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The Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) joined the USTOA in August as an Associate Member to promote and incentivize travel to the South American destination in the U.S. The U.S. is one of the largest tourist markets for Rio de Janeiro, as well as for Brazil.

“As the travel industry rebound continues to gain momentum, it is important for travelers to know that major tourist destinations are once again doing everything they can to reestablish and strengthen relationships,” said Terry Dale, CEO of the USTOA. “Rio de Janeiro is an amazing destination. We are thrilled to welcome them back to the USTOA family.” 

Joao H. Rodrigues, U.S. representative for the Rio CVB, said the partnership with the USTOA will strengthen the organization’s tourism work as the destination continues to recover from the pandemic.

Rio’s partnership with the USTOA is valid for one year. All USTOA active members participate in the organization’s $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program, which requires that a $1 million bond be set aside to protect consumers in the event the company experiences bankruptcy, insolvency or cessation of business.  

Active tour operator members can display the USTOA logo on their printed materials and/or websites, indicating their participation in the $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program.

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Roughly 75 minutes later, after taking what was an intentionally circuitous route, my touring party of roughly 20 people arrived at our destination. Only this highway, at an Antarctic Peninsula landing site called Errera on Andvord Bay, had no asphalt, no striped lanes and no exhaust-emitting automobiles. Instead, as we kayakers watched from just a few yards offshore, dozens of gentoo penguins traversed its snowy lanes, making their way between the relative safety of a shoreside hill and the sea.

A few days earlier, Danny Johnston, the expedition leader of the Scenic Eclipse cruise ship I was sailing on, had informed passengers of these avian highways and had cautioned us not to walk across them so as not to disrupt the penguins as they move between nesting sites and the hunting grounds in the water.

Now here I was, seeing in person what to that point had struck me as a quirky, almost amusing, concept. Antarctic penguins really do have highways, it dawned on me, even if I think the pathways should more aptly be called penguin sidewalks, given their rather modest width and lack of vehicular traffic.

This particular penguin viewing was the culmination of my kayak trip that morning, an excursion that was included as part of my sailing price. But it was far from the lone highlight. After experiencing predominantly cloudy weather during my first three days exploring Antarctica by land and sea as a hosted guest aboard the Eclipse, the morning fog on this day had lifted just before my group hit the water for an approximately two-hour paddle. The deep-blue skies that followed offered clean vistas of the surrounding glaciers and snowcapped peaks.

The flat water was another pleasure, especially after wind and waves had forced the Eclipse team to alter and delay the excursion itinerary the previous day as the ship sought sheltered conditions. 

Related Dispatches:

• Dispatch, Antarctica: A polar plunge and other sensory experiences
• Dispatch, Antarctica: Surrounded by humpback whales

For 15 years, while I lived in the Florida Keys, I paddled regularly through the bays and waterways that make up the southern portion of the Everglades ecosystem. On this day, despite the markedly different scenery and temperature, the calm water reminded me of the conditions that were so common in my former Florida home.

We paddled the bay leisurely, carefully navigating around ever-present chunks of floating ice and pausing frequently for photos or to simply experience the moment. Only the periodic noise from the Eclipse’s helicopter tours, especially during the early portion of the paddle, disrupted the tranquility.

About that ice: It doesn’t get the headlines that the continent’s penguins, seals and whales do. But, at least for me, it’s almost as fascinating. Positioned in a kayak, so close to the surface of the water, it is especially easy to see how distinct each ice block is. Texture, color, shape and size all vary, just like the full-size icebergs. On one occasion during my trip, guide Sean Bodden grabbed a football-size block of ice from the water that looked as clear and beautiful as a crystal. Its clarity, he explained, is evidence that the ice block is thousands of years old. Over time, the weight of the ice has squeezed out all the oxygen.

Conversely, the stunningly deep-blue icebergs that can occasionally be seen here have that color because they have only newly broken off a glacier and therefore snow and temperature changes haven’t yet had time to turn them white.

The wonders of Antarctica with Scenic Cruises

During this morning paddle, penguins were my prize animal sighting, although a few other people on the excursion caught a glimpse of an Antarctic minke whale. The penguins, though, weren’t only at the Errera landing site. They could also be seen swimming through the water in the style of porpoises, a technique that I’ve come to learn is in fact known as “porpoising.”

Other kayak or stand-up paddleboard excursions during the course of this 11-day sailing of the Eclipse have yielded multiple whale sightings as well as long looks at seals of various species resting on sea ice.

As my kayaking tour wound down, though, it was the penguins on those highways that earned my rapt attention. At times, the birds waddled in small groups to a point on the rocks, then dove together for a short bath, before reemerging, also in unison, to clumsily climb out of the water. Other penguins traversed the highway seemingly headed for a swim, before changing their minds and turning around. 

The Antarctic sun warming our faces (seriously), we sat roughly in place for maybe 20 minutes watching this wonderful scene before returning to the ship. But as the guides began loading paddlers into the waiting Zodiac boat that would ferry us there, I made sure my kayak was last. I just wanted to enjoy those few extra moments on the water. 

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Dr Gokal’s name and mug shot were published, putting him up for public scrutiny. His attorney Paul Doyle told The New York Times: “Everybody was looking at this guy and saying, ‘I got my mother waiting for a vaccine, my grandfather waiting for a vaccine’. They were thinking, ‘This guy is a villain.’”

Speaking to The Times, Mr Gokal said: “It was my world coming down. To have everything collapse on you. God, it was the lowest moment in my life.”

In late December, Dr Gokal had to find 10 eligible people to vaccinate as a vial of the Moderna vaccine had been opened and had to be used within 6 hours before it expired. He told people to come to his house outside Houston, Texas. He also drove around and vaccinated acquaintances and complete strangers.

One of the receivers was a bed-bound person past 90 years old. Another was a woman with dementia in her 80s. A third was a mother in her 40s whose child is on a ventilator. After midnight, minutes before the vaccine was about to become unusable, Dr Gokal gave the last dose to his wife, who has a lung disease.

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Dr Gokal came to the US as a boy from Pakistan and earned a medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. He lived in a hotel for a month at the start of the pandemic. He said: “I was petrified to go home and bring Covid to my wife.”

Taking a pay-cut, Dr Gokal became the medical director for the Harris County Covid-response team. It meant he would spend less time in ERs, and no longer be as exposed to the virus.

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Dr Gokal said that the guidance from state health officials was to vaccinate people in the eligible categories but after that, the advice was: “Just put it in people’s arms. We don’t want any doses to go to waste. Period.”

A Harris County public health official gave him the okay to find 10 people for the remaining doses to avoid having them go to waste in the evening of 29 December. About the people he initially reached out to, Dr Gokal said they were, “No one I was really intimately familiar with. I wasn’t that close to anyone”.

Before vaccinating his wife, whose lung disease made her eligible, Dr Gokal said: “I didn’t intend to give this to you, but in a half-hour, I’m going to have to dump this down the toilet.” His wife hesitated, but then took the vaccine.

After filing the paperwork for the inoculations, he was asked a few days later by a supervisor and the human resources director if he had given the vaccines outside of the scheduled event on 29 December where the vial had been opened and the clock had started ticking.

He said he had and was immediately fired. He was told he had violated protocol and should have returned the doses to the office or thrown them away.

The “equity” of the people Dr Gokal had vaccinated was questioned by one of the officials. Dr Gokal said he asked: “Are you suggesting that there were too many Indian names in that group?”

Exactly, was the response he said he got.

Kim Ogg, the Harris County district attorney, alleged in a press release that Dr Gokal “abused his position to place his friends and family in line in front of people who had gone through the lawful process to be there”.

Dr Gokal found out that he had been charged with a crime when his son alerted him to the presence of reporters outside their house. A judge dismissed the case for a lack of probable cause.

The Texas Medical Association and the Harris County Medical Society issued a statement, saying: “It is difficult to understand any justification for charging any well-intentioned physician in this situation with a criminal offence.”

Hospitals have told Dr Gokal not to return until his case is resolved. It will be presented to a grand jury.

In the meantime, Dr Gokal is volunteering at a health clinic for those without insurance.

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Sunniva Whittaker, the rector at the University of Agder, says in the video: “The Americans are coming, and Will Ferrell does not look happy.”

“We have to make a public apology, and we have to get rid of anything else that might make Will envy us in any way. If he gets so annoyed about our electric vehicles, I can’t imagine how he’d react to all the other stuff,” Ms Whittaker says and goes on to make a mock apology to Mr Ferrell and General Motors, saying that Norway wants to retain good relations with the US and that they shouldn’t have become the leading nation on electric vehicles “without checking with you first”.

Riffing off Mr Ferrell’s comedic rage, Ms Whittaker says: “We fully understand that you want to punch us in the face.”

The video goes on to make light of the differences between the two nations, mocking the often steep tuition fees at American universities compared to all education being free in Norway, regardless if you’re a foreign student or not. The video also highlights the country’s guaranteed one year paid maternity leave, compared to the US which has no paid leave guaranteed for new mothers.

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Promoting their battery and renewable energy research, the university rector says she hopes they can continue their collaboration with American universities while poking fun at the less than robust American social safety net.

Norway became the first country in the world last year where more electric vehicles were sold than petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles.

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Battery electric vehicles made up 54.3 per cent of new cars sold in Norway during 2020, an increase from 42.4 per cent in 2019 and a stunning rise from holding just one per cent of the market a decade earlier. Volkswagen passed Tesla as the top manufacturer of battery-powered vehicles.

Norway wants to be a global leader on climate change but its role as one of the world’s leaders in oil and natural gas production complicates the issue, Vox reports.

In 2019, they were 15th in the world in oil production and 8th in natural gas.

Most of the money made from oil and gas is kept in the country’s sovereign wealth fund, accumulating $1 trillion since the 90s. In chaotic times like the pandemic, the fund provides economic stability.

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