The Mountain of Seven Colors, nestled in the Vilcanota mountain range, southeast of the city of Cusco, has become one of the main tourist attractions in the entire country, due to the formidable shapes, colors and landscapes that a visit to this site offers.
However, since its ‘discovery’ as a tourist site, there have been constant problems with its administration and the collection of income, with access being closed on several occasions, since the administration of the site falls entirely on the local community members, because it is an ‘ancestral territory’, and there are endless fights for money.
It is in the midst of this panorama that the community members of Chillihuani and Llaqto, located in the district of Cusipata, province of Quispicanchi, were part of a working table with the Cusco authorities. In order to put a stop to these disputes, table that finally broke, causing more disturbances among the residents.
Thus, on the morning of last Sunday, the authorities of Cusipata, together with the Police and the Public Ministry, organized a search and rescue operation for four Llaqto community members who had been reported missing after a fight the day before, finally finding one of them dead and the other three wounded.
“There is the Police, the Prosecutor’s Office, Three people were rescued, one of them seriously injured, and one person died. The people of Chillihuani are the ones behind all this, all those involved are here, there are 10 detainees but more need to be located because they have hidden.said Edith Yepez, sub-prefect of Cusipata.
The authority also mentioned: “The deceased is from the Llaqto sector, he was found before reaching the community of Chillihuani, As they were attacking him, he was escaping and they finally found him with stone blows in our heads. We urgently need dialogue.”
On this matter, from the Foreign Trade and Tourism Management of Cusco, the governing body for everything related to tourism in the imperial region, They issued a statement certifying the death of the community member and calling for dialogue. and peace in the sector.
“With deep regret We report the death of Mr. Flavio Illatinco Yupanqui, brother of the president of the Llaqto community. Three other community members were taken to the Cusipata Health Centre due to the severity of their injuries (…) We condemn the acts of violence due to personal and particular interests and demand that the authorities investigate the incident promptly.” quotes part of the statement.
They then urge tourism operators to not to send national or foreign tourists to the Rainbow Mountain through any of the accesses, either through Cusipata or Pitumarca, since the situation is unsustainable at the moment and the safety of visitors could be at risk.
