TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Three European tourists expelled from Machu Picchu over nude photos
Change Size
In June 2014 Peru's culture ministry reiterated that nudity is banned after a wave of visitors snapping offensive pictures. (Shutterstock/File)
T
hree European tourists were banished from the Incan citadel Machu Picchu in Peru after taking photos of themselves exposing their backsides, police said Wednesday.
The visitors -- a 21-year-old from Germany, a 24-year-old from Switzerland and a 26-year-old from the Netherlands -- were expelled from the site on Tuesday, according to authorities.
"The three tourists dropped their pants to show their buttocks and took photos," police official Martin Flores told AFP. "That is not allowed ... in accordance with internal rules in place there, the three tourists were expelled, but they were not detained."
Read also: Forget Machu Picchu: Seven newly accessible wonders of the world
Peruvian authorities consider undressing at Machu Picchu disrespectful. The majestic 15th century stone citadel -- the jewel in Peru's tourism industry -- is located 74 kilometers (45 miles) from Cusco, former capital of the Incan Empire, in southeastern Peru.
Built on the top of a mountain, it blends into surrounding thick foliage.
In June 2014 Peru's culture ministry reiterated that nudity is banned after a wave of visitors snapping offensive pictures.
Spanish colonizers never knew of Machu Picchu, a UNESCO world heritage site since 1983. It was discovered in 1911 by American explorer Hiram Bingham.
