Around 7,000 tourists were stranded in the popular destination of Cusco, Peru, Wednesday because of a regional strike and protests against a planned irrigation project, DPA reported.
Those stranded included 3,000 vacationers who wanted to visit the nearby ruins of Machu Picchu, said Carmen Arrospide, president of the Peruvian tourism board.
The visitors, including many foreigners, could not leave Cusco, some 1,150 kilometres south of Lima, because thousands of demonstrators had blocked the highway to protest the planned Majes Siguas II irrigation project.
A bus company was also on strike and many businesses were also closed. An attempted sit-in of the airport was only prevented by police action.
The Majes Siguas II project plans the construction of a dam to divert water to agricultural purposes. Many area farmers however fear they will be discriminated against under the plan.