Cusco to celebrate Machu Picchu discovery anniversary year-round

Cusco, Feb. 15 (ANDINA). Peruvian authorities in the southeastern Cusco region are preparing a varied calendar of activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the scientific discovery of Machu Picchu throughout the year. Regional trade and tourism director Carlos Zúñiga said tourism-related organizations will soon meet to finalise and announce the schedule for the year-long celebrations. The official told Andina that the Centennial events will include fairs, a film festival, conferences, the launch of a commemorative postage stamp and an international photography competition. These events will be held in addition to other major activities scheduled for July 2011 in Lima. The pre-Columbian Inca site of Machu Picchu, the legendary Lost City of the Incas, is one of the most famous historical sites in the world. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited by thousands each day, Machu Picchu was first revealed to the world when American explorer Hiram Bingham discovered the site in 1911. (END) VVS/JOT/CRB/EEP

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Buenos Aires is one of the world’s biggest cities in which, including the suburbs, there are over 11,000,000 inhabitants. It is also the most elegant and active city in South America and the one that summarizes the heterogeneous essence of Argentines the best. With a modern, hip structure and dynamic activity, it has managed to preserve old traditions and endearing corners. Visitors feel fascinated because of its environment, because neighborhoods have all different personalities, and also because people are warm and there is a wide range of shopping and cultural proposals. Buenos Aires is surrounded by the splendid Argentine nature and it is the great cosmopolitan door to South America. The Province of Buenos Aires invites you to the countryside and its traditions, the sun and the sea, the serenity and the adventure, the delta and its mysteries. There are estancias (large cattle ranches) featuring a great deal of architectural styles, located in the middle of the Pampas Plains— a magical vast area of far-off horizons, where you may breathe history and Creole customs all around. Kilometers of sand caressed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, endless dunes, lonely and crowded beaches, sophisticated and busy nights— everywhere you will be amazed. The peaceful golf courses, the vertigo paragliding rides and the adventure of trekking— everything is possible in the hilly region of Tandil and Ventana. They are very different landscapes from each other and distant from the mouth of the Paraná River, where endless islands also invite you to unwind and live unexpected adventures. source: Ministerio de turismo