Landslide Investigation and Capacity Building in the Machu Picchu – Aguas Calientes Area (IPL C101-1)

Cultural Heritages and other historical buildings constructed on stable grounds often stand for many years. Stable grounds are not always stable for ever in the face of weathering of rocks, toe erosion of the slope by rivers, climate change, earthquakes, and possible human activities. It is the frontier of research in Landslide Science to evaluate the risk of slopes which have been stable for more than 500–1000 years. It is very similar to earthquake risk evaluation and the preparedness for earthquakes along active faults such as the 2008 Sichuan (Wenchuan) earthquake in China. Such long-term risk evaluation addresses social and scientific research needs. This paper briefly introduces the successful lesson learnt for landslide risk evaluation and preparedness in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) Imperial Resort Palace in Xian, China for risk evaluation and preparedness of

Precursor Stage of Landslides

before failure, and then describes the landslide risk evaluation in Inca’s World Heritage Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru.