Six tourists were detained and one is facing a criminal trial after being accused of damaging Peru’s cultural heritage and allegedly defecating in a sacred temple.
The alleged offenses took place at the iconic Machu Picchu.
The six tourists, from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and France, sneaked into a restricted area of the Temple of the Sun to sleep overnight.
Overnight visits are banned.
They are accused of ‘damaging cultural heritage’ and Argentine Nahuel Gomez is facing up to four years in prison.
Gomez admitted to attempting to remove a stone from the temple.
The other five will be deported, according to regional police chief Victor Andres Patino.
Machu Picchu is considered the most important site from the Inca Empire.
In 2004, two Chilean visitors were jailed for six months for scrawling graffiti on an Inca wall.
