At Machu Picchu. The "Lost City of the Inca's," nobody wants to talk about the landslide warnings. But after denying there is a problem, the guide says "It is in the hands of God." Looking down into the Urubamba river valley and at the peaks around us, it seems to be as good a reply as any. Experts may warn of catastrophes that could obliterate the vast and mysterious ruin, but the government of Peru is not prepared to hold back the mountains.

In March, the South American autumn, Machu Picchu is already crowded. "We will have many times this many people in July," the guide says. Most -- more than 300,000 -- will come by Peru Rail from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes then board diesel buses for the ride up the hairpin turns of mountain road. Many will also come on foot along the 27-mile segment of the 14,000-mile Inca Trail. Both kinds of tourists (and the government is hopeful there will be two million a year by 2005) will pump dollars into the economy and pay for the maintenance of the site, and both will be part of the problem.

Since May, 2001, there has been a hold on the plan to build a cable car up the mountain. The concession rights are held by Peru Hotels SA, a subsidiary of the London-based Orient Express company which also owns the train. the luxury lodge (doubles from $300) and restaurants at the entrance of the site. UNESCO says that on the basis of a hazard assessment report completed in 1999, the vibrations from cable car operation alone could cause a landslide.

Taking the Inca Trail may be one of the world's cosmic four-day trekking experiences, but many of the hikers toss their garbage as they go, apparently eco-conscious only in theory. In 2001, the number allowed on the trail per day was officially downgraded to 500 (from an estimated 70,000 the previous year) and the maintenance fee raised to $50 from $15. Furthermore, a registered guide must now accompany every group. and the weight of camping carried by hired porters is no longer unlimited.

Nevertheless, enforcement on the trail itself is erratic, and National Geographic News reports it is still being trashed. Boom boxes and beer busts in the shelters are also as bad as ever. To experince the mystique of the mountain, you are advised to be out of your bedroll and on the trail before dawn while revelers are still sleeping it off.

More government oversight is necessary when granting commercial permits too. In September, 2000, and estimated hundred peasants were incensed enough to block the train track with rocks for hours when the sacred Intihuatana ("hitching post for the sun") was damaged by a production crew working for New York's J. Walter Thompssson advertising agency. Though heavy equipment was expressly forbidden, those shooting a commercial for Cervesur beer brought in a 1000-pound crane. It slipped.

(To the peasants it was less the arrogance of a foreign company than the worst example of the government's inattention to their concerns. Spontaneous demonstartions against the powers in Lima should not be confused with the terrorist "Shining Path" organization though you may find your tour group's itinerary changed without notice.)

Machu Picchu was built of quarried granite about 1460, possibly as a royal estate and religious retreat for Inca dynasty (1440-1533). The stones were cut and tightly fitted; terraces were planted with crops; water was brought in channels from mountain springs. It seems to have been abandoned around 1530 but was never found by the Spaniards (too busy looting gold in Cuzco) and soon was hidden when jungle and landslides covered the trail. With no written language to provide clues and half the population dying in the small pox epidemic of the mid-1500s, the secret was kept.

Only the thatched roofs were gone when Yale University's Hiram Bingham rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911. Archaeologists swarmed in, but the site was not opened to the public until the 1950s. It has been Peru's prime attraction ever since and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Machu Picchu is situated at an altitude of 9,000 feet, and even those who have come the easy way by train and bus (we arranged ours through the resort Sonesta Posada del Inca, Sacred Valley, Yucay) have miles of rocky paths to walk and 3000 steps to climb to see the whole thing. Preventing altitude sickness begins with Diamox pills (available without prescription in Peru) two days before ascent plus getting adequate rest and drinking quantities of coco tea.

Peru is the third largest country in South America, the size of Spain, Italy and France combined, not counting its 200 sovereign miles offshore. With seasons reversed from North America, winter is April-October. The rainy season (more than 40 inches) is November-March with much of it falling in January and February.

The diversity of Peru's land surface (10% desert, 55% jungle, 45% highlands) has put it in the top rankings of the most mega-diverse countries drawn up by the World Resources Institute. It contains 84 of the world's 104 eco-systems and is home to 10% of mammals and reptiles as well as more than 20% of all the birds on earth. Between 40,000 and 50,000 vascular plants grow here, more than half of which are still to be classified.

Machu Picchu may be the most famous of Peru's archaeological sites, but more are still being uncovered including pre-Incan. Tupac Amaru, the name of the last Inca ruler, has meaning today. It's the largest squatter settlement near Lima, a sea of shacks built on top of an Incan graveyard. Excavation of mummies and artifacts is now underway with emergency funding by National Geographic, but not much is being done for the people living on the surface.

At the present time tourism is considered wise only in the region from Lima south to the border of Bolivia. The insurgent "Shining Path" either controls or makes frequent raids in the rest, and, in fact, many squatters are refugees from villages taken over by the guerillas. The U. S. Department of State has issued a Public Announcement that North Americans are being targeted even in Lima, though specifics are lacking, and this may be a visceral reaction to the car bomb set off across from the U.S. Embassy during the visit of George W. Bush in March, 2002.

With unemployment running at 50 percent, it makes sense for tourists always to be on guard against pickpockets and purse-snatchers, leave their jewelry at home, never wander alone after dark and stay in hotels where security is a priority.

But don't stay away. Just take care.

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