From Lima to Machu Picchu: The Cable Cars That Could Revolutionize Tourism and Mobility in Peru

Tourists use a new cable car system to reach Kuelap, a fortified citadel built by the Chachapoya indigenous people between the 6th and 11th centuries, from the town of Nuevo Tingo, in the Amazon region in northern Peru, on March 15, 2017. The 4.4-km cable car built by a French-Peruvian consortium makes it much easier to reach Kuelap, pre-Inca ruins on a mountain-top in the cloud forests of northern Peru. The scenic trip takes just 20 minutes, compared to a three-hour hike through the forest. (Credit: Photo by Ernesto BENAVIDES / AFP via Getty Images)

The Briefing:

• Austria's Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group, the world's largest ropeway manufacturer, is tracking projects totaling more than $1.2 billion across Lima, Cusco, and Puno—from an 8-line urban cable network to a concession that would make a hidden Inca citadel accessible in 20 minutes.
• ProInversión launched the international tender for the $261 million Choquequirao cable car in August 2026, aiming for Q4 2026 contract award; Doppelmayr's operations manager now says the award has slipped to Q1 2027.
• Peru has changed presidents eight times since Doppelmayr opened its Lima office in 2017—a record that already buried one of its flagship projects and frames why political continuity, not engineering, is the deciding variable for every project on the table.