Lima, Peru (ANTARA News) - Indonesias Vice President Jusuf Kalla, currently on a visit to Peru, visited the historical site of Machu Picchu on Monday morning (local time) after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit here.

The vice president, accompanied by his wife Mufidah Jusuf Kalla and his entourage, left from the military airbase ALAR 2 in Lima for the international airport Alejandro Velasco Astete, Cusco, at 06.50 a.m. local time (06.50 p.m. western Indonesia Standard time). The vice presidents special plane BBJ-2 took an hour and 20 minutes for the journey.

From the Cusco airport, they boarded the Hiram Bingham 11 train to reach the Aguas Caliente railway station in three hours and 19 minutes.

The entourage subsequently reached Machu Picchu by bus in about 30 minutes.

"We just want to know why it (the site) is so famous, more than even the Borobudur (in Indonesia), even though it is a fact that Borobudur does not lag behind in infrastructure," Kalla pointed out.

Kalla was informed that Machu Picchu is famous as a world cultural heritage site after it was discovered on a hill about 4,000 meters above sea level.

"Apparently, they package (the site) nicely," the vice president explained.

Kalla and his entourage spent the night in Cusco and will proceed to Lima, Peru on Tuesday (Nov 22) before returning home via Los Angeles, Hawaii and Guam.

Members of the vice presidents entourage to the APEC event for the November 17 to 25, 2016 period, included his spouse Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartato, Head of the Vice Presidential Secretariat Mohamad Oemar, Special Staff of the Vice President in charge of Infrastructure and Investment Muhammad Abduh, and member of the Vice Presidents Expert Team Sofjan Wanandi.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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