Machu Picchu Base joined the Antarctic Treaty as a member adherent, with voice and vote in making all decisions related to the southern area. However, in agreeing to the Treaty, Peru reserved its rights to territory and influence over Antarctic climate, ecology and marine biology, in addition to a continuity of geology and historical links. In 1989 when Machu Picchu Base was founded, it acquired the status of advisory member within the Antarctic Treaty. In 1993 the Constituent Assembly extended the declaration of 1979: The Peruvian government created a National Commission for Antarctic Affairs (CONAAN) in July 1983 as a technical body composed
PeruRail which boasts a series of five switchbacks called locally 'El Zig-Zag', which enable the train to climb up the steep incline out of Cusco, before it can begin its descent to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and then continue down to Machu Picchu. However, this section of the route is currently suspended, and all trains to Machu Picchu leave from Poroy, just outside Cusco, instead. From Poroy, the narrow-gauge line goes northwest to Ollantaytambo, where the branch from Urubamba joins, then on to Machu Picchu station in Aguas Calientes. Tracks formerly continued into the jungle, but they were destroyed