Cusco and the Sacred Valley holiday to Peru

We are involved in assisting a number of projects that have a positive contribution to the welfare of communities, wildlife or environment around the globe. One of these causes is Peru’s Challenge, a non-government charity that works to improve the lives of some of the poorest children in Peru by providing health services, education and fresh water. Jane Gavel (Australian) and Selvy Ugaz (Peruvian) started the program in 2003 and the organisation is now providing support for nearly 300 families. The initiative now educates more than 60 children who live in poor communities on the outskirts of Cusco and the nearby market town of Pisac in the Urubamba Valley.

When you travel with us, you support our Community Trust, which provides funds for local community projects and initiatives that promote responsible and sustainable tourism development in the destinations in which we operate. First and foremost, but not exclusively, the Trust supports projects and initiatives that advance education and employment within the tourism and hospitality industry. The Trust operates on a not-for-profit basis, with every cent of funds donated by us, our staff and our travellers, going to the nominated projects.

As part of our responsible travel policy we also employ local leaders and actively avoid international hotel chains, preferring to give our patronage to authentic, centrally-located and owner-managed establishments whenever possible. Our locally born and raised leaders are highly qualified and will be a great part of your holiday because of their intimate knowledge of the sights, culture and customs, history and language of their homeland.

The maximum group size on all of our adventures is 16 passengers. Travelling in small groups ensures we make significantly less impact on the natural environment, as well as breaking down many of the communication barriers presented by a larger group.

In 2009, we aim to neutralise all major emissions created by most of our trips, so they can be offered as the best green alternative available. We have conducted detailed analysis to assess the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the ground component of our adventure holidays. This means that the greenhouse gases emitted by transport and accommodation during most of our trips will be balanced and reinvested in projects that offer Gold Standard (or similar) Carbon Credits, and are aimed at ‘neutralising’ your contribution to greenhouse gases.