Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
Our tours source as much as possible from the local community, whether it be our knowledgeable local guides, porters from local villages or food prepared and cooked for you on our treks. We shop locally, use local transport and do not use imported goods when local produce is available. We aim to minimise our impact on the environment and give as much back as possible to the communities we work in. All operations for this tour are done by locally owned companies, a fact we pride ourselves on. We also abide by all rules concerning porter treatment set down by the APTAE (Peruvian Ecotourism Association).
Our guides are all highly qualified (most with university degrees) or many years of experience and are paid above the standard wage. We source them due to their unique contact with the local community in the Sacred valley region of Cusco and the city, and their knowledge on the sites, fauna and flora you will pass on route.
In our pre departure information pack, and throughout the orientation on the ground we help you to minimise your carbon footprint on your tour, and help protect the fragile ecosystem of the Machu Picchu sanctuary and the Sacred Valley. This information comes from simple advice on waste disposal while trekking, and the offsetting of carbon emissions through our carbon offsetting program for your journey with us. All entrance fees paid by us for your tour go to help upkeep the Machu Picchu and Inca trail Sanctuary and contribute to helping maintain this historical gem for future generations.
By booking your tour with us, you will be making a real impact on the community you are visiting. We can also assist you to visit community projects in order to get a lot more out of your trip to Peru. From a city orphanage run by a UK charity to an environmental project which involves local children and their communities from a high profile Peruvian NGO, ask us to see how you can give back. Most importantly funds from your tour (10% of the tour value) will go back to our charities and assist us support the next generation and the environment they live in.
We really work hard to keep all our operations green! All our worldwide offices currently run on 90% green energy (we are working towards 100%) from hydro electric, wind to solar power. Being web based, we are close to becoming a paperless environment, brochure prints are at a minimum (and printed on a requirement basis) and all pre departure information is emailed. We use energy saving bulbs in our work centres, and recycle all our waste. We currently work with 3 different charities, giving us a broad spectrum and diversifying where our monies go. We work with Project Peru in the UK who run an orphanage in Zapallal in the shanty town outskirts of Lima, ANIA in Peru which is a high profile Peruvian NGO which works with children and helps to teach them about their local environment and how to manage it affectively, and GVI Foundation in Australia which work on several development projects in Latin America and around the world. We help these charities by fundraising treks, through donations as a company and through our clients and also through many of our customers who volunteer their time and expertise. These charities are close to our core of supporting the environment and children in need.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
