Complete Peru holiday, Pacific to the Andes

Planet

Waste is one of the biggest global issues currently, with plastics and other goods clogging our rivers and seas. We encourage our customers to use reusable water bottles during our holidays and provide advice on ways to manage this to avoid or reduce as much as possible the use of single-use plastics. We strongly discourage littering of any type anywhere but particularly on our holidays when visiting fragile and/or historic locations and we ask our customers to bring their rubbish with them and dispose of it in a thoughtful way, for example by recycling.

One of the most fragile eco-systems in the world is the Amazon Jungle, and during our holidays to the Amazon both us and our suppliers work hard to minimise the impact to the Amazon. Before journeying into the Amazon you will be taken to the lodge headquarters near the Puerto Maldonado airport to store any unwanted luggage you will not need during your time in the Amazon - this helps keep the weights of the boats as light as possible reducing fuel usage. The lodge itself is also environmentally friends, constructed entirely of traditional materials, including palms and local woods, and modeled on the traditional Amazon style.

Our suppliers are an extension of our own business and we work with carefully selected local partners who buy into our responsible way of working. We have contracts with our suppliers requiring them to act in accordance with all laws in their country of operation helping to protect the environment, for example by ensuring that guides are sufficiently licensed to operate tours of Machu Picchu. This ensures the tours are of a suitable standard for our customers (e.g. the guides are knowledgeable about the history of Machu Picchu), but also ensures the guides only follow the approved routes through the ruin and work to avoid damage by advising our customers on things like suitable footwear, walking sticks, and where not to walk. We inform our customers to listen to our guides for this reason.

People

As a specialist South America company we know that "local" provides the best overall experience, both in terms of quality of holiday for our customers, but also in terms of support for the local community.

We work with local guides throughout Peru who are passionate about their home country and experts in their subject so are knowledgeable to teach you about the history and culture of their region and advise you on ways to help protect this. By using local guides this also means we directly support the local people economically.

We also work with local business throughout Peru. Where additional meals are included, for example lunch during the Sacred Valley tour, we use local restaurants within the Sacred Valley which not only ensures our customers experience a traditional Peruvian meal but also ensures the local people are directly supported through this.

On the tour of Lake Titicaca we visit the Uros Islands and Taquile Island and in both cases local people welcome you onto their island, educate you about their way of life, entertain you with stories or music, and offer handicrafts for sale, directly benefiting these indigenous communities.

In the Amazon Jungle the lodges we use are co-owned by the "Ese Eja Native Community" from this region of the Amazon, and in addition to this all the Amazon guides are members of the native community which means your holiday directly benefits the local populations.

We encourage our customers to further support the local communities and provide advice on how to do this by advising our clients to buy local, to tip the guides, drivers and other staff who help provide the holiday, to avoid mass-produced imported souvenirs in favour for local products from local markets (of which there are countless in the Cusco region), and to avoid global food chains in favour for locally owned restaurants showcasing local cuisine - we can even provide restaurant recommendations if needed.