Peru highlights holiday including Inca trail trek

Planet

This Peru trekking trip allows you to gradually acclimatise to the attitude, travelling to the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca, through the Andes mountains to Cusco, and into the Sacred Valley. Over tourism is becoming a big problem for the world's most iconic locations and as this trip includes two, The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain, we have put thought into how we visit in order to mitigate our impact on the country.

The Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain with its coloured layers has quickly become a popular addition to a Peru highlights trips. Rather than adding to the crowds ascending to get that perfect picture, we trek in a alternative but none less beautiful area, Palccoyo. Located within the same mountain range, the Palccoyo trek is a quieter, the trailer is shorter with far less crowds and views towards three rainbow mountains.

With no more than 200 hikers allowed on the trail each day, you have time and space to explore the ruins that line the route and take in the spectacular and varied scenery - from wide sweeping valleys beneath soaring peaks, to bubbling streams in lush cloud forest. To protect the trail, no wild camping is allowed and trekkers have to hike with a certified guide. This ensures that everyone sticks to the designated path and limits any damage to the path itself and the flora that surrounds its length.

In 2018 non-reusable plastic was banned and the porters are asked to weigh their rubbish before and after the hike, to meet regulations. There's no refuse collection on the trail so anything that goes with you must come back off the trail - either with you or as part of the porters' rubbish. We only use designated campsites on the trail and all water is boiled or available fresh from streams along the trail. The food served is sourced from the local area - you'll likely have fish from the rivers and vegetables from the surrounding farms.

As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.

The Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain with its coloured layers has quickly become a popular addition to a Peru highlights trips. Rather than adding to the crowds ascending to get that perfect picture, we trek in a alternative but none less beautiful area, Palccoyo. Located within the same mountain range, the Palccoyo trek is a quieter, the trailer is shorter with far less crowds and views towards three rainbow mountains.

With no more than 200 hikers allowed on the trail each day, you have time and space to explore the ruins that line the route and take in the spectacular and varied scenery - from wide sweeping valleys beneath soaring peaks, to bubbling streams in lush cloud forest. To protect the trail, no wild camping is allowed and trekkers have to hike with a certified guide. This ensures that everyone sticks to the designated path and limits any damage to the path itself and the flora that surrounds its length.

In 2018 non-reusable plastic was banned and the porters are asked to weigh their rubbish before and after the hike, to meet regulations. There's no refuse collection on the trail so anything that goes with you must come back off the trail - either with you or as part of the porters' rubbish. We only use designated campsites on the trail and all water is boiled or available fresh from streams along the trail. The food served is sourced from the local area - you'll likely have fish from the rivers and vegetables from the surrounding farms.

As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.

People

All of the porters and cooks for our tours are local people, often farmers, employed from the Sacred Valley area. They know the region like the back of their hand and they are well-acclimatised to the altitude. We ensure that they are all paid fairly - being a porter on the Inca Trail pays much better than a farming job and one trip can often mean that they can support their family for weeks.

We run our trips using local leaders and suppliers, which not only supports the local economy but gives our guests a real insight into the traditions and cultures of Peru. Whilst travelling on public buses, the leader will be able to point out places of interest, and sightseeing during the journeys.

As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.

We run our trips using local leaders and suppliers, which not only supports the local economy but gives our guests a real insight into the traditions and cultures of Peru. Whilst travelling on public buses, the leader will be able to point out places of interest, and sightseeing during the journeys.

As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.