The Best 100% Local Tour Operator (Based in Cusco)

Trekking & Jungle Expeditions Specialists

We need 02 of you to open a new departure date, Please, note we will never pass you onto another operator we will go even if you are 02 ppl on our treks to Machupicchu!

Real Travellers reviews

  

WHY QUECHUAS EXPEDITIONS? The Best Local Tour Operator.

Proper Porter Treatment 2012-2013 Very Important!!! click here

Inca Trail very Important Info for 2013 (Inca Trail Frequently Asked Questions) click here

• Under Inca Trail and Alternative Treks Local Guides Management
• 13 years of Experience specializing in Tourism in Cusco, Peru.
• We have Many Real travelers reviews( Please, See Above)
• The Best Local Tour Operator in Cusco, Peru.
• Small group specialists (02 people Minimum & 08 people Maximum) but can cater for large groups
• Official licensed Local Tour Operator on the Classic Inca Trail, Alternative Inca Treks to Machupicchu and Jungle Tours
• "we don’t pass our passengers to other cheap agencies as most travel agencies do here. they will re-sell you to other cheap company.
• We never share service with other agencies" thats why they dont have the control of the service because they share porters(Porters overloaded) cook, transport, guide and other things once you are on the inca trail, we depart with 02 people Minimum & our Maximum 08 people (Note: Typical Group Size 4 to 6 people)
• Highly Experienced Professional Quechua, Spanish, English speaking guides
• High quality, safe, fun and environmentally friendly tours
• We Support Sustainable, Responsible & Ethical Tourism...
• Dedicated to high quality service Brand new Camping, Biking Equipment and Private Land Transportation
• Respect for culture and nature / environmental consciousness and conservation.
• We are the most reliable company in the business
PROMPERU (Peruvian Goverment Official Website)
• Responsible Tourism and Well-paid and well-treated porters (Inca Trail agencies fined for not paying minimum wage to the porters click here)
• Personal treatment, Enthusiastic, experienced and well-trained employees who speak fluent English and French
• Shared passion for travel, Payable tours
• 5% of our profit we donate and it benefits to these Quechuas communities where our inca trail porters live canacchimpa, Huarocondo.

  Private and Small Groups Specialists
NOTE: While many other travel companies pool together travellers to maximize trekking groups, All Small Quechuas Expeditions groups departures are exclusive, meaning you travel with Quechuas Expeditions group members only, if there are only 2 persons in the group, we are going to leave with them.. thats why we have the whole control of all our groups.

Quechuas Expeditions Includes: Self-Inflaring Mattresses(THERM-A-REST) and 4 season HIGH QUALITY PROPER MOUNTAIN TENT (Best kayla Doite Tents )(We use only the finest quality aluminum tent poles)  3 man tent for 2-people so there will be plenty of space to set up your backpacks(Personal stuff)

Quechuas Expeditions Offers the Best and plenty of food on the hikes(you will never be hungry) because we have the best cooks and we also offer vegetarian option with no extra cost at your request.(Free Gluten).

QUECHUAS EXPEDITIONS Proffesional STAFF
some of local guides are highly recommended on Trip Advisor.
12 Local Guides & Assistance Guides, 10 Cooks, 8 Horsemen and 80 Porters for this Season of 2013. Presented by Quechuas Expeditions
 

QUECHUAS EXPEDITIONS THE BEST LOCAL TOUR OPERATOR

HOW YOU CAN HELP ENSURE PROPER TREATMENT
RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES FOR PROPER PORTER TREATMENT Proper Porter Treatment

Quechuas Expeditions: If you really want to enjoy the Inca Trail!  Share with Porters Chaskis the same bus and food and make sure they have a proper clothes and equipment to sleep like sleeping bags, mats and tents. as well as proper food. not only soup or rice water.

 "the law should not discriminate against anybody " "Porters are still discriminated on the inca trail" Make sure they have all their stuff and share breakfast, lunch and dinner with them as we do.

What one Quechuas Expeditions Porter should have on the Inca Trail:
• Jacket and pant
• Backpack to carry the stuff
• Rain Waterproof poncho
• Sleeping Bag
• Sleeping pad
• Aluminium Bottle for water & Hat
• Toothbrush, toothpaste & soap


• Wages – Quechuas Expeditions Tour Operator has agreed 45 soles/day for all Trekking routes.
• Loads should not exceed 25 kilos – Porter carries 20 kg for the company and 5 kg of their own gear.
• All Porters must have an insurance
• Porters receive the full amount of tip intended for them – A transparent tipping procedure in which each crew member receives their tip directly is the best method to ensure this.
• Porters are outfitted with proper clothing and equipment.(Sleeping bag, pad and their tents to sleep)
• Porters have proper shelter and sleeping equipment - Each porter is required to have a sleeping bag and adequate space in sleeping Tents is provided.
• Porters are given adequate food and water – Porters should be given access to water and at least two meals a day while Hiking the Inca Trail to Machupicchu.
• Number of crew should stay consistent throughout the trip – Porters should not be overloaded in order to send other crew down early.
• Sick or injured porters are properly cared for – An ailing porter should receive the same treatment as a sick Hiker would.

QUECHUAS EXPEDITIONS COOKS
AURELIO	CIRILO	CESARIO	VICTORIANO	JAIME

Quechuas Expeditions Porters

Please, Make sure your porters will be well treated (See Below), Because Some companies share porters to minimize costs and many of them will be overloaded
Porters Control Point of km 82 below. Please, try not exceeding your weight otherwise our porter will be fined at the control point.

Responsible trekking in the Andes- Don’t Believe the Hype(click here)

Click on any trek operator’s website or leaf through the pages of any travel company’s brochure and responsible travel will leap out at you. Well they would like it to but it has suffered something of the same fate as car alarms. Once you hear the same noise so many times you no longer hear it. Some companies clearly do practice responsible tourism but for other trekking agencies it appears to be no more than a marketing tool. When every agency makes the same claim, which do we choose, which do we believe?

“We give our porters uniform, we practice responsible tourism. “

Do you? Do you really care or is it all about marketing. Tens of men clad in your brand, advertising your product to the world. Is a school child treated any better in a school with a uniform than one that has none? Is the street sweeper treated better than the council official who is allowed to choose his own clothes? The sergeant major screaming at recruits, telling them they are horrid little men, are they not wearing uniform? A uniform proves nothing.

Responsible tourism is a broad spectrum and often a contradictory one. Flying several thousand miles to trek on the other side of the world that is bad; you damage the ozone. But I provide work for porters and guides is that not good? Buying bottles of water from the ladies along the Inca Trail that is bad, you should be refilling your water bottles and cutting down on plastics. But I am providing these Andean people with income, am I not good?

Bringing school books and coloured pencils to share as we trek through the valleys of Lares, surely that is good, we help their education? Or are we bad, are we teaching them to beg, to expect things for free in a world that is not free? The children selling postcards in Cusco, are they needy, are we being good by buying from them, are we allowing them to eat. Or are we bad, are we allowing their parents to sit at home and drink while the children bring in more money than they possibly could?

For a long time in Cusco the focus on responsible trekking has been on the porters. They work hard it is true, they work very hard but theirs is unskilled labour for which they are paid 64U$ for 4 days work. If we add on 10U$ of tips they have a measly 74U$ per trip. Wow we say, they work so hard and earn so little. However this is Peru, not Europe, not the U.S.A.

A porter trekking four Inca Trails in a month earns close to 300 U$ for sixteen day’s work. Minimum wage in Peru currently stands at 183 U$ and for many in Cusco the minimum wage is all you get for working ten hours a day, six days a week, twenty six days a month. Teachers, nurses and many more, all professionals, earn minimum wage having to slowly work their way up the scale. So is it responsible trekking that an unskilled, uneducated albeit hard working Andean porter can earn more than someone who has been to university for 4 or 5 years to learn their profession? Some porters have a skilled trade, some of them did get a secondary education, I am not trying to belittle the work these constantly cheerful men do but skills, education or experience are not a pre-requisite for the job.

So how did porters come to earn so well, so unequally? Through responsible tourism of course, projects were set up, NGOs the Peruvian equivalent of a charity organisation were founded to help the porters, the porters threatened strikes and eventually they won, they received their pay rise. But is it right that they earn more than a teacher? Are we practicing responsible trekking when we send out the message that you can earn more carrying someone’s bag than studying and gaining a profession?

NGO’s are for many a licence to print money; yet we are told to support them, they benefit the communities, they help the children, they make us feel better about ourselves. There are undoubtedly many good ones here in Cusco but there are many which exist solely to make money for the founder. When I used to trek the Inca Trail regularly, I worked with a porter who became chairman of the Porter’s Association. I asked him what he thought of the latest porter project supposedly set up to help “Liars” he told me “They do not help us; they have spent all the money donated on new computers for their office”.

Of course some agencies do not pay their porters what they are obliged to by law, some trekkers do not tip and sometimes he in charge of recruiting porters demands his cut of their tips or they do not work again. And the guides, what about the guides, are they treated fairly? Well they can earn a good wage, they can gain good tips, and they can earn a good living. But not all trek companies pay well, not all trek companies give the guide a constant supply of work. Many mistreat the guides not letting them know when they will be working next but expect  them to drop everything when they call; they fine them for being late for a trek briefing, fine them because they had  a drink with passengers, fine them because they do not like how they answered  a question.

Let me add some context; in Peru we favour the stick over the carrot, we do not encourage, we punish. Miss a school parent’s meeting- a fine; turn up late to work- a fine; make a mistake at work – you pay for it. This is not the western way, it wrangles, grates on us, how can employers treat people so badly we ask? I agree, but would the carrot work in a country where good timekeeping does not exist where telling the truth is not important. Values that we hold dear in the west do not carry value here, you do not hold it against someone that they lied to you, of course they did; you do not stand frustrated and cold waiting for someone who is late. You too have not arrived, you too are late.

Progress that is what we want, as responsible trekkers we bring money; we allow people and Andean communities to progress. ”Patacancha” that is what I say to that, one of the most traditional communities in the Andes, famed for their weaving skills we brought them progress, we ruined them. The once pretty village has its road, its internet, its concrete houses and it is ugly. Trekkers once used this as a favoured camp ground; now we avoid it, take other routes that have not been blessed with progress.

Chaullacocha, high in the hills of Lares a place visited by no-one, the jewel of the trek; hiking along one day we turned a corner and we cried, a yellow digger tearing up this untouched valley, bringing a road, bringing progress. Huacahuasi, once the most feared community in Lares, a wild place peopled by thieves who would raid stock from nearby villages, it has been tamed by progress. From high above you look down on the school a modern building funded by an NGO, out of place in this landscape,  you look down on the glint of corrugated iron roofs, easier to maintain than the traditional thatch that so fitted these hills.

Who are we to deny progress? Our ancestors in the west once lived in mud huts, once walked to school, and once farmed the land, would we want that for ourselves today? But care is needed to prevent destroying the beauty we come to see, will we come to these hills to trek when they are covered by roads will we come and provide jobs for the porters, the cooks, the guides? Or will we turn our backs and look for new pastures, new treks to destroy with our responsible tourism.

So stay at home, do not trek the Andes; that is not the answer. Come and visit this beautiful place, come and trek these magnificent hills and come and meet its people. But choose wisely, come with your eyes open, listen with your ears and decide for yourself. There are many good operators out there who value their staff who cherish the environment and deliver their promises. But as you click the webpage or turn the pages of the brochure proudly printed on recycled paper don’t believe the hype

Huarocondo (Town Square): Altitude Aprox, 3335mt 10955 ft
Canacchimpa Village: Altitude Aprox 3480mt 11437ft.

View Canacchimpa (Huarocondo) in a larger map

Allocations or Itinerary are subject to change depending on time of booking and campsites provided by INC (institution that runs the Classic Inca Trail)

Because all our treks are only and strictly operated by Quechuas Expeditions and its very professional staff. Other agents claiming daily departures operate their treks jointly with other companies in service rotation. Hence, you book a departure with tour operator A, which risks to be finally operated by tour operator B without you knowing. QUECHUAS EXPEDITIONS has a quality of service and a high reputation, which is only possible by ensuring that only QUECHUAS EXPEDITIONS staff operates QUECHUAS EXPEDITIONS treks. Even if we only have a single traveler for a set departure date, this will be operated by us.

We are aware other operators may offer the Inca Trail or other programs at a lower price. This does not mean they are offering the same program at a lower price: the level of service will not be the same. We understand price is definitely an issue but we kindly request our potential guests and clients to choose a responsible tour operator as otherwise, you risk to be indirectly promoting the exploitation of rural communities and the growth of informal and illegal operators that do not build on the country’s development and growth.

Quechuas Expeditions is Secure and Reliable

METHODS OF PAYMENT / Send Money By using Credit Cards

(1) Western Union Money Transfer Company(Fastest and safest method of sending money in Peru)
Another way to do your payment from abroad and avoid high bank charges or taxes, is using WESTERN UNION, a global transfer service that has a large network of offices around the world.

Money Transfer by Western Union (using your credit cards) - There are additional fees associated with this method of payment. The method of payment depends on which country that you are sending the money. From the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, France, Netherlands & Norway you can make the money transfer online at : http://www.westernunion.com/index_consumer.asp Just visit the website and follow the instructions. Visa and Master Card can be used. The charge is less if you go directly to a local Western Union agent in your town and pay in cash. For countries other than those mentioned above you will have to go to the office of your local agent to pay the deposit. The Western Union website allows you to search for the agent nearest to where you live. There are over 245,000 agents throughout the world so you should have no problem finding one that is convenient to you.

Receiver's Name: WISTMAN
Receiver's Surname: SANCHEZ HUAMAN
Receiver's Address : Suecia Street (oficina 344)
Receiver's City: CUZCO
Receiver's Country: Peru
E-mail: quechuasexpeditions@hotmail.com
Receiver's ID: DNI 24006778

Afterwards send us an e-mail with the following information:
Operation and transaction numbers: Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN) / Number of 10 Number Very Important_____________________
Date and hour of the Payment: ________________________
Sender's Name:____________________
Sent total amount:______________________

You Can Make your Payment through Western Union with your Visa Card
Send Money transfer online from:

• Australia
• Austria
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• United States
   

 (2) Transfer into PERUVIAN BANKING ACCOUNT We can also accept payments by bank transfer to our Peru bank account.

You can directly transfer funds from your own banking account to our banking account. There is a 5% admin fee attached to this account that you need to add onto the amount you are sending. See details below.

Duration of Taken to Receive Transfer: 1 day to 3 days dependent on where you are sending from.
It can be done at any bank, make the deposit with the following information:

Name of Bank: Banco de Crédito del Perú BCP
Account Number: 285-20536852-1- 60 (US$ dollars)
Account Name: WISTMAN SANCHEZ HUAMAN
SWIFT CODE: BCPLPEPL
Emergency phone VíaBCP: 0051-1-3119898
Bank Address: 189 Av. Del Sol, Cusco – Perú / Phone: 0051–84– 235255
Bank Website:www.viabcp.com/zona_publica/01_persona/index.html

The deposit must be sent under the name of WISTMAN SANCHEZ HUAMAN (you can print this page).

Afterwards send us an e-mail with the following information:

Date and hour of the Payment:_______________________
Operation and transaction numbers.__________________
Displayed name (it should be WISTMAN SANCHEZ HUAMAN)
Sent total amount:______________________
Name of the bank where the transaction was done._____________________
We’ll send an E-mail confirming the transaction and we’ll re-confirm your reserve as well.