Responsible Tourism

From our perspective, some considerations to keep in mind about “responsible tourism” in our country as well as any other, should at least meet some basic aspects so that our passengers, our company, the people working with us and, most of all, the environment will be beneficiaries.

Responsibility with the tourist: In Cusco our tours are organized and operated by us, making the benefit equitable both for you as well for the people doing everything possible to make your experience a pleasant one. We will not pool with any other agency for which you can be sure your trip will be 100% operated by us.

Employment for local people: 100% of our workers are people that were born and live in Cusco. This includes our staff at the office, administration, booking, operations, guides and cooks, and especially the porters who are from Cusco and have working stability with us receiving their pay in a timely fashion.

Our staff is treated with respect, giving them the necessary implements for their normal performance at no extra cost.

– Tax payments: All taxes are included in all our tours, namely 18% of the General Sales Tax. You will not find any hidden fees in our prices, since these taxes are paid on time every month. We firmly believe paying our taxes will contribute to our country’s economic growth and we hope this reaches the poorest and most abandoned areas.

– Caring for the environment: Our commitment to take care of the environment is completely firm. We have canceled the use of paper almost completely; practically 90% of the bookings are done online and we only need paper to print the entrance tickets to the archaeological centers. We only use papers of the brand CHAMEX, also committed to the environment. The use of plastic is minimum in our excursions, only being used in the adventure tours. We use reusable plastics at the base of our sleeping tents and only take red and green non-reusable plastics to carry the organic and non-organic waste as required by the Regional Direction of Culture (DRC) in coordination with SERNANP (National Service of Protected Areas).

Social Projection: Part of our profits go to annual social projections in remote communities of our city, normally being the home towns of our porters. All activity is carried out in February of each year, though due to the heavy rains of this season we will probably be changing to another month.

* Tips for You – Contribute to sustainable tourism: We suggest that you read the recommendations below so your stay in our environment will be as pleasant as possible:

– Respect the local customs, culture and traditions.

– Always ask for permission before taking photos of local people, paying special attention if you are taking part in a religious or liturgic ceremony.

– Learn key words of the local language; do not expect everyone to be able to communicate with you in your language.

– Dress and behave respectfully, especially in villages, religious places and cultural areas.

– Support and promote the local economy buying products produced on location, as with their craft work.

– Dispose of your garbage carefully, recycling whenever possible, reusing your bottles and saying no to plastic bags.

– Practice safe and responsible sex. Do not take part in any sexual transaction or that could imply illegal merchandises or drugs.

– Remember you are a guest – don’t do anything you wouldn’t do at home.

– Enjoy Nature, but do not pursue or touch the wild animals.-

– Leave everything as you found it, not removing anything that could be part of the natural balance such as stones, plants, etc.

– Stick to the paths, which are designed to diminish the erosion caused by the visitors’ transit.

– Encourage responsible behavior by your family and others.

– Do not exaggerate trying to bargain a lower price. Those few coins saved could mean a lot for the subsistence of local families.

– If you go out to dinner, choose the small restaurants, this way you will benefit individuals instead of Corporations or international chains.

– Please do not litter anywhere.

– Pay special attention to used batteries because they are very harmful for the environment. Take them with you to your place of origin and dispose of them appropriately.

– Preserve water as much as possible. Simply use it with criteria.

– Preserve power as much as possible.

– Report environmental damages to the authorities.

– Take part in local preservation activities.

We are sure we will have a better world practicing these values.

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