INCA TRAIL TOUR LEADERS & PORTERS

Get to know who are OUR INCA TRAIL Porters

The Inca Trail porters are the people who carry the camping equipment for the trekkers to Machu Picchu. This is necessary because pack animals such as horses, mules and llamas are not allowed on the 4-Day Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. All the camping equipment (tents, food tent, kitchen tent, tables, chairs, kitchen, fuel tank and food) is carried on the back of the porters. The porters are local farmers and laborers who are employed to form an “army” of porters that enable so many hikers to take this unique hike.

The porters may be small, but they are very strong and highly skilled at doing this rigorous work at these high altitudes. Even with all the weight on their shoulders, they are the first to arrive at the campsites and pitch the tents and start preparing the food!

The importance of having competent, high quality guides cannot be overstated when it comes to trek the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. SUNRISE PERU TREK has the best local tour guides, all of whom are fluent in English and have received extensive training in first aid, mountain rescue, flora and fauna, and history. All of our guides are registered with Machu Picchu National Park. It is forbidden to trek to Machu Picchu without a guide.

SUNRISE PERU TREK TOUR LEADERS / GUIDES

• Our Guides are very experienced, with most having trekking well over 1000 times to Machu Picchu. They are professionals who intimately know the mountain:
• 10 hands selected lead guides, with unrivaled experience and competence. Our guides are among the most talented and respected professionals in the industry.
• With more than 15 years of experience as guides leading our groups in Peru. Our guides are well prepared to handle any situation one can encounter on the mountain.
• With more than 1,000 successful treks to Machu Picchu. Our guides are very strong, capable trekkers.
• 15,000+ clients led to Machu Picchu. Our guides have proven expertise on how to lead clients safely and effectively to Machu Picchu.

HIGH SAFETY STANDARDS:

Your safety is the highest priority for us. Our clients put their lives in our hands and trust us to keep them safe and happy; we do not take that responsibility lightly. Our guides are certified from the tourism profession of the University of Cusco – Peru, which means they have the tools to make critical medical and evacuation decisions. They receive annual training in emergency first aid and can prevent, recognize and treat altitude-related illnesses. Additionally, they can identify and avoid potential hazards such as slippery trails and loose rocks. Each client’s health is monitored very closely while on the trail.

Book The 4-Day Classic Inca Trail

PROFESSIONALISM:

We understand that you have many choices when it comes to trek to Machu Picchu. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that your expectations are met or exceeded. SUNRISE PERU TREK takes pride in the hard work of our staff and we strive to maintain and grow our reputation of excellence. Our guides uphold a high level of professionalism while still keeping the experience fun for the clients.

EXPERT ABILITY:

Our guides have been working on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Salkantay Trek and Machu Picchu Trips for a long time. With this training and experience, they are completely acclimatized to high altitude and are adapted to the rigors of mountain life. Trekking on the mountains has become second nature to them. Our guides are tough as nails and can teach you everything you need to know about high altitude trekking.

MOUNTAIN KNOWLEDGE:

Our guides are knowledgeable about general mountain facts and history. They can tell you about the climate zones, the altitudes of and distances to campsites, and information about the geology, flora and fauna. These types of facts increase the enjoyment during the trek by giving clients an idea of what they are seeing and feeling.

Our Inca Trail guides love working with us because we lead small groups on the best routes.

Our guides can effectively manage our clients due to the small size of our groups. Because each trekker generally needs a few porters, each additional client multiplies the number of people under the guide’s care. A guide can give more individualized attention when groups are reasonably small. There is a better team dynamic with a small group, which not only makes the days on the mountain more fun, but safer as well, when a group works well together. With a small group, our guides can effectively monitor the progress each individual climber and the collective group. Our guides have the opportunity to interact with each climber to assess how he or she is doing, and to ask and answer questions when needed. Our porters can also provide better service by catering to the varied needs of each member.

We have over 1,000 customers per year, which means our guides stay busy throughout the trekking season. Each of our guides treks Salkantay 20-25 times per year. Therefore, our guides do not need to go outside of their profession to earn a living when they can regularly lead climbs for us. Many guides want to work for us, but we have already our all-star team in place. We appreciate that employment with SUNRISE PERU TREK is highly sought after. It is a testament that we are doing things right.

SUNRISE PERU TREK SUPPORT TEAM CREWS

Our guides have support teams of assistant guides, cooks and porters that we have assembled personally. We feel having control of our personnel assignments is the best way to make sure your mountain crew complies with our high standards. Through regular interaction, your mountain crew will perform at its best and offer consistent service trip after trip. We like for things to go smoothly behind the scenes so that our staff can focus on our most important asset – the client.

Because of our hardworking porters, all you need to do on your tour is walk. Porters carry the tents, sleeping bags, mattresses, food, cookware, gas, stoves, medical supplies, chairs, and tables – not to mention your camping gear. It is a tough job and anyone who has trek the Inca Trail  to Machu Picchu will tell you that their strength, skill and stamina are incredible.

• We take porter welfare very seriously and we do our best to ensure that all our staff is treated well. We are a partner company of the Inca Trail Machu Picchu Porters Assistance
• Project ITMPAP, an independent organization whose mission it is to protect porters from mistreatment on the trail to macho Picchu, and the International Mountain Explorers
• Connection (IMEC) Partnership for Responsible Travel, which recognizes climbing companies with fair treatment practices.
• We are one of ITMPAP’s strongest supporters, and we strive to have the best porters through fair and honest treatment of our staff. We ensure that:
• Our staff is paid a set wage, which means they do not have to rely entirely on tips for payment.
• Our staff is paid immediately upon completion of a trip.
• Our staff is paid tips in a fair, transparent manner.
• Our porters have the proper gear and equipment to handle the mountain. Their clothing, sleeping bags and tents are sufficiently warmand/or waterproof.
• Our porters are fed three nutritious meals per day, in adequate amounts, of their preferred local foods.
• Our porter loads are limited to 20 kgs. The porters to client ratios we utilize are sufficient to handle the equipment needed. If more porters are needed for a party, we will add more.

THE INCA TRAIL PORTERS VIDEO