Aracari’s Trekking support staff

Why is it that trekking and a fair deal for the support staff do not walk hand-in-hand? At Aracari, we spent a decade trying to answer that question – developing a bond between the two via our trekking operator. Little by little we closed the gap, running wonderful treks with the help of our partners, but last year we realised that we could go that step further by managing the treks ourselves.

Quickly we set about turning the business of trekking on its head. Our mission was to offer the best of everything, the utmost comfort and authenticity underpinned by an unwavering respect for our staff. One of our key differentiators was our approach to our chefs, porters and guides, whom we have worked with for over a decade. They come from the Andean village of Patakancha where we support their medical community project. As well as giving them fair wages, we pay for their travel to and from a trek, provide them with foam pads and sleeping bags during the trek so they don’t have to carry their own blankets. We are expanding our community support by working with the local school to encourage better nutrition for the school children as well as collecting donations to buy traditional clothing for the kids to encourage them to wear their ancestral clothing with pride in their local cultural identity. We believe that it’s the little things that count for the local community as well.

In return, they ‘wow’ our clients time and time again. Elaine Chong is one of many who appreciated them, saying, “The guide, cook and porters were all wonderful and went out of their way to ensure our comfort and enjoyment. For example, the cook served us ‘cuy’ (guinea pig) for dinner at our request one night and the guide/porters even made it possible for us to wash our hair!” We’ve had the privileged of organizing treks for the alumni groups of several US universities including Yale, Harvard, Berkeley and MIT. Their positive feedback echoes our belief that having someone dust off your backpack or bring you a bowl of hot water to rest your weary feet in at the end of the day really characterize the Aracari difference.

Focusing on the essentials extends to food and equipment. Our professionally trained chefs import ingredients to use with local, fresh produce served with delicious wine and freshly brewed coffee. When you turn in for the night you can rest on the thickest pads, in the best sleeping bags within the warmest tents. We searched the market for the latest tools to enrich the trekking experience.

We hope that this attention to detail will make a difference, but besides the material comforts, we believe that you can rest easier by knowing that in the beautiful but poor landscapes of South America the locals are being treated with the care and respect they deserve.

Aracari offers a wide spectrum of treks to suit all ages and abilities – from a one day trek to the ruins of Pisac to a weekend trek to Machu Picchu, or a nine day trek to the lost city of Vilcabamba. There are many other family, festival and other types of Peruvian and Bolivian treks to choose from, or we can handcraft a trek just for you. Please contact your Aracari representative to find out more.