Travel responsibly with Andean Adventures Peru
As one of Cusco’s longest established travel companies, we are committed to protecting Peru’s cultural and natural heritage through responsible tourism
In 2018, the New York based World Monuments Fund published its biennial list of threatened cultural heritage sites across the globe. While some major sites throughout the world are damaged by natural disasters or through neglect, others are affected by badly managed tourism, with many famous international attractions lacking adequate policies or systems for limiting the number of travelers wanting to visit the same place at the same time.
In recent years, ancient sites like Ankgor’s Phnom Bakheng temple have suffered from increasing visitor numbers, with tourists gathering each day to watch the sunset and leaving behind empty water bottles and other trash.
In Peru, as visitor numbers to Peru have increased, much greater care is now being taken to ensure that the nation’s many tourist attractions will be around for future generations to enjoy. At the end of the 20th century, as Peru once more became a safe travel destination and the tourism sector grew rapidly, MachuPicchu and the Inca Trail began to suffer from the negative effects of greater visitor numbers.
In 2005 the Peruvian authorities stepped in. A limit was placed on daily visitor numbers to MachuPicchu, and strict controls were introduced on hikers of the world famous IncaTrail to Machu Picchu. In addition, in order to ease the burden on Machu Picchuand the Inca Trail, local travel companies like Andean Adventures Peru began to create and promote other trekking routes in the Cusco region and in other parts of Peru.
As a Cusco-based travel company, we understand better than anyone the fragility of our shared cultural heritage. That is why Andean Adventures Peru is fully committed to responsible tourism, and to teaching those who travel with us how to enjoy the wonders of Peru and to “take only photographs and leave only footprints”.
