Responsible Travel and Tourism

Inca Trail Reservations recognizes that the travel and tourism industry is: "essentially the renting out for short-term lets, of other people´s environments, whether that is a coastline, a city, a mountain range or a rainforest. "

We at Inca Trail Reservations believe that your holiday in Peru depends upon the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the places you visit and enjoy while on trip, that is why we make payback contributions to ensure tourism always benefits local communities.

We support campaigns in favor of porters' rights, knowing that in the past they used to work in terrible conditions These days an increasing number of travellers want to be more 'people-friendly' too. This is often called 'fair trade'. Castle Travel's Fair Trade in Tourism project takes fair trade one step further, into holidays. This means working with the travel industry to make things fairer for people living in destinations you visit.

We believe fair trade in tourism could be the way forward, and that fair trade will help define a new way of managing tourism which shares its benefits more equitably between travellers, the tourism industry, governments of the countries we visit, and above all, the people among whose homes we take our holidays.

Inca Trail Reservations Porters policy

  • Appropriate clothing to season and altitude will be provided to porters for protection from cold, rain and snow. This means: windproof jacket and trousers, fleece jacket, long johns, suitable footwear (leather boots in snow), socks, hat, gloves and sunglasses.
  • Porters will have a dedicated shelter, either a room in a lodge or a tent, a sleeping pad and a blanket (or sleeping bag). They should be provided with food and warm drinks, or cooking equipment and fuel.
  • Porters will be provided with standard medical care.
  • No porter should be asked to carry a load that is too heavy for their physical abilities. Weight limits may need to be adjusted for altitude, trail and weather conditions; experience is needed to make this decision.

Leave only your footprints behind you!

Please help by taking a few simple steps:

What to Take on the trail:

  • Plastic bags for rubbish.
  • Refillable water bottles and water purification tablets.
  • Biodegradable soap made from natural, local products.

Rubbish

  • Collect rubbish in plastic bags and bring it back down with you.
  • Make sure your tour guide, cook and porters take all the rubbish back down with them for disposal in proper areas.
  • Don't buy disposable water bottles. Use refillable water bottles and water purification tablets.
  • Only smoke in designated areas.

Toilets

  • Always use the fixed toilets or portable toilets.

Washing

  • Use biodegradable soap to prevent water pollution.
  • Plates without any grease on them don´t need cleaning with detergents; just use water.

Erosion

  • Keep to footpaths and designated areas, don´t encroach on other areas.
  • Don´t touch any Inca remains or climb or sit on them. (Oils and sweat on your hands can cause damage.)

Wildlife

  • Leave wildlife alone. Take a photographic "souvenir" instead.
  • Don´t make loud noises, like shouting and playing loud music.
  • Don´t light fires or burn any rubbish.
  • Don´t cut down plants and trees.
  • Don´t trample on plants and flowers.
  • Don´t feed wildlife or leave scraps of food for them. (It encourages them to rely on human contact.)

Leave no trace!

These guidelines apply equally to other trekking routes in the Andes.

Leave all trails as you find them ... or better ... for those after you to enjoy and to avoid a detrimental effect on the Inca remains and the lives and health of the local people.

Our work would not be possible without your help. Thanks in advance...