Lauren Smith

I hope this message finds you well and still trekking through those magnificent Peruvian mountains. I am finally writing to give you my feedback. Since I have been back I have found myself frequently reflecting on our trip.. Anytime things become hectic or chaotic in my life I try to bring myself back to the serenity of the mountains and wonderful moments we had on our trip. This trek has been one of the most memorable trips I have ever had. I loved that our group only had six members; it made it more conducive to getting to know each other and really forming a bond. I wish that my spanish was better so I could have spoken with the members of the crew and gotten to know them better. They too made the experience wonderful. The meals were outstanding and I wish I could eat like that every single day. I have come back home and find the food to be so bland and generic. Carlos I have to say you were a terrific guide. Your enthusiasm , spirit and breadth of knowledge were astounding. Marsha and I often remark how inspirational you are to us. It’s contagious. You are following your dream and making them come true, which is an admiral quality. Not everyone can make that happen. I hope that your school comes to fruition and you can keep the Quechua tradition alive. Having traveled to several countries I am somewhat sadden by the loss of cultural diversity. There is such richness to be shared from each culture and I fully support any effort to keep cultures and traditions alive.

So in short Carlos, the experience that we had cannot fully be described or appropriately articulated, it is beyond words. The experience will live on in our memories back here in the US and as we go through our lives. I wish the Peru Andean Experience company the greatest success possible. Having guides like you and the ease with which I was able to communicate with Elizabeth will only had to the success of the company. You guys, to say the very least, are an amazing group of folks. We will always remember you and hope that someday our paths will cross again.

One other thing I wanted to mention, I hope that other companies develop a leave no trace policy like your crew did. I don’t know if there is a way to influence them but with increasing foot traffic in the mountains I hope that they try to keep it clean and free of our garbage.

Gracias Carlos and friends for all your hard work and for an unforgettable experience.

Cheers,
Lauren Smith!

Rachel Rosen

Hi Elizabeth,
We had a wonderful time and are grateful for your assistance in organizing it.
Our group was very pleased with Peru Andean Experience. From outset, Elizabeth was extremely responsive to our inquiries and helpful in making sure that every detail or our trip was taken care of. On the trek itself, we absolutely loved our guide, Carlos. He was very knowledgable and set the perfect tone for a perfect trek. We particularly enjoyed the way he organized our tour of Machu Picchu-- very laid-back yet informative. In addition to Carlos, the rest of the staff was wonderful as well; the food was delicious and everyone was extremely kind and helpful to us.
Thank you for helping our experience to be as wonderful as it was!
-Rachel Rosen

Caitlin

Hi Ms. Yupaiccana,
We had a great time on our trek! It was so nice to have everything organized for us- the camps already set up, all of the tickets/entrance fees to Machu Picchu arranged, and all of the meals prepared. The food was delicious! Carlos was an excellent guide- he was always enthusiastic and good-humored, which made the harder parts of the trail easier. His passion and knowledge of the Quechua people also made the trip even more meaningful. We were taken care of every step of the way and it was a wonderful experience working with the Peru Andean Experience. I will be recommending you to all of my friends that visit Peru!
The only suggestions I would have would be to warn a little bit better about the difficulty of the trek- it wasn't a problem for us, but I can imagine other people would be surprised by the second day of hiking the Lares trek. Also, it was very cold during our trek- it may be a good idea to exaggerate the weather conditions so that people are well prepared (I needed a warmer sleeping bag, for instance).
Thank you!
Caitlin

Ben

Hi Elizabeth,
Carlos was an amazing guide. Eliot and I had such a great time!!!!
Everything was perfect and I couldn´t ask for more or less!! THANK YOU for
such a wonderful service and your prompt emails!!! :o)
We will definitely recommend this travel agency to our friends and possibly
even come back in the near future!!!

Kind regards,
Ben

Rosemary Gonzaga

Dear Elizabeth, Carlos, and Javier,

Thank you so much for the trip of a lifetime! My friends and I had a truly unforgettable experience. Here's what I loved about traveling with you:
1) Elizabeth, our first contact with your company company, was so easy to correspond with. Through her prompt, helpful, and friendly answers to our questions (and we had a LOT of them), she helped us to better understand and feel more comfortable with the process of planning the trek.
2) You were all so accommodating and willing to tailor the trip to our needs. It made things so much more convenient for us that you were happy to pick us up from Ollantaytambo instead of Cusco to start the trek. I was even surprised that you offered us a place to stay in in Cusco and store our luggage while on the trail, even though we didn't end up needing it.
3) Carlos was wonderful! We could not have asked for a better guide...and I think some of our trailmates from other tour groups felt the same way. He was not only very knowledgeable, but also very passionate about sharing his culture with us. People from other groups sometimes stopped to listen to him talk about the history of the Quechuas, the trail, and Peruvian life in general, and some even told me how impressed they were with him. Always professional, he really looked after us and made sure we knew what to expect at all times. His constant cheerfulness, encouraging attitude, and energy never failed to lift our spirits...especially during the more difficult parts of the trek. He was so much fun to be around, a good Spanish tutor, and a good friend (chotopesco!).
4) The porters and staff. I was more comfortable on this trip than I would have ever imagined possible for a trek in the mountains, thanks mostly to these guys. We had hot tea to make the morning wake-up call more pleasant, or at least bearable. Tea/snack time in the afternoon precisely when we most needed rest and food. Great service and great, hard-working people. I only wish we had more time to get to know them.
5) The food! Better than a lot of the food I had in restaurants in Arequipa, Cusco, and Lima. Hearty, filling, tasty, and fresh. I was surprised by the several-course meals. Who knew it was possible to bake a cake without an oven? In the mountains? Danny (the chef) was definitely working some magic in the kitchen tent. 5 stars.
6) Your commitment to your community. It's awesome that your company has a community project. It was so nice to know that our money was going to a wonderful local cause. I wish you all the best with building your school.

I've already recommended your company to a few friends who are also planning on doing the Inca Trail. If I ever come back to do an alternative trek, it will be with you guys. It's hard to stop raving, but I've probably already written too much. You guys are amazing. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for a fun, unforgettable, inspiring, muy chevere trip!

Efua Nicholas

When I first arrived in Cusco I was a little shocked to realise that we could go with other companies and book there ( rather than book ahead as we did) for approx $100 less each bur in retrospect I am extremely happy with Peru Andean Experience. You pay for what you get and we were well looked after from the moment we booked. We had a guide to ourselves (3 of us) and he was great. I'm a little unsure about tours in general as guides can often lose the joy of the job but Xavier became one of the team, albeit a very knowledgeable member of the team. He was enthusiastic about everything without being overwhelming and really brought the Quechuas to life, with him it was easy to imagine the nobles trekking to and staying at Macchu Pichu those 100s of years ago.

As well as being a pretty cool guy he and the whole team we came into contact with (Thanks Elizabeth!) were very professional. The icing on the cake for me was this was one of the very few (possibly the only?) Peruvian owned companies so we knew that our money was going back into this very lovely community, in fact, the company was heavily involved in housing local orphans. So we selfishly had the trip of a lifetime whilst doing something good.

Melisa Rothman

1. There was plenty of responsibility within the group. We all carried everything we should have and hiked together.
2. The trek was organized very well! The meals and tents were always set up and cooked perfectly. Arriving at camp and leaving each day was efficient and not stressful.
3. Carlos was the best guide ever!!! He was so friendly and knowledgeable about the trail and the history of the Quechua people. He truly made the trek an unforgettable experience.
4. The meals were so delicious and wonderful, I loved all of the food and the chef was great!
5. The service was also great, I don't think we could have picked a better company to travel with :)
Saludos! Melisa.

Mike Zeidlhack

La organizacion del trek fue excelente. A cada punto sabia exactamente que ibamos a hacer. Todos del program completamente sabian exactamente que debian hacer. Nuestro guia fue EXCELENTE. Diez puntos. Considero Carlos mas como amigo que un guia. Pero, tambien, en todas maneras era profesional. Las comidas completamente superaron mis expectaciones. Muy rico. Sobre todo, el programa fue excelente y no puedo recomendar algo para mejorar la experiencia. Carlos es excelente y me encanto. Saludos, Mike

Maartje & Ulrik

We had absolutely an amazing time exploring the Inca sides, heard great stories and had the best guide you can wish for (Javier). He knew everything about the inca's, the country and was very good for the porters/cook and all the people we met on the way. It felt as we were on the way with a friend! He's very welcoming and nice and gives a personal touch to the tour. We will be back some time and definitely join him again (this was already the 2nd time for one of us) on a tour.

Paul & Christine Gosling

Friendly, helpful and great people who are making a difference in their tourism and local community work. We had an excellent time walking with them and visiting all the sights. Nothing is too much! Use them!.

Katherine Scott

I went with Javier to the Lares Trek in Peru and I can not rave enough about the guy. He not only knows so much about the local people, language, history and culture, but he has opinions on stuff too! He looked after us like a father, I have never felt so safe, and was really sensitive about how we were all feeling with the altitude and phsyically after hard days trekking. I am telling everyone I know about this guy!.

Clifford Bruce

You will not find anybody and I really mean anybody in Peru who cares more about his country and has more knowledge about the Peruvian culture than this company and especially somebody like Javier. You can use other outfits but these guys offer the same thing but more of a personal touch. friendship, and feeling of being on the trail with tne Incas than these guys. Don´t look anywhere else but here.

Laura McNeil

This trip was amazing, taht was mostly due to the guide! Carlos was a responsible in all aspects of the trip with us, with nature, with the porters, and all the organizing. Even more, he wasso much fun to hang out with, always in a good mood, and was so knowledgeable about the mountains, Incas, history and sites. I was so impressed by him, porters, food and trip as a whole, I will highly recommend it to anyone who will listen.

Steve Lively

Carlos (our guide) could not have been better. He was knowledgeable; articulate, fun. His quechuan background added a richness! the quality service of our porters was incredible. I never expected such a high quality of food and service; very clear Peru Andean Experince is a great organization.