Our Trek Service & Info

Our Commitment To Responsible Tourism And You

Our commitment to clients is to provide a caring, friendly, professional and above all SAFE trekking and climbing service at a fair price. We specialise in providing exceptional superior personalised service to all our clients with attention to detail and emphasis on quality in all aspects – professional advice, guides and crew, food, equipment, safety, information and logistics.

David / Santa Cruz Trek: I found Peruvian Andes Adventures while searching the web for a company that offered guided treks in Peru. They offered a variety of treks and I was seeking quality and expertise. Hisao Morales and everyone who works for this company offers just that. They are experts in their field…. one can’t imagine a better run company than Peruvian Andes Adventures. I look forward to another trip with them next summer.

Our aim is for you to have an unforgettable trip while enjoying our mountains, people and culture, and making new friends along the way and most of all TO HAVE FUN !!

We will take special care to advise and suggest tours, hikes, treks or climbs that will provide you the best possible holiday, after discussing with you what you would like to do, the time you have available, your level of fitness and previous trekking or mountaineering experience.

Harry ( Canada) Cordillera Huayhuash Trek: I have done a fair amount of trekking with different groups, and Peruvian Andes Adventures are by far the best company that I have ever hiked with. Absolutely outstanding in every way.

 

Peruvian Andes Adventures Means:

*Superior Service
*A registered and fully licensed agency
*Personal attention & individualised service
*Small groups
*A high guide & staff to client ratio
*Licensed guides, cooks & porters
*UIAGM International mountain guides

We have many clients who have enjoyed their first trek or climb with us so much that they return for a second or even third trip:

Wes & Stan / USA / Climbed Tocllaraju, Aretesonraju & Huascaran: Guide and staff were well trained & very professional. This is our second positive experience with Peruvian Andes Adventures. The second experience was even better than the first. We would have no hesitation using Peruvian Andes Adventures again

Sharon / Canada/ Cordillera Huayhuash Trek: “I am a repeat customer with great reason. My first trip with Peruvian Andes I found the service to be not only professional but pleasant. Peruvian Andes has found workers who love what they do and this transfers into the way they deliver their service. I had high expectations for the second trip and those expectations were met. Thanks for terrific memories”

 

COMMITMENT TO QUALITY

Following our commitment to provide quality customer focused service, on 4 March 2010 we were successful in complying with all the rigorous requirements of the exhaustive external audit and were successful and proud to be one of only two companies in the entire Ancash region of Peru to be granted ISO 9001:2008 certification.

Our Service Includes

* Personalised expert advice
* Qualified and licensed trekking and climbing guides
* UIAGM international certified climbing guides
* Day tour guides
* All meals and snacks on treks and climbs
* Good quality tents, cooking tent, dining tent, toilet tent
* Thermorest Sleeping Mattress
* Donkeys and donkey drivers
* Rescue Horse
* Private trek transport in a well maintained vehicle with careful drivers
* English speaking trekking and climbing guides available
* Vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, vegan and other special diet requests catered for
* Emergency Equipment
* First Aid kit
* Day tours and acclimatisation hikes
* Family Guesthouse
* Personalised attention in Huaraz, briefings, medical attention (if needed)
* Information pack
*Responsible Tourism and Environmental Care Policy
* Hire Equipment
* Booking of flight tickets, bus tickets, hotels and guesthouses
* Lima transfers and city tours
* Extensions – Cuzco , Machu Picchu treks & tours , Amazon Rain Forest, Lake Titicaca

STAFF TRAINING

Each year prior to the season commencing, we hold training courses for our guides, porters, cooks and donkey drivers to ensure continued quality and safe service.

Dave & Pam ( USA) Climbed Urus & Ishinca: You have provided us a fantastic experience from start to finish! Guiding service was truly great with the first rule being that of safety which is what it should be.

Gillian (Australia) Alpamayo Circuit Trek: The entire crew was a delight to be with & showed professionalism in everything they did.

TREK FOOD

We specialize in providing varied and delicious nutritious trek meals and snacks, using fresh local produce and preparing many local specialty dishes. Each year we invest time and money in training with our excellent cooks to prepare nutritional food combining proteins, carbohydrate and vegetables. We have also had an international chef train our staff to cater for vegetarian & vegan meals, gluten & lactose free and other special diet requests.

Meals provided on trek:

Trek menus vary depending on the personal preferences and favourite recipes of the cook, but a typical trek menu will include:

*Breakfast – porridge, quinoa or cereal, with eggs or pancakes or toast & marmalades
*Snack box – nuts & dried fruits, biscuit, chocolate or sweets, piece of fruit, small fruit juice
*Cooked Lunch – includes some protein, carbohydrate & vegetable e.g. tuna & tomato salad with salad prepared from cooked carrot, cauliflower, broccoli & rice, herbal tea
*Afternoon tea – popcorn , crackers, cheese, spreads, nuts, extra treats like wontons & guacamole
*Dinner – fresh made soup (not packet), main dish with chicken, fish, meat or vegetarian dish, pasta, rice or potato, vegetables and then dessert
*Always available in camp – hot boiled water, tea, coffee, herbal teas, hot chocolate

Mountaineering meals – are the same as for trekking while in base camps. On the mountain light meals are prepared using packet & dried foods, with high energy nuts, dried fruits & chocolate for snacks.

Barbara & Sam (USA) Cordillera Huayhuash Trek
Your company was wonderful to work with, from initial emails right down to the last day. We are vegan and the meals involved quite a bit of extra work, but this was done every meal with care and inventiveness.

 

INVESTMENT IN EQUIPMENT

Each year we re-invest profits back into new camping & cooking equipment, climbing equipment and tents.

We provide during treks & climbing:

*Quality international brand tents (North Face, Salewa, Vaude, Terranova, Camp and Doite mountaineering brand),
*Cooking tent
*Spacious dining tent
*Toilet tent
*All cooking equipment, kitchen equipment, eating utensils
*Tables & chairs
*Oxygen Bottle for Huayhuash & Alpamayo Circuit Treks
*Thermorest sleeping mattress
*And some nice extra touches!

Colin & Katy / USA/ Santa Cruz trek: Overall our experience with Peruvian Andes Adventures was exceptional. We couldn’t think of a single occasion where our expectations were not met. In fact our expectations were constantly being exceeded by the PAA staff & equipment. From a PERFECTLY SIZED TENT (which also had great insulation) to sleep in to delicious food :-

AGENCY LICENSING & CONTROLS in HUARAZ

There are no implemented controls over who can operate selling trekking, hiking & mountain guiding services in Huaraz. While the Huascaran National Park Authority has regulations that only permit licensed operators to work within the National Park (Cordillera Blanca) these regulations are rarely implemented. Unlicensed operators by-pass park regulations by paying bribes to park officials. There are no controls at all over who may operate trekking services in the Cordillera Huayhuash. As a result there are literally hundreds of individuals and companies offering guiding services out of Huaraz, many of which are not licensed businesses & who do not employ licensed or qualified staff.

Many operators in Huaraz offer budget level treks & climbing expeditions BUT do not use appropriately qualified staff. Many use unlicensed staff or porters as climbing guides or trek guides.

 

When Selecting Your Operator In Huaraz, It Is Important To Check:

*One – That the agency is a legal entity and licensed Tourism Operator (Ancash Region)

 

*Two: The agency is registered with the Peruvian Taxation Authority (SUNAT) as a Tourism Agency and Guide Service

 

*Three – Guides provided by the operator are licensed either as:

Mountaineering Guides:

UIAGM international certified guide

Assistant mountain guides are Aspirant Guide

 

 

Trekking Guides:

Guia de Caminata or Guia de Turismo (Trek or Tour Guide)

Peruvian Andes Adventures only uses licensed guides & staff:
*Chief mountaineering guide in charge of the group is UIAGM guide
*Assistant guides are licensed aspirant guides, members of Peruvian Mountain Guides Association
*On technical peaks and 6000m peaks, the ratio is maximum 2 clients per guide
*Trek guides have appropriate licenses

 

Taken from an article in Global Post (USA) written August 2012.

We feel that this article published in August in the USA is very appropriate and highlights the issues with lack of controls and unauthorised & unprofessional agencies and guides operating out of Huaraz

“LIMA, Peru ………..The same may not be said for many of the less experienced climbers, including novices, thousands of whom visit the Cordillera Blanca, often unwittingly taking even greater risks than more serious climbers.

Many are backpackers on a round-the-world journey, who seize the convenience of the numerous Peruvian high-altitude peaks within easy reach, as little as two hours from the local town, Huaraz.

…… they need guides to attempt even the least difficult summits — and they are at the mercy of unregulated local mountaineering agencies that typically compete on price rather than safety.

No comprehensive accident statistics are available. Accident reports are rarely written up in Peru. ut many of the more reputable guides working in the area warn that cowboy operators routinely risk unnecessary injuries, including fatalities.

“I have seen plenty of what I would call grossly inept guides, people I wouldn’t let walk my dog nevermind take me up a mountain,” added Alexander. “I am always surprised by how few accidents there are.”

On one of my own trips to Huaraz (says the author), my agency…. sent two climbing novices with me up a 19,000-foot mountain without helmets — a must not just to protect from falls but also the much more common danger of falling rocks, ice and gear from climbers higher up.

Mercifully perhaps, neither came close to the summit. Both were bitter that the agency had not suggested a more realistic objective for them.

Ecuadorian mountain guide Ignacio Espinsoa, who spends the May-September high season working in the Cordillera Blanca, believes media portrayals of the range’s supposed dangers are wide of the mark.

“All mountains are dangerous. What is notable about the Cordillera Blanca is not its altitude or technical routes, although they both exist, but how accessible it is, and how many people attempt to climb here,” he told GlobalPost. “To get on a 20,000-foot peak in most other places, you have to trek for days.”

Espinosa, who witnessed various guides without basic skills the previous week on 22,205-foot Huascaran, Peru’s highest peak, added that clients should ensure that their guides have a current credential from the International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations, the profession’s gold standard.

Even then, Espinosa stressed, a client should feel comfortable with the guide and trust in his or her experience, judgment and ability to handle a crisis.

There are many unlicensed tourism operators in Huaraz and many provide low levels of client service

Typical complaints posted on travel blogs about some budget agencies include:

*…….Leaking, damaged, and dirty tents that were obviously not checked before the trek

* Lack of a toilet tent …. This meant going to the bathroom in the bushes since the park facilities were damaged

*Guide:….. He was on the chubbier side and could not keep up with the group especially on uphill portions trailing as much as 20mins behind……. On the campsite, he was sloppy….. and seemed very disorganized …….

*The donkey driver was clearly inexperienced and lacked proper hygiene……. In terms of hygiene, his clothes were dirty and his pants were constantly dragging on the ground across faeces…. he prepares most of the food and sets the table in the kitchen tent. One of the members of the group fell sick the second day and had to turn back …..

*….. We were promised a private transport back to Huaraz from Vaqueria that did not come to pick us up. XXXX later explained that it was simply not worth their money to send a private transport to pick up two hikers and a guide.. After waiting 3 hours in Vaqueria, we catched a series of public transport back to Huaraz. We finished the hike at 11:40am and only arrived back in Huaraz at 8pm.

You cannot expect to receive this type of client care from Peruvian Andes Adventures.
We would be extremely disappointed to receive this type of complaint from our clients and any issues would be dealt with by our management in Huaraz quickly and with consideration to clients comments.

These are the type of comments that our team works hard to receive:

Bob / Canada / Cordillera Huayhuash Trek: Peruvian Andes is a top trekking company to rival all others. Great staff who are all courteous, knowledgable, and attentive. The food was the best I have eaten on trek and I was very appreciative for the attention given to my dietary needs. BOB

Asher / Group of 10 from Israel / Cordillera Huayhuash Trek with Cuzco & Machu Picchu Tours

Dear Anne, It is time to send u a GREAT THANK YOU!!! For a wonderful tour and trek we had with Peruvian Andes Adventures. It is all about people and service and u (as a company) proved to be one of the best companies, if not the best, we have ever trekked with. And as u know we have trekked all over the world in all 5 continents.

Your service start with the offer………. I was convinced to go ahead with your company from the start of communication because of the fast, reliable, supportive, knowledgeable and added value information u brought to the table. The information regarding the tour is extensive, going into details of who is going to wait, where, tickets, vouchers, needed telephones and any other detailed information that made our life easier, confident, with no hesitation who/when/what should be done.

And then was the service in Peru. Great, excellent, supportive – all those words cannot express the service you are providing!!!! It is more than that!!!!

The people who were supporting us in Lima and Cusco tour were very high level, solved any issue very fast and with a smile. All ground services (hotels and train) was more than great!!!!

The service and people in the trek were the best I’ve trekked with. Very professional service. tents and all other equipment in the trek was high level. Nestor was so good.. not only as a trek guide but as a person who care about the people. Looking after us like we are his kids…. and giving us the confident we have somebody to lean on.

The cook and the team – what can be said more than we asked to reduce the food. Because the food was so good and so many dishes per day, we started to gain weight instead of losing.. The camp build and carry was excellent.

Anne, we are your best ambassadors in Israel. Anyone who will ask regarding tour in Peru will get only one Company name – Peruvian Andes Adventures.

Asher

 

PRICING

Trip pricing varies depending on the length of the trek, number of clients and if climbing – the difficulty of the peak. Many of our trips are “tailor made” with special requests for a trek route or climb or combination of trek & climb.

Prices are not published on our website – contact us with some information about what you would like to do, the number of people and length of trip and we will send you some ideas for different options and prices.

There are many agencies on Huaraz that are not registered, operate with unqualified staff & offer budget level service and pricing. Many are operating illegally and pay NO taxes. These operators can risk – if caught- being shut down at any time by taxation authorities and having their assets seized.

To protect our clients (for insurance purposes) we are fully registered, operate legally and pay necessary taxes

We cannot compete on price with the budget operators.

Our staff are paid at above standard rates and are paid promptly. Many staff report to us that other operators delay making wage payment for several weeks or months and not infrequently do not pay cooks or donkey drivers at all. We are one of very few companies in Huaraz to have an insurance contingency fund for staff in the event of a staff member suffering an accident & injury while working in the mountains.

Our prices reflect our commitment to provide only top quality superior service at a fair price, enabling us to reinvest in staff training, safe practises and quality equipment – plus also to treat our staff with respect and pay them a fair living wage for the work they do.

Jon / USA / Alpamayo Base Camp Trek (Second trek with Peruvian Andes)

As usual, Peruvian Andes seems to be way ahead of other tour groups not only in the service but in the information provided to your clients. I particularly appreciated the advice about the bus travel and avoiding the food. Staying healthy is of primary concern and it wise to avoid any questionable food.

 

Trip Information / Plagiarism in Huaraz

From your first contact with us you will be sent comprehensive information about our services, trip descriptions, meals, safety and professional booking documents

This information has been prepared by us and is confidential to Peruvian Andes Adventures. We are aware that several agencies in Huaraz have copied and plagiarised documents that we have invested considerable time and financial resources in developing to provide quality complete information to our clients

If you receive information, documentation and photos from other Huaraz agencies that is identical or very similar to information we provide to you, it is very likely that this will have been copied directly from our Peruvian Andes Adventures documentation without authority and is being utilised by other operators who have invested no effort at all in preparing

 

Contact Us help and advice!!

ANCASH REGION TOURISM QUALITY GROUP

Peruvian Andes Adventures has been honoured to be invited to join membership of a prestigious group of tourism & hotel operators in Huaraz APOTUM. (Asociacion Peruana de Operadores de Turismo en Montaña / Association of Peruvian Mountain Tourism Operators)

This is a tight group of only the most esteemed operators in Huaraz, and with the inclusion of Peruvian Andes Adventures there are only 10 members.

The objectives of the group are:

*To offer only fully qualified and professional service to their trekking & climbing clients & hotel guests
*To practise sound environmental practise when operating with groups on treks & climbs
*To treat staff with respect & pay above average salaries with excellent working conditions
*Provide staff training in all aspects of quality client service and safe mountaineering practises.
*Promote the region of Ancash & Huaraz as tourism destinations
*Lobby the National Park and Local Government to implement controls over illegal and untaxed tourism operators & guides, improve management of the National Park and the local environment, and lobby transport operators to improve the quality and frequency of services offered

 

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