Inca Trail: Llama Path or Peru Treks

Glowing

Hi all,

Does anyone have any feedback about the above companies? I've pretty much narrowed it down to these two, sustainable trekking and fair treatment of the porters are my main concerns, as is the quality of the food!

Thanks!

shrapnel222

do you have to use a company these days? can you not carry your own bag, cook your own food and set up your own tent? When i did it, only americans used porters and the like. they would still end up at campsites 3 hours after us and still complain how hard it was and how heavy their bottle of water felt, which made us laugh considering we had 20 kilos on our backs, had miscaluclated food and were on a tin of tuna a day

Glowing

Yes you do. As far as I know, if you want to do the Classic trek, you need to do it with a registered guide or company. I know you're into the whole 'get away from the crowds' thing - but part of the enjoyment for me is to meet fellow travellers along the way. I also have never trekked at that altitude and would really like some medical support should it come to that. I have done a lot of research and a lot of travel in the past and wouldn't dream of supporting a dodgy guide company - I have also hiked and camped in places like New Zealand and have hiked mountains in China.

Sometimes Shrapnel you come across with this superiority complex just because you did things the 'hard' way. Okay great you survived on a tin of tuna, and I'm sure you had a great time. Good for you.

P.S I never mentioned anything about hiring my own porter. I'll be carrying my own bag. Thanks.

lady_j

shrapnel222 wrote:

do you have to use a company these days? can you not carry your own bag, cook your own food and set up your own tent? When i did it, only americans used porters and the like. they would still end up at campsites 3 hours after us and still complain how hard it was and how heavy their bottle of water felt, which made us laugh considering we had 20 kilos on our backs, had miscaluclated food and were on a tin of tuna a day

'these days' you do need a tour group because you require a permit.

How Strange

OP, I did the trek a couple of years ago and you'll prob get more specific info re ethical companies from thorntree forum on the lonely planet website. You should aim to pay €250 for the classic trek. If you pay under €200 then no matter what the company tells you the porters are not looked after properly. Believe me when you see what those poor guys have to carry every day you'll see what I mean. Also, if you go for a cheaper company the chances are that they will put two or three companies together so the group will be huge. I've heard stories of awful food and leaking tents. The food we had was amazing and all cooked by the porters too!

I paid for a porter and I was glad I did. I'm a small, relatively thin female and other girls of a similar size who carried their own packs were in a heap. Having said that, if I was doing it again I would bring a 40L pack and carry it myself. I just wasn't that organised at the time.

Glowing

Thanks 'How Strange' (how strange )

Yeah I've been scouring the Thorntree site, but haven't read a negative post on either of these companies. I've heard all about the problems with the porters and I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself knowing that I was exploiting these people. I know that one of these companies (can't remember which one) will not bundle you off with another company if the group size is too small, so thats a good thing.

In China I saw these men in suits (yes suits) lugging a bamboo home-made rucksack up a mountain, one had a huge pile of bricks and a tv! Unbelievable.

Thanks again!

shrapnel222

Glowing wrote:

Yes you do. As far as I know, if you want to do the Classic trek, you need to do it with a registered guide or company. I know you're into the whole 'get away from the crowds' thing - but part of the enjoyment for me is to meet fellow travellers along the way. I also have never trekked at that altitude and would really like some medical support should it come to that. I have done a lot of research and a lot of travel in the past and wouldn't dream of supporting a dodgy guide company - I have also hiked and camped in places like New Zealand and have hiked mountains in China.

Sometimes Shrapnel you come across with this superiority complex just because you did things the 'hard' way. Okay great you survived on a tin of tuna, and I'm sure you had a great time. Good for you.

P.S I never mentioned anything about hiring my own porter. I'll be carrying my own bag. Thanks.

i didn't do things the hard way. i did them the normal way and i certainly don't feel superior because i carried my own bag and cooked my own food. as far as the inca trail is concerned i met loads of people there and had a great time, as i'm sure you will too. There is no "getting away from the crowds" on the inca trail, as there will be hundreds of people in front of you and hundreds of people behind you. If anything were to happen to you, i can assure you there will be plenty of people there to help.

i never said you would be hiring your own porter, but by going through a hire company, you are essentially hiring porters to carry your food and tent. they'll even heat water for you so you can soak your tired little feet at the end of a hard days walking.

if my posts are boring you, then i'll quit posting in your threads. simple as.

my last bit of advice. spend a week at least in cuzco before doing the inca trail to get acclimatised and do some day treks around cuzco and all the awesome inca ruins just to get used to the effort and lack of oxygen.Cuzco is at 3500 metres, the inca trail doesn't go above 4200 metres. if you're comfortable walking there, then you'll be fine on the inca trail.

as for the "these days" comment, sorry but i did it about 8 years ago, so it looks like things have changed a bit. 250 euros? what a rip off

lady_j

shrapnel222 wrote:

as for the "these days" comment, sorry but i did it about 8 years ago, so it looks like things have changed a bit. 250 euros? what a rip off

this is a definate change since when you did the trail. The trail is becoming increasingly damaged by the traffic of people on the trail. To curb this damage a permit system was but in place in order to limit the amount of people on the trail. The permits, from what I can see, are mostly given to tour companies. It also means these tours are fully booked months in advance and therefore the companies can charge what they like. Unfortunately €250 is quite cheap for the trail, if you're booking through tour companies in ireland the prices are much higher (around the €400 mark)

Add: just found an article on this, its a bit old but explains what has been happening....http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2002/apr/28/travelnews.observerescapesection

Glowing

Thanks for that. Descry, when did you do the trek, and did you go with a tour group?

shrapnel222

descry wrote:

this is a definate change since when you did the trail. The trail is becoming increasingly damaged by the traffic of people on the trail. To curb this damage a permit system was but in place in order to limit the amount of people on the trail. The permits, from what I can see, are mostly given to tour companies. It also means these tours are fully booked months in advance and therefore the companies can charge what they like. Unfortunately €250 is quite cheap for the trail, if you're booking through tour companies in ireland the prices are much higher (around the €400 mark)

Add: just found an article on this, its a bit old but explains what has been happening....http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2002/apr/28/travelnews.observerescapesection

this is actually quite ironic, because when i did it, the trekkers doing it off thei own backs would be very conscious about not leaving stuff behind, would tidy up after themselves, put things in bins etc... whereas the porters and tour companies would generate huge amounts of rubbish and dump it anywhere and everywhere. so these measures were to protect the inca trail from the tour companies which now run it exclusively.

lady_j

Glowing wrote:

Thanks for that. Descry, when did you do the trek, and did you go with a tour group?

Im not doing it for a few months but I did a bit of research into it because my budget is being severly stretched to do it! I'll let you know how I get on!

I imagine it is correct that the tour companies were causing the mess, but I suppose they have to regulate it somehow. Im assuming that they have to comply to certain standards, but whether this is the reality of the situation is another matter.

I've heard some reports that they may have to shut the trail altogether in the next few years...