One of the things we love about building a global cycling community is uncovering our shared values and looking at how we can make a positive difference in the places we visit. This goes deeper than our passion for exploration on two wheels. It’s about being mindful of our impact on the natural environment, local communities and looking at what we can do to make tangible changes.
Responsible Travel in Peru
We’ve worked with our local team in Peru for 22 years. Sustainability has always been a carefully considered part of their tours. For example, keeping group sizes small and promoting routes beyond the tourist hotspots, using locally produced food, reducing plastic waste with large refill water bottles and filters, employing qualified local guides and ensuring local porters are paid and treated fairly – values and practices that align with our own commitment to Responsible Travel.
Since 2007, they’ve been donating 1% For the Planet towards their tree planting project. They have been re-certified for the third time as a B-corp and last year they attained the demanding Preferred by Nature certification. Most organisations would be proud to display such an impressive array of accreditations but not wanting to stand still, Paul said:
“To be totally honest, despite burying ourselves in several trees worth of paperwork, and yes, a lot of it was all good stuff, plus now being allowed to put some pretty fancy stickers on our email footers, we have come away feeling underwhelmed by the changes we made to get these certifications.”
Introducing the Positive Impact Fund in Peru
Looking at what more they could do, they have now set up a Positive Impact Fund. This means that for each passenger on each day of your tour, $15 is donated to several key projects:
- 100% carbon offsetting your “In Peru” trip into a Carbon sink in Manu National park through Regenera Peru.
- Planted on your behalf, a guaranteed minimum of 2 native queuña polyepolis trees per person per day in the high Andes of Peru, thus protecting vital water supplies for local communities, giving employment to hundreds of local farmers and contributing to the reforestation and land regeneration benefits that come with mass tree plantations.
The remaining, $11 per person per day, is shared between 2 projects:
- ECOAN– an initiative that will hopefully enable to number of trees planted to be doubled to 4 trees per person per day.
- Green Heroes Peru – which promotes sustainability and eco-awareness education for up to 3,000 children per year.
The Positive Impact Fund looks set to make a real difference and we’re delighted to support these initiatives through our tours in Peru!
Cycling Adventures in Peru
Peru is an incredible destination to explore from the saddle. The ancient city of Machu Picchu is undoubtedly worth a visit but once you ditch the hiking boots for two wheels and head off the tourist trail in search of adventure, you won’t be disappointed by the vast wilderness trails and dramatic mountainscapes that are beckoning to be explored. Our team in Peru can’t wait to show you!
Explore our cycling holidays in Peru – We offer two incredible holidays – a cycling adventure and a mountain biking holiday:
Sacred Valley of the Incas – Cycling Adventure
If you’ve ever dreamt of visiting Peru and the Land of the Incas and enjoy riding a bike and walking, this trip is for you. You’ll get to visit all the “must see” sites of Cusco and the Sacred Valley, hike into Machu Picchu on the Royal Inca Trail and, on top of all this, enjoy some amazing biking in between.
Andean Journey – Mountain Biking Tour
Our Peruvian mountain biking holiday is a challenging yet incredibly rewarding cross-country journey from the shores of Lake Titicaca to the Sacred Valley of the Inca and the famous Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. This cycling expedition explores remote roads and trails across the altiplano, tackling mountain passes and camping in stunning wilderness locations.
