Cusco · Peru
Before you go
What is worth knowing before you book: how we handle the altitude, what happens if something goes wrong on the route, and the rules the team travelling with you works under.
- How do you handle the altitude in Cusco?
- Cusco sits at 3,400 m (11,150 ft). For the first 48 hours it is normal to feel short of breath, and to get headaches and broken sleep. We build the itinerary from lower to higher: city tour on day one, Sacred Valley on day two — it sits 600 to 900 m below Cusco — and the high mountains only from day three. On high-altitude routes we carry bottled oxygen and a first aid kit on every departure.
- What happens if someone feels unwell on the route?
- Every group leaves with a licensed guide trained in first aid, a first aid kit and oxygen. The guide stays in contact with our Cusco office. If someone cannot continue, we arrange an accompanied descent to the nearest accessible point; where a group has a second guide, the rest of the party continues.
- Do I need travel insurance?
- Yes, and it should cover mountain activity above 4,000 m, because many standard policies exclude it. We do not sell it; you arrange it at home before travelling. We ask for the policy number along with your passport details.
- Which document do I need to bring?
- Your original passport, and it must be the same one used to buy the ticket: the Machu Picchu ticket is issued in your name and checked against the document at the gate. If you renew your passport between booking and travelling, tell us early so we can process the change.
- What does the day itself look like? Where and when are we picked up?
- We pick you up at your hotel inside Cusco, at the time shown on the tour page. The night before we confirm the exact time and the name of your guide by WhatsApp. The guide arrives with a sign showing your name or the agency name; if your hotel is on a pedestrian street that the vehicle cannot reach, we tell you the nearest meeting point when we confirm — never on the day.
- What if the guide is not there at the agreed time?
- Message us on WhatsApp at the same number you booked through; a person answers it, not an auto-reply, including outside office hours. Ten or fifteen minutes of delay is common in Cusco because of traffic in the historic centre. If the fault is ours, we sort it out that same day or refund you.
- Does the tour end at my hotel or in the main square?
- We drop you back at your hotel, not at the Plaza de Armas. That holds when the tour gets in after dark, which is when it matters most, and for hotels in San Blas and the pedestrian streets, where your guide walks you from wherever the vehicle can stop.
- Are there stops at silver or textile shops?
- We make no commercial stops that are not in the published itinerary. If a visit to a workshop is part of the route, it is written on the tour page, and there is no obligation to buy anything.
- How many people are in each group?
- A maximum of 12 per departure, and the number is stated on every tour page. It is the difference between a van and a coach: beyond that the guide can no longer look after everyone and the pace is set by the group rather than the person.
- How much cash should I bring?
- For tips to the crew, entrance tickets that are not included — the Cusco Tourist Ticket and the Machu Picchu entrance are paid separately on several tours — and personal spending. Each tour page lists exactly what is and is not included. There are ATMs in Cusco and Ollantaytambo; there are none once you are out on the route.