About Us - Inca Trail

About Us

We Don’t Just Operate the Inca Trail.

We Live It.Inca Trail Explorers is not a travel agency that does a little bit of everything. We are a team of Cusqueños — guides, porters, cooks and mountain lovers — who have dedicated ourselves exclusively to one route: the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.Since 2008, we have walked this sacred path thousands of times. We know every stone, every climb, every sunrise at Intipunku. And we believe that the people who make your adventure possible — especially our porters — deserve dignity, fair wages and respect.That’s the foundation of everything we do.

OUR STORY

From the Mountains to the World. Inca Trail Explorers was born from a simple but powerful conviction: the Inca Trail deserves operators who truly know it. Founded by Cusco guides who grew up in the shadow of the Andean snow peaks, our company arose from the frustration of seeing how many agencies treated the Inca Trail as "just another tour" in their service catalog. Our founders started as porters and guides in the 90s. They knew the Inca Trail from the inside: the exhausting climbs, the freezing nights, the excitement of seeing the sunrise at Intipunku. In 2008, with the experience of hundreds of accumulated treks, they decided to create a different agency — one that would only do the Inca Trail, but would do it better than anyone.

PORTER PROMISE

Because Those Who Make Your Adventure Possible Deserve the Best. "Behind every backpack you don't carry, there is a porter who deserves dignity." While you walk with a light backpack enjoying the scenery, there is someone who carries your luggage, your tent, your food. Someone who leaves before you every morning and arrives after preparing your campsite. At Inca Trail Explorers we believe these people deserve much more than a minimum wage and a worn sleeping bag. That's why we created The Porter Promise: our public and verifiable commitment to 7 concrete standards — fair wages, weight limits, equal food, complete equipment, medical insurance, training and total transparency.

OFFICIAL LICENCES

We Operate 100% Legally and Regulated. Every trek we operate is backed by official authorizations from the Ministry of Culture of Peru and DIRCETUR Cusco — the two entities that control who can legally operate the Inca Trail. We are members of APOTUR and CARTUC, hold the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for multiple consecutive years, and carry full civil liability and accident insurance for all passengers and our entire porter team. Nothing to hide. Everything verifiable.

Ready to Walk with Us?

Over 15,000 travelers have trusted us since 2008. Not because we are the cheapest option — but because when they reach Intipunku and see Machu Picchu for the first time, they understand why it mattered to choose well.