2024 Peru Dispatch Part I – Beyond Machu Picchu

Getting it out of The Way on Day 2

I’m back in Peru leading another amazing group of partners on an educational. As we do every year, we focus on showcasing Peru beyond Machu Picchu, away from the tourist track. Peru has so much to offer, yet 95% of the visitors to this amazing country don’t see very far beyond the famous sights. Well, as the saying goes, if you’re not immersing, you’re not #bigfivin (ok I made that up, humor me).

As much as we love seeing Machu Picchu, we get it out of the way on day two, simply because there is a whole other side to Peru that pre-dates the Incas. Additionally, there is a level of nature around that history that is often overlooked. In Peru’s case, the Cusco region’s economy is over 90% derived from tourism, while the remote parts of Peru hardly exceed 5%. Our goal is to help even that playing field by incorporating the Community Conscious Travel Guidelines the WTTC adopted as Big Five is a proud regional member of the World Travel Tourism Council.

Part One of our dispatch focuses on the Cusco and Sacred Valley some don’t see, including a hike to see condors at 12,000 feet; glamping in fully energy-independent eco domes; testing our adrenalin scaling a via ferrata; and an authentic food tour in markets-only frequented by the locals.

Enjoy this dispatch video and wait until you see what part two has in store… I’ll give you a hint, we are less than 700 miles away from the Galapagos archipelago.