I am a firm believer in the power of tour guides. I may be a millennial and one who is fine staying in a hostel, wandering down random streets and alleys, even taking the bus to random little towns, but when it comes to cultural ruins, I love to have a guide. Ruins are not as fascinating to all people like they are to me, but there is one thing that is undeniable about them: their story. What makes them great or unique or interesting can’t always be heard in an audio guide, or read and remembered from a book before your trip.
Machu Picchu is a huge complex. It spans between two mountains, has about a million pathways, and building after building that has no more than perhaps a small sign and Spanish name to tell you about its history. Our guide Kol helped bring magic and life to our visit that I will be forever grateful for. Of course, the sight of the ruins at the first terrace we came across quite literally gave me goosebumps (and made Rachel cry), and I loved learning the smaller and more unique intricacies of the story behind it.
Machu Picchu Selfie (Karen DiGangi)
Kol led us through the complex, first traveling up to get our postcard photo, and helped us meet some llamas (and even had the forethought to hold on to his banana peels which he shared that they loved – and they did). His stories and timeline never felt jumbled or forced and more importantly never lost my attention. I knew nothing about Peruvian history or Inca culture, but here I was taking in every ounce of explanation as to how these stones were used, where you can tell the precision and time were taken on certain buildings, and following Kol's directions to see the different access points through the mountains and valleys that can reach this fascinating place.
The postcard view (Karen DiGangi)
As a former archaeological student of ancient Greek and Roman history, the ruins themselves did not always wow me due to their (in my opinion) recent history. But the nature of the place and history and detail provided by Kol helped make the site one of my favorite travel moments.
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
1 month ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
1 month ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!
Elizabeth
2 months ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 months ago
Easy.
Great work on the follow up and details by Waru.