Sacred Land of the Incas

Traveler Reviews

• PC

  Paul4.0•November 2022
  Overall the tour was great. The main highlight was absolutely the Inca trail, where the arrangements were amazing,...
  Overall the tour was great. The main highlight was absolutely the Inca trail, where the arrangements were amazing, our guides were fantastic and the porters and chefs were out of this world. I wasn’t the fittest of people doing it and the support from the guides (and my fellow travellers) was incredible. In addition to this, the food was ridiculously good (perhaps a little too much to have 3 course lunch and dinner with afternoon tea in between) and the fact that we had a portable toilet was awesome. Other highlights included the walking tour of Lima, the time in Cusco, seeing some incredible animals in the jungle (albeit the guides willingness to poke tarantulas with sticks was a little scary), a couple of amazing nights out with the group and our tour guide, the home stay in lake titicaca and the opportunities to see the work of indigenous people and purchase some of it. Given all of this, you may be wondering why 4 stars instead of 5. The answer is that there were some areas of disorganisation and communication that made it challenging to plan and just introduced unnecessary stress. The largest of which was only being given 30 minutes to pack for the Inca trail. 4 days of an arduous trek for which having the right stuff could make a huge difference and we were unnecessarily rushed. There were also a few times where we were given incomplete information, such as about meals we would need to pay for, and opportunities to buy stuff. While I appreciated the chance to buy handmade goods from local people, we were given no indication of price or how much cash to carry, and there were then additional costs thrown in afterwards that weren’t given up front. When asking clear questions, the answers were often entirely unclear and convoluted, leading to more confusion. There was also little information given about certain logistical things - such as there only being a few hours of electricity per day at the jungle lodge (so that people could bring power packs) or that there would be no hot water or that you would need to wear long sleeves and pants in 35 degree weather with high humidity. Instead you were told 6 times not to forget your torch. Yes, I can see how that mattered, but given most people have a phone that can be used as a torch, was fairly low risk. Most people would not plan on packing long sleeves into their duffel for boiling weather unless told to do so. The scheduling in general was problematic - there was almost no free time for the vast majority of the tour. Even when there was time, additional things were pulled together which frankly weren’t worth the time but you didn’t want to miss anything. Given that the trip did involve a very challenging hike, a little more downtime would’ve been appreciated. The folks who did the Inca trail also weren’t able to do the hot springs at aquas calientes and got less than an hour to explore the town, which was honestly just really disappointing and felt like it was just an unnecessary way to schedule things. Getting back to Cusco 2 hours later would’ve been much better than missing such a cool and interesting experience. The other real annoyance was the journey to la Paz at the end. This was entirely pointless and just created logistical challenges for trying to get home on a sensible return flight. I would’ve been happy to overlook this had there been activities in la Paz, but the only activity was an hour orientation tour to show us some basic locations of things. We then had dinner as a group and that was it. It took us more than 10 hours to get there, crossing the border was a bit hectic and there genuinely seemed to be no point whatsoever. A flight back to Lima (or Cusco) would’ve been infinitely preferable and it is really unclear why this is the way intrepid have chosen to end this tour. One assumes cost, but it’s not like this is a cheap tour. Had I known the full story, I probably wouldn’t have booked this tour. Additionally, the communication from intrepid was appalling. Not sure if they just don’t have anyone monitoring your radar, but it was a battle to get basic information out of them. Some other issues that should be rectified - the materials make a big deal about the Inca trail not being luxury as it is camping. I don’t think anyone expects it to be, but the reality was that the facilities there were sometimes better than the hotels. The general standard of the hotels was pretty poor - from lacking hot water to sub-standard breakfasts to cleanliness issues. The best hotel by far was the one in la Paz. Transport was also fairly hit and miss, and some timings felt entirely arbitrary. The materials sent up front could give much more useful information and the guides need to be much better at communicating basic requirements in advance. Overall the trip was amazing. But I think that this was almost in spite of intrepid rather than because of them. We got great guides on the Inca trail, but they’re freelance so that was probably luck of the drawer. We also had a great group which made a huge difference. The Inca trail is an experience that should not be missed, but this tour might not be the one to do it on.Show more
  Traveled in November 2022
  

  Reply from: Intrepid Travel

  Hi Paul, Thank you so much for leaving such a detailed review of your Intrepid trip - this will really help out others who are looking to do the same trip! Glad to hear that overall, your experience with us was great. I will most definitely pass along your feedback on needing more time to pack for the Inca Trail hike. I completely agree with you when you say that having the right gear can make a huge difference! The feedback that you provided on your experience at the lodge and the hotels will also be incredibly handy - especially for our sales and product teams. The information you provided will be used to better our Essential Trip Information section, as well as perhaps reconsider which hotels we use on this trip. We sincerely appreciate all the feedback, and look forward to seeing you on another Intrepid trip in the future. Cheers, Intrepid Travel

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• KR

  Katherine5.0•January 2020
  We had an absolutely incredible time on our Sacred Land of the Incas tour. Our tour guide Edwind was amazing and he...
  We had an absolutely incredible time on our Sacred Land of the Incas tour. Our tour guide Edwind was amazing and he really made our tour. Such beautiful sights (and some hard work - we did the full Inca tour!). Food was unbelievable, so much better than expected. This was the first tour we have ever been on and will definitely book with Intrepid again!Show more
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  Traveled in December 2019
  

  Reply from: Intrepid Travel

  We're so glad you enjoyed your trip, Katherine - your photos look amazing!

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  Theresa5.0•October 2019
  Sacred Land of the Inca tour is a must do for a great overview of Peru plus it includes Machu Picchu. I was lucky...
  Sacred Land of the Inca tour is a must do for a great overview of Peru plus it includes Machu Picchu. I was lucky enough to secure a Inca trail pass so book early if you to do so. Tour start in Lima, I arrived a few days earlier to explore as you are only there for the night, the Lima hotel was not the greatest however the rest of the tour was pretty good. We stayed at the Explorers Inn Eco Lodge, great cabins to stay in, food was great and the staff fantastic they really looked after us. Cusco is the next stop, awesome hotel very close to every you need, the little burger spot almost opposite is fantastic too. Ollyantambo and the sacred valley is another fabulous spot, and the locals are just wonderful. Inca trail was the amazing a lot more steps than I anticipated but totally worth it. Our guides Uriel and Anthony were very knowledgeable and really made an effort to connect with our group, plus the porter and chef do an amazing job, you will be amazed at what they cook on the trek. A few of us opted to do Rainbow Mountain again I would recommend it, however be vary of the altitude. Lake Titicaca is spectacular and our homestay was very hospitable and made an effort to communicate with us. Puno and La Paz are great cities to explore.Show more
  Traveled in September 2019
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  Shane4.5•September 2019
  We hade amazing guides to help make it memroble
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Gillian4.2•September 2019
  Great leader/guide who ensured an interesting and well organised trip
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Robbie4.5•September 2019
  The tour was fantastic with so many fantastic things to see. It's very well organised also, with a very knowledgeable...
  The tour was fantastic with so many fantastic things to see. It's very well organised also, with a very knowledgeable tour guide.Show more
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Richard5.0•September 2019
  The Tour Leader, Renzo Muñoz, was FANTASTIC.He found exciting things for us to do.He was very friendly and flexible,...
  The Tour Leader, Renzo Muñoz, was FANTASTIC.He found exciting things for us to do.He was very friendly and flexible, responding to the desires and needs of the group.When I became ill, the Inca Trail team pitched in and helped me address the problem by camping overnight, returning to the starting point the next day, and arranging for medical care.The service for everyone was far, far beyond what I expected.Show more
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Molly5.0•September 2019
  Although this was my first time traveling with Intrepid, I have nothing but positive things to say about this...
  Although this was my first time traveling with Intrepid, I have nothing but positive things to say about this experience. I believe that Intrepid really wants to make a more sustainable and community-centric way of traveling the world. Beyond this, our guide, Renzo Munoz, was especially professional and compassionate. He really made the trip for me.Show more
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Irem4.2•September 2019
  I have been in many other Intrepid tours and each time it does not disappoint. Intrepid cares about local...
  I have been in many other Intrepid tours and each time it does not disappoint. Intrepid cares about local communities, environment and the real experience of the travels hence I always recommend it to others.Show more
  Traveled in December 2018
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  Toni4.8•September 2019
  Visits some incredible places
  Traveled in December 2018