Sunrise Expeditions
We offer our customers a wide range of programs and have a professional team experienced in the field of tourism ready to guide you on the trip of a lifetime. Our gear is top quality and constantly updated in order to provide a pleasant experience on your trip. Our mission is to provide excellent service to our foreign visitors helping them to interact with local people and introducing them to both the cultural and natural beauties of Peru while having a fun and unforgettable trip.
Porters Issues
 

1. Salaries:
Since July 2006 the Minister of Work obligated all Cusquenian Tour operators to pay the porters S/ 41.00 soles per day. Many tour operators do not agree with this. Some of them pay S/ 20.00 per day. Sunrise Expeditions fulfills with this salary S/ 164.00 for an entire 4 day Inca Trail trek and we are pleased to pay fairly for the work that they do. We do not agree with abuse and exploitation of porters or any workers.

2. Weight:
According to the “Porters Law” porters can only carry 20 kilos of weight and 5 kilos of personal items, in total 25 kilos. At the beginning of the Inca Trail there is a checkpoint (Balance) where all the porters weigh their loads. Some companies give their porters over 30 kilos and receive a notification and a fine. Too many notifications can lead to having their trek license withdrawn. The list of companies that receive notifications is not made available public so it is difficult to identify those companies that regularly overload their porters. Many companies have become experts at using the absolute minimum number of porters in a group. So how do they do this? Basically in a group of over 8 trekkers companies must use 2 guides. These guides are not weighed at the start of the Inca Trail. They carry 25 kilos each across the check point and then drop the loads on the other side to be collected by the porters. Often trekkers who have paid extra to hire a personal porter to carry their bags are asked to carry their bags across the check point to be dropped on the other side. Porters are seriously worried that when their loads are weighed they will be overweight and receive a notification which may lead to them being fired. Although they are allowed to carry 5 kg of their own personal belongings many porters rarely use their full allowance meaning that they take little warm clothing or bedding. The guide and assistant guide do not carry any of the camping equipment or food. Instead they carry just a day pack with first aid equipment and emergency oxygen.

Sunrise expeditions has  calculated the exact  weight  required for our various group sizes and employs the correct number of porters required to carry this load. It is the responsibility of our head porter to check and ensure that the loads are equally distributed among their crew. They carry a spring balance to weigh the porter’s loads at several locations along the trek.

Although the porters start with 20 kg this load obviously decreases along the trail as food is consumed. When tourists hire the services of porters to help carry their personal things we provide an extra porter.

3. Warm accommodation
At the beginning of 2002 Sunrise Expeditions bought sleeping bags which were hired to our clients. After the bags had been rented over 10 times to our clients we donated them to our porters. It is our company policy that every porter is issued with a good sleeping bag.
At night our porters sleep in the communal tent. We attach a waterproof floor to the tent to provide accommodations that are both warm and waterproof. This sound like very basic measure but incredibly 90% of all trekking operators do not provide accommodations with a waterproof floor.

4. Sufficient food
Providing plentiful food to the porters on the Inca trail is not usually very costly .Most porters, by request, prefer simple meals that include vegetable soups and a main course with plenty of carbohydrates such as rice, pasta and potatoes with meat. Although these meals are cheap to buy, the big problem is the weight. Plentiful food means added weight and added weight means extra porters, extra wages, extra permits and sufficient accommodations which obviously costs more money. Being able to reduce the number of porters in your group by 2 o 3 can be the difference between profit and loss. Very few trekkers actually get to see their porters eating their meals. Sunrise Expeditions insures you that we have included nutritious meals for everyone in our group including the porters.

5. Adequate clothing
Rain ponchos- During the wet season (December-April) we provide rain ponchos to all our porters.

Hiking Boots-The porters law requires trekking companies to provide their porters with adequate footwear. Sunrise Expeditions received a donation of hiking boots to give to our porters. They were very glad to receive this present.

Last year Sunrise Expeditions bought raincoats for our porters. They are 40 official porters who work with us.

Waistcoats- In 2002 we designed waistcoats for all our porters and they use them for the Inca Trail and they have our company logo on them.

T-shirt- We designed T-shirts for the trek with our company logo.

Caps - We issue caps with designed our company logo on them.

Backpacks- In 2002 we designed and tested a metal-framed backpack for our porters. As a result of feedback from the porters we have undertaken several design improvements during the last three years and we now have 40 porters using them. All the porters who want to use a backpack now have access to one. Metal framed backpacks with padded waist help distribute the loads to the hips and reduce strain and long-term damage to the back.

6.  Payment on time.-
Having decided to pay porters a fair wage, it is important that they receive their payment on time. Sunrise Expeditions pay our porters on a weekly basis. All porters must provide us with a proper bill for the full amount paid. The receipts are kept in our office and are freely available to trekkers who want to check on the wages that we are paying.

7. Life/ Accident Insurance.-
Since the beginning of January 2006 Sunrise Expeditions has insured all of our porters with life and accident insurance. The insurance coverage is 24 hrs all year around not just while on the Inca Trail itself. A new law came into effect in March 2006 that requires all trekking companies to provide such insurance coverage and we are pleased to see that most trekking companies are now complying with this.
Community Projects
 

Sunrise Expeditions. tour operator is located in Cusco over 3,400 meters above sea level. The owners are Peruvian guide who understand the real problems and needs that are present in our country. Our porters mainly come from the highlands of Cusco. We are very interested in helping the development of our brothers that live in the same country. Unfortunately there are some foreign tour operators that talk the same theme but in reality what they say is not true. They say they pay their porters well and make social projection while their porters only wear few clothes. They are sometimes unprepared for the climate. This isn’t fair, it is an insult. We are Peruvians and local operators from Cusco. We are motivated to provide good treatment to porters and help their families and their communities.At first we visit different communities of our porters like: Lares, Amparaes, Patacancha, Willoc, Calca, Yanahuara, Anta, Huarocondo, Cattca, T'inki, etc.

We realize that they need work. They say “we will do anything”.

Sunrise Expeditions. tour operator is committed to organizing projects within the Andean communities in Cusco-Peru.

We know that tourism activity is very important in our country and especially in Cusco. It contributes to Peru’s economy and provides employment for many people. Unfortunately their communities aren’t sharing in any of the financial gains. Since the initiation of our activities in tourism as a travel agency specializing in trekking. Starting Christmas 2001 we wanted to do something for the children of our porters. We traveled to Cattca-Ausangate and  had a Christmas party giving gifts to the children (300). We had a party with hot chocolate and pannetone and we shared a special day. We were glad to see the happy faces of the children. After this time we promised to do this activity every year in different communities. We can say that we were the first ones doing this kind of activities without any financial interest.

In Christmas 2002 we traveled to Arequipa to one of the orphanages (200 children) in Cerro Colorado and we had the same party for the children giving gifts, pannetone and hot chocolate.

In Christmas 2003 we traveled to Amparaes where most of our porters come from. In this time we traveled in our own van carrying with gifts, pannetone, and hot chocolate and so on.
 
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Sunrise Expeditions is a responsible travel agency. We respect and make donations to local people and the environment. Responsible travel is more adventurous than “mass tourism” as it requires interaction with local people and the oppportunity to stay in small locally owned hotels and taste some of the delicious local cuisine.
Sunrise Expeditions fully supports the principles of responsible travel and sustainable tourism and has been working hard to show that it is possible to provide an excellent quality of service being culturally sensitive. We look after our trekking staff and help to conserve the environment. In our opinion the only way to improve trekking standards and reduce the impact of tourism on the environment is to provide education and quality service. Our company is working towards conservation of the environment and looks after the well-being of the people who work for us and the communities that we visit as part of our treks.

Mission.-
Our goal is to show you a great time when you visit Peru, but this must not be at the expense of our national treasures, our environment and our people. As a professional travel agency we have a duty to act responsibly and to encourage and promote responsible tourism. Sunrise Expeditions has many economic, environmental, and social responsibilities which we have included below in our Responsible Tourism Policy paragraph. Our Goal is to become Peru’s most responsible tour operator. However, visitors must also accept their role in helping us to achieve this goal. Only if tourist and travel companies work together can we ensure that tourism can really benefit local communities, provide income, positive cultural exchange and a financial incentive to protect the natural environment.

Responsible tourism policy.-
Our most important responsibility is to ensure that the financial benefits of tourism are passed down throughout the entire company, including the office staff, guides, trekking staff (porters, cooks, horsemen, etc) and the rural communities in which we work.

Sunrise Expeditions is a local company with offices in Cusco. The owner Mauro Pedraza is from Cusco and all our staff are Peruvian. Most of them come from the highlands of Cusco.

Our porters have been carefully selected from different communities of the highlands of Cusco. We employ about 60 permanent porters. They are from Lares, Amparaes, Yanahuara, Calca, Cattca, Tinki, Huarocondo, Willoc and Patacancha. Most of them  have to travel and walk about 7 hours to arrive to Ollantaytambo to start work.

Sunrise Expeditions pays National taxes (know as IGV) which is currently 19%. In 2006 we paid over US$78,000 in IGV and our net profit was US$15,000. 10% of our profit was distributed to our porters’ benefit.
This is probably the highest tax paid by any tour company in Cusco. We pay such high taxes because we are a local tour operator. If you buy a trek outside of Peru by foreign travel companies these companies do not pay Peruvian taxes. This means that if you buy a trek or tour with a tour company outside of Peru you are not contributing towards the Peruvian economy in the form of sales taxes. Of course, by buying a trek outside of Peru you will still be helping the economy by providing work for local people.  Sunrise Expeditions pays sales taxes on 100% of our Inca Trail services. We have to pay taxes for every client, on average US$45 per person. This is a big contribution towards the economy. Many companies are exempt from paying sales taxes, and some of those that are not exempt spend a lot of time and energy trying to avoid paying their taxes.

All fresh produce and food is bought in local markets and small stores. The following camping equipment is made in Cusco: dinning tents, kitchen tents, porters’ backpacks, duffle bags, porters’ t- shirts, caps, jackets, etc. Our tents and sleeping bags are manufactured by Mountain Gear and Coop Canadian Equipment.

We contribute directly to many community projects in the highlands of Cusco, including the construction of a Church in a nearby mountain community.

Enviromental responsabilty.-
On our Treks all rubbish and waste material are carried out and disposed of in suitable facilities in the main towns and cities. We never bury waste along the route of the trail. The waste is divided into organic (green bags) and inorganic (black bags).

When campsites do not have proper toilets we take a portable toilet and toilet tents. We use special biodegradable toilet bags which are carried out (Inca Trail).
 
We give all of our clients biodegradable soap (made locally) to wash with and we wash the dishes with biodegradable detergent.

Only clean burning fuel (butane gas) is used for cooking. Campfires are not permitted on the Inca Trail.

When our clients come to our office to pay their trek balance we provide them with a written trek briefing. This briefing includes information about The Inca Trail and Machupicchu Sanctuary regulations which aims to protect the environment within the protected areas of the Machupicchu Sanctuary.

We reduce paper waste in our offices by not producing any form of paper brochures. All communications are by email and by the use of computer technology.

We have an ongoing staff training to ensure high standards of environmental care and responsible behavior. At the end of every trek our customers are asked to fill out a trek report which allows us to monitor and highlight any areas of our service that can be improved upon.

Social responsibilty.-
We employ local people and pay them a fair wage helping to put money into the local economy. All trekking staff are paid punctually at the end of each trek. Office staff is paid monthly and receive free health insurance for them and their families. Also there are pensions and bonuses at the start of the school year, Christmas Day and Independence Day. All porters receive free accident and life insurance which covers them throughout the year not only when they are working on the Inca Trail.

We treat our employees with the respect that they deserve and expect our office staff and guides to do the same with our porters. We have worked hard to provide the best possible working conditions for our porters which includes limiting the load that we give them to carry (20kg). We provide our porters with tents with waterproof floors, backpacks with padded shoulders and waist straps, jackets, caps, t-shirts, warm jackets, sleeping bags and plenty of nourishing food.

Good treatment to the porters.-
Porters are very important to hike the Inca Trail. Without them it would be impossible. They are in charge of carrying the equipment, food, tents, etc. We have to recognize their hard work. Many tourists from different parts of the world come to visit the magnificent city of Machupicchu. Machupicchu is usually the highlight of their trip. For some people it is a fulfillment of a life long dream. It doesn’t matter what your religious beliefs are. The Inca trail really is a special pilgrimage. In the time of the Incas they used to do this pilgrimage to arrive to the Magical city of Machupicchu. Visitors feel an inner satisfaction and a sense of personal achievement after having completed this trek. Some people say that this feeling is enhanced by the spiritual energy that comes from the sacred stones at Machupicchu. However you feel, it is certain that this feeling is more positive when you know that you haven’t contributed to the exploitation of the porters who have helped to achieve your goal.

The majority of the porters on the Inca trail are from the highlands of Cusco. They are simple farmers who supplement their income by working on the Inca Trail during the high season (May to October). Their first language is Quechua, the official language of the Incas. Some of them speak Spanish. In Fact the majority of these people are still pure blooded Quechua, the people who were governed by the Incas almost 500 years ago.Many of their traditions and superstitions have remained unchanged since well before the Spanish arrived. They are humble farmers easy to manipulate by some foreign tour operators and local tour operators who have been quick to exploit this hardworking source of workers.
 
Since 2001 Sunrise Expeditions has initiated its activities as a travel agency. We know that they need basic things for work on the Inca Trail:
- Adequate clothing.
- Sufficient food
- Warm accommodation and sleeping bags for every porter
- Life/Accident Insurance
-  Payment on time

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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