About Inca Trek

Meet the people behind your trek.

Inca Trek by Destination Peru is a U.S. and Peruvian-owned, licensed Inca Trail operator with teams in Cusco and Salt Lake City. We run private treks with our own guides, cooks and porters, and help you prepare before you arrive.

From Jared Snow, founder

Why I wanted to run this trek ourselves.

Paola and I first traveled to Peru together for our wedding anniversary. She’s Peruvian, and getting to know her country became a much bigger part of my life than I expected. I went on to build Destination Peru and help other people experience the places I had come to love.

The Inca Trail became a particular favorite. You have the physical challenge, the sites along the route and several days outside with the people you’re hiking with. It is very different from arriving at Machu Picchu for a short visit.

After hiking it myself, I wanted more control over the experience we offered: the guiding, the equipment, the camps and how the trip ended. We earned our own operating license and built Inca Trek around a private five-day journey, with a hotel night before the final Machu Picchu visit.

We’re here to help you prepare for the hike and enjoy it. It isn’t easy, and it isn’t for everyone. But for the right person, it can be an extraordinary trip.

— Jared

years running trips through Peru with Destination Peru

1,000+

travelers hosted by Destination Peru

Our own

license to operate the Inca Trail

The team

The people who run your trek.

Our guides, cooks and porters know the route and know each other. Many have worked with us for years, and that experience shows in the way the trek comes together. The team below plans and supports your trip from Salt Lake City and Peru.

Founder

Jared Snow

Salt Lake City, Utah · Destination Peru, 15 years

Sharing the Inca Trail is my favorite thing in the world.

General Manager

Carlos Rivera

Lima, Peru

I’ve never lived an experience as special, or as spiritual, as the Inca Trail.

Chief Marketing Officer

Fabiana Rivera

Lima, Peru

Chief Financial Officer

Lexus Hernandez

Salt Lake City, Utah

Lexus brings financial leadership and a passion for travel to the team, supporting meaningful adventures that connect travelers with Peru’s culture, history, and natural beauty.

Chief Operating Officer

Gary Taylor

Salt Lake City, Utah

How we take care of the crew

Good care includes our crew.

A well-run trek depends on the people who guide it, cook the meals and carry the camp. Their equipment, food, rest and pay are part of our responsibility as an operator. Ask us about any of it.

Loads within the rulesWe check porter loads against the applicable Peruvian regulations, and every load is weighed at the trail checkpoint.
Gear we provideBoots, packs, rain gear, warm layers and their own tents. Good equipment matters as much for the crew as it does for you.
Fed from the same kitchenMeals from the cook who feeds you, drinking water throughout the trek and a dry place of their own to sleep.
Pay and tips handled transparentlyWages are paid in full at the end of every trek, with the payment terms explained to the team. Optional guest tips go to the crew and are shared among them.
The same people, season after seasonMany of our team have hiked with us for years. That continuity is why they know the trail, and each other, so well.

The trail

Taking care of the trail.

Cleanups, every yearWe join the SERNANP sanctuary cleanup and organize our own cleanup work.
No single-use plastic on the trailRefillable bottles and reusable dining equipment. What we carry in, we carry out.
Camp waste carried outWe manage the waste from our treks in line with the sanctuary rules and our own standards.
Private groupsTwo to eight hikers and one dedicated team, so we know exactly who is on the trail with us and how our camp is run.

Destination Peru

Planning support in the U.S. An operating team in Cusco.

You’ll work with our team on the itinerary and booking arrangements, with our Cusco operation preparing and running your trek. We explain who you’re booking with, how to pay and who to contact before and during the trip. Inca Trek LLC handles the U.S. booking, and Destination Peru E.I.R.L. is the licensed Peruvian operator delivering the trek.

For more time in Peru before or after the trail, Destination Peru can help plan the rest of your trip.

Cusco, Peru

Operations, guides, cooks and porters. Where your permit is arranged and your trek is run.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Reservations and planning. (801) 797-2777, Monday to Friday, U.S. Mountain Time.

Licensed to operate the Inca Trail

Authorized by the Peruvian government to run the classic trail with our own team.

Come hike with us.

Tell us your dates and who’s coming. We reply within one business day.