Thousands of people make the Inca Trail trek
each year. They typically complete the 43km mountainous trail in 4 days. For
many the experience is an trip of a lifetime and the fulfillment of a personal
ambition. The satisfaction of having completed the trek and arriving at the
spectacular Inca ruins of Machu Picchu is hard to beat. However the feeling is
even better if you know that all the porters helping you along the way have been
well looked after and treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve.Now that most trekkers on the Inca Trail
take a trek organized by a local tour operator, the camping equipment (tents,
dining tent, kitchen tent, tables, chairs, stove, gas bottle and food) is
carried on the backs of human porters. Pack animals such as horses, mules and
llamas are now banned from the trail. The prices that tour operators charge for
this 4 day trek can vary considerably as can the rates of porter pay and
conditions provided by each company. However trying to find out if a company
looks after its porters can be quite difficult. Often tour companies are not
completely honest about the wages that they say that they pay their porters and
real facts are difficult to verify. If you ask a porter how much he gets paid
then very rarely you will get a straight answer. If a porter is well paid he is
likely to tell you that he is poorly paid so that you give him a better tip! If
he is badly paid it is likely that the company has instructed him to lie and
tell you that he receives more than he actually does. If he complains about his
pay to tourists on the trek then he is unlikely to work much longer!
How you can help
1. Book your trek with a responsible
trekking company.
At the moment none of the trekking agencies are
perfect and there is still plenty of room for improvement. However if you pay
under US$350 for a 4 day group Inca Trail trek it is very unlikely that
porter welfare is high on the company's concerns. When you book with a company
let them know that the treatment the porters receive is important to you.
Porters need fare wages, decent meals and warm and dry accommodation.
2. Hire a porter.
Hiring a porter will make your trek more
enjoyable, giving you time to enjoy the scenery rather than looking at your
boots! You'll also be giving employment to people who really want and need to
work.
3. Interact with your porters.
Talk to your porters, learn about their
traditions and villages. Share some coca leaves. Even ask them to sing some of
their local songs. Most porters suffer from low self-esteem so make the first
move, don't wait for them to talk to you first.
4. Thank your porter.
Show your porters that you appreciated them.
Thank them verbally and leave a tip.
5. Report instances of porter neglect.
If you are unhappy about how your porters
are treated then complain to the guide. If he/she can't resolve the problem then
make a big fuss back at the office when you return to Cusco. Make sure the
office is full of other potential clients. If you bought your trek in another
country then make a complaint in writing when you return home. If you are a member of South America
Explorers let them know that you were unhappy with the service.
The
Porters Law Porters' Wages
The Peruvian government can be praised for
introducing the Porters Law which states that a porter should receive a minimum wage of 41 Soles per day (about US$14). Sadly not all trekking companies are paying their porters this wage.
Weight Limit
The maximum weight that a porter can carry
on the Inca Trail has been limited to 25kg. This includes a 5kg personal
allowance for items such as blankets and clothes. Each porter is weighed at the
start of the trail and then again at Wayllabamba at the start of the second day.
This regulation was introduced in 2002 and has been strictly enforced. Companies
that are caught overloading their porters receive fines and the risk of losing
their licenses. However, as with most regulations, many companies make great
efforts to get around them. Tourists who have hired a personal porter are often
asked to carry their own bags through the check points and guides and assistants
temporarily take some of the load. If you hire a personal porter to carry your
equipment do not accept this practice and ensure that you porter is fully loaded
when he is weighed at the check points. Some of the worst companies also
restrict the amount of personal items that a porter can take with him, imposing
upon his personal allowance of 5kg.
Meals & Sleeping
Conditions
The biggest difference between a responsible
company and an irresponsible one is how they look after their porters on the
trek. Many porters are given very little to eat on the trail. They have to wait
to see how much the tourists have eaten before the left-overs are divided up
amongst them. Many porters end the trail tired and hungry. In general porters
sleep together in the group dining and kitchen tents. This is fine since there
is warmth in numbers. However, when you are on the Inca Trail remember not end
up talking all night in the dining tent as there may be tired and cold porters
outside waiting to go to bed. You may also notice that very few dining tents
have integral floors to keep out the cold and damp. When it rains the floor can
become like a river running through the tent. Very few porters have sleeping
mats or even warm sleeping bags.
Porter Culture
The Quechua race has a history of being
down-trodden, first by the Incas, then by the Spanish and then by the
landowners. Only in fairly recent reforms have the Quechua people started to own
their own land. Because of their long history of being dominated by others many
have a low self-esteem. It is important on the Inca Trail to try to involve the
porters in your group. Take some coca leaves to share with them and try to learn
a couple of basic words in Quechua (your guide will be pleased to help you).
Many of the porters have amazing stories to tell about traditions and life in
their villages. At the end of the trek don't forget to show them that you
appreciated their work and valued their contribution towards the trek by
thanking them verbally and giving them a tip.
How much to tip?
Tipping the guide and cook should be
dependent on the quality of the service that you received. If their tips are
consistantly poor then they will soon get the message that they need to improve.
However, even if the food was terrible and the guide spoke no English (which we
hope will not be the case), the porters were probably still working away hard
carrying the camping equipment and tents so don't forget to leave a tip. The
amount you pay depends on you but as a guideline we recommend that each porter
in your group takes home an extra 25-30 soles (a combined tip from everyone in
the group). Try to take plenty of small change so that you can give the tips
directly to the porters. This is much better than giving the money to the cook
or the guide to be divided up later amongst the porters as often the money is
unfairly distributed.
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