Travel destinations are personal. I've met people who absolutely loved Ecuador and, with the exception of the Galapagos Islands, we thought our trip there was like flushing money down the toilet. That's why when people raved about Peru and Machu Picchu, I thought...right....and resisted for years. To our absolute surprise, WE LOVED PERU!

I finally bit the bullet in 1996, and starting looking for a trip to Peru that would combine trekking to Machu Picchu along with highlights of the country.

This was B.I. (Before Internet), and the catalogs started piling up in our mailbox - Mountain Travel Sobek, Wilderness Travel, and Adventure Center, among others. Check out all the reputable tour operators. They basically do the same things for different prices.

Adventure Center's Explore trip, "Heights of Machu Picchu" was the least expensive at that time (I work with a very tight budget), but the thought of using an English group for trekking gave me the willies. We've travelled with Brits before, and in the United Kingdom, nobody ever "sues." The general feeling is, if a bowl of boiling water is poured over your head in a restaurant..."oh well, accidents happen." Would they take proper care of us trekking? This was a 2-week trip, but I WAS optomistic, took a chance and booked a May departure (best time to trek is May-September).