The story of the women porters on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu that revolutionized the trekking tourism industry in Peru.

Powerful stories of effort, courage, and inspiration. Women who dare to change destinies and forge a legacy for gender equality in Peru.

The renowned Inca Trail is an extremely beautiful journey that crosses the Andes Mountains along dreamlike trails and culminates with the country's most famous architectural gem, Machu Picchu.

There, a group of women from various villages around the mountainous area work as porters or carriers. It's a profession that requires special physical training, as they walk alongside tourists through the heights carrying tents, food, and necessary utensils to provide clients with everything they need for a unique experience.

With the help of the Evolution Treks agency, this achievement is possible and will certainly pave the way for many other women who want to work in the world of tourism and continue to grow and build a career in the field.

Lucía Vela is a single mother with two children whom she leaves in their father's care when she goes to work on the Inca Trail. She won't see her children for the next four days, but she's proud of the education she's giving them.

Her job is to carry packages weighing up to 15 kg along this famous trail and ensure that tourists have everything they need to complete the excursion with total enjoyment.

A Inca Trail The trail to Machu Picchu is approximately 43 kilometers long and begins in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, leading to the enigmatic city of Machu Picchu via cobblestone paths built along fertile valleys, cold and inhospitable spots, cloud forests, and the Machu Picchu National Sanctuary.

Lucia's ancestors, the powerful Incas, built these roads throughout the Empire more than 500 years ago.

The purpose of the Inca Trail was to connect its settlement to the city of Cuzco. In other words, they linked areas rich in natural and human resources to administrative, military, and religious centers that the Incas built to maintain their hegemony over these cities.

Lucia is one of the first porters working on the Inca Trail.

For a long time, this job was exclusively the domain of men, possibly due to the belief that they would better withstand the heights of carrying heavy objects. The truth is that women were not considered competent or capable of doing this work, and simply no one called them, or they never applied to do it.

Lucia and her friend Sara Quehuarucho, another porter, were students training to be tour guides when they accepted this job offer from the Evolution Treks tourism agency.

Without a doubt, and without knowing that their decision would transform the foundations of the trekking tourism industry in Peru and the world, they embarked on an experience that will serve as an example for many people, especially women.

Almost three years have passed since they took that first step, and the effects of their exemplary decision have generated changes that no one could have imagined before. For example, there are now many women employed in this field by many other tour operators, who followed their example. Evolution Treks Peru, An ethical and sustainable tourism company that, in addition to its commitment to women's empowerment, is the only company with a cooperative vocation where some of its employees are porters, guides, and cooks.

Currently, there are almost 200 female porters registered with the authorities of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu to perform these tasks; which justifies the initiative of the founders of Evolution Treks, who assert with conviction that you cannot talk about sustainable tourism without including women.

The overall vision of female empowerment within this company goes beyond simply providing these women with a job opportunity; it involves promoting a project that allows them to climb the professional corporate ladder, giving them the opportunity to study for three years to become official tour guides, leaving behind the hard work of porters and thus enabling their professional and personal development.

Lucia and Sara now work part-time as porters and part-time as assistant guides in preparation for becoming lead or titular guides.

Many media outlets, including the prestigious magazine National GeographicThey highlighted this initiative and the women who comprise it.

There are many more people around the world who dream of visiting Machu Picchu and discovering the Inca Trail. Today you can have the chance to meet these two courageous women.