INTREPID’S new South America Program offers travellers alternative adventure options to avoid overtourism, such as walking through glacial valleys and over Andean peaks on a seven-day trek.
“Intrepid recorded growth of 68% to South America this year from Australian travellers and according to our Adventure Travel Index the number one thing that Australians want on an adventure is to go to places less visited by mainstream tourists,” said Intrepid Travel South America product manager Martin Ruffo.
“We’ll be putting the adventure in adventure travel as we take our very first groups to the Glacier of Tears, the summit of Mt Bonete and the Choquequirao Inca site in 2019.
“While Mt Everest and Machu Picchu are always going to be high on the traditional bucket list, there are alternatives which are less trodden, just as beautiful and sometimes even more special,” Ruffo added.
The program features a trek to Peru’s Choquequirao which takes travellers deep into the wild of the Peruvian Andes, along steep trails and scenic passes with views of dramatic landscapes and snow-capped peaks. The 13-day tour includes eight days of hiking and is priced from $2,470.
Another itinerary is the hike to the base camp of Aconcagua, the Southern Hemisphere’s highest mountain at 5,000m, on a 10-day adventure, priced from $3,412; along with The Valley of Tears, a four-day trek through the Andes to the site of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 plane crash. The eight-day tour is priced from $2,735.
