5 things to know about hiking Machu Poochu

March 29, 2018

Earlier today, we revealed that we'll be entering the small pack tour industry with Machu Poochu, our first tour just for dogs. And since we're breaking new ground here, we figured we ought to offer a few helpful tips to those four-legged friends of ours who might be considering (or, rather, on whose behalf we might be considering) taking the trek. Here then are five things to know about the Machu Poochu trip, from an expert source: Migo, an actual dog.

Migo the dog.

Migo the dog.

1. Preparation is key

I know, I know: we've all been on walks. Many walks, in fact. Some of you may have just come in for a walk, and are looking forward to your next walk. But Machu Poochu is no walk — it's a trek. That means there's less time for sniffing, digging, and rolling around in the grass, and more time spent on, well, walking! You might want to consider going for longer walks before you depart for Peru, or just more purposeful walks. That means ignoring that squirrel, cat, or other dog, and keeping all four paws moving forward.

2. Ancient ruins smell amazing

One of the things you'll notice while hiking Machu Poochu is that there are a lot of big, weird looking rocks nearby. Those are actually super-old structures built by ancient humans! Take a whiff of one — you'll be able to smell thousands of trekkers, plus, if you really focus, you'll sniff yourself back in time: each bit of ancient ruin carries notes of the ancient Inca people (and their dogs)! It's truly a feast for the olfactory sense.

3. Humans can be pretty nice to each other

One of the coolest things about hiking Machu Poochu with G Adventures is visiting some Planeterra projects in Peru. The Planeterra foundation aims to help empower locals through travel — you can learn more about it here.

4. Llamas are not just big weird dogs

Just FYI.

5. It's an amazing way to make friends

I came home from Machu Poochu having sniffed, snacked with, napped alongside, and played with a pack of amazing dogs from around the world, all of whom are now my pals for life — though we haven't quite figured out how to get our humans to FaceTime on our behalf yet. We'll get there!


Getting there

If you haven't yet figured it out: April Fool's! We don't actually sell trips for dogs, but we have plenty of amazing small group tours for humans. Check them out here.

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