Inkaterra Programs

INKATERRA is a Peruvian company, which since 1975 has carried out ecological research for conservation and in doing so, has created local jobs supported by its hotel operation. As a result of this commitment to conservation, Inkaterra has been named the first carbon neutral tourism company in Peru. Inkaterra can demonstrate its credentials through specific natural resource management programs, including:

• Establishment of permanent conservation areas, of which Inkaterra presently manages 17,000 hectares (40,800 acres) of rain and cloud forest, where carbon sequestration has been monitored in conjunction with the University of Leeds since 1989;
• A rescue centre for Andean or Spectacled Bears (endangered), butterfly breeding, hummingbird (Amazon rainforest and cloud forest wildlife management);
• The complete restoration of five hectares (12 acres) of native forest at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, where Inkaterra has recorded 192 species of birds (18 of them hummingbirds), 111 species of butterflies, 372 native orchid species, ferns, bromeliads, medicinal plants, organic vegetables and a restored tea plantation;
• Field monitoring by resident biologists permanently employed by Inkaterra.

Research results have been published in the following books: Cusco Amazónico: The Lives of Amphibians and Reptiles in an Amazonian Rainforest (published by Cornell University Press, 2005); Flórula de la Reserva Ecológica Inkaterra (published by the Missouri Botanical Garden and Inka Terra Asociación, 2006); and Orquídeas en Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel (published by Inkaterra, 2007).

Investments have been made to develop ecotourism products to fund these programs: the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway (a system of suspension bridges in the treetops); a canopy tree house; a bridge over a palm swamp (Anaconda Walk); organic garden plots for agricultural jobs, tea plantation, aromatic plants for local consumption in the rain and cloud forests; a collection of palms and heliconia for educational observation and a mariposario or butterfly garden.

Revenue generated by tourism are invested in conservation, particularly to assist the protection of endangered flora and fauna species and to keep natural resources the foundation of sustainable ecotourism in Peru. Inkaterra also works hard to preserve authentic cultural and natural values, empowering local communities by giving them permanent jobs. 12’461,000 tons of carbon dioxide have been captured through the sustainable use of forests. This figure is a product of research done by the University of Leeds since 1989 (before the Kyoto Protocol).

Inkaterra cares for monitors 17,000 hectares (40,800 acres) of rainforest in the Amazon basin in southeast Peru and 5 hectares (12 acres) of cloud forest in the urban area of the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary. Inkaterra receives 46,000 visitors a year, has 500 employees and in its 34 years has served more than 900,000 travellers. There are 85 bungalows at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, 35 cabins at the Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica lodge, 11 suites in the boutique hotel Inkaterra La Casona in Cusco and 48 rooms in the Mapi hotel in the village of Machu Picchu.