
My name is Ernestina Valeriano (TINA) and I’m a professional tour guide. I’m originally from Cusco and I’m a native Quechua. I’ve been working for about 13 years as a local guide in my city, as a mountain guide and as a tour leader, taking groups around my country and, occasionally, to other cities in South America.
At the beginning of my career, it was a challenge for me as a woman, because the work of guiding mainly was for men in my city and travel agencies have always preferred to work with men, trying to minimize the work of us as women, making excuses such as women are not prepared to take on these challenges. Nowadays, being a woman, competing with men is still a challenge, in this country where machismo persists. All this experience helped me a lot
in my professional life and to take a step forward to start and make my own travel agency and give the opportunity to empower women who want to succeed.
Empowering the inclusion of women in tourism is very important. A woman is creating this local company to break the silence of the many women who want to succeed like me. We give much emphasis to the work of women, our goal is to give a special focus on a woman who wants to prosper like you, like me, like many of us.
Travelling to Peru is not only visiting Machu Picchu, it is discovering the history of living and feeling touching our culture, visiting local communities and seeing there are still women who are dedicated not just to taking care or looking after the children, but also to making art with beautiful colourful hand-woven fabrics, embroidery, pottery and so on.
Coming to eat the food made by indigenous hands, you will meet inspiring women like me, like you, on each trip. It will be a very different experience from other conventional travel agencies. Why not stay in a family home, or rest in wonderful colonial houses that still smell like history? That is the true heart of Peru.