Help us plant 10,000 Native Trees in Peru's Andes

Every year since 2007, Amazonas Explorer has donated 1% of its turnover to help plant native Queuña trees in the Lares watershed, high in the Andes above the Sacred Valley of the Incas, near Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Since 2007, we have planted over a million trees and we have no intention of slowing down. In fact- we’re just getting started. If you’d like to contribute to the cause then simply donate to this GoFundMe. Big or small, everything counts:

1 tree, planted on your behalf, costs just $1 / £0.75

By donating to Queuña Raymi, you will not just be offsetting your carbon emissions, you will also be helping to improve the water retention and water quality for a local community. In addition to this, you will be providing valuable employment in Andean villages, benefiting the community in many ways.

Whether you are interested in donating on your own behalf or on behalf of a loved one for Christmas, please get in contact with us (at marketing@amazonas-explorer.com) if you wish to have a certificate recognizing your contribution.

How it works:

We work with ECOAN Peru, an excellent NGO supporting reforestation in the Andes. All the money raised is transferred directly to Cusco, Peru. From here, we coordinate with a local community, saplings will be locally sourced and cared for until they are ready to be planted the following year.

Before the planting begins, a Faena (group of workers) will be assembled. This ancient Andean tradition will bring all the locals in the area together to volunteer for a full day of tree planting.

Up to 250 locals will arrive to help, and as long as they can carry a tree sapling they'll earn a day's pay and enjoy a hot lunch. Each day sees anything between 1000 and 25,000 trees planted- it’s a tough day but it’s extremely rewarding.

ECOAN's annual Queuña Raymi tree planting festival will start in early December and go right through to early March. This effort involves over 8000 locals from 19 different communities all over the Andes as they aim to plant 500,000 trees in one season.

It is an incredible feat of logistics, and a beautiful thing to see. One that Amazonas Explorer is proud to have become part of.

Please donate what you can and we'll keep you updated on how it goes, posting photos of the trees being planted as soon as we can.

Thank you all so much for your help.

Paul & Carol and all of us at Amazonas Explorer, EcoanPeru and the Lares valley