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Reforestation of the Andes with Accion Andina Reforestation of the Andes with Accion Andina
Deforestation in the Andes and the Amazon is a huge issue.
Andean Trails is helping to tackle the problem head on.
We’ve paid for the provision of 3,500 native polylepis trees to replant in the high Valleys of the Peruvian Andes. Local organisers and volunteers head, each year, to the local mountain range to plant locally grown polylepis saplings.
This brings great benefits to the community. The project is run locally by ECOAN (Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos), all money stays in the local economy and valleys are reforested.
There are 19 species of Polylepis native to the Peruvian Andes. They are found at altitude between 1800 and 5100 m. The mountains have suffered deforestation for firewood and industry, leaving seriously depleted ecosystems. This woodland is vital for biodiversity, carbon sink and to highland ecosystems for water regulation and soil conservation.
History of ECOAN and Accion Andina
In 2018, ECOAN (Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos) and GFC (Global Forest Generation) came together to found Acción Andina. Together they have facilitated over 20 separate projects in the high Andes. This has involved over 25,000 local people in reforesting over 5,000 hectares with Andean woodlands and protecting over 11,250 hectares of existing forest.
Over 200 local communities in the high Andes of the Cusco area have benefited. Economic prospects have improved as a result of activities such as: reforestation, forest preservation, establishment of micro-businesses, access to healthcare, installation of water collection systems, adoption of clean-burning clay stoves, use of solar panels, and formalisation of land titles.
In 2023, Acción Andina was awarded the prestigious Earthshot Prize. This award, initiated by Prince William and The Royal Foundation, recognises their efforts in addressing the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
In Peru, deforestation of the Andes and the Amazon and the loss of most of the major glaciers pose a risk of a serious shortage of water.
By working to reforest areas, Andean Trails and ECOAN hope to be able to be part of a sustainable tourism movement.
Hopefully, this will show that tourism in Peru can be run in as sustainable a way possible to ensure the amazing places we travel through can be enjoyed for many generations to come.
As important is that the local communities genuinely get to benefit from our travelling through their backyards.
Please contact us if you would like more information about how to get involved.
Testimonials
M. Cook and D. Heyburn, UK. Jan 2025, Paine Circuit Self-Guided.
My friend & I recently did the 8 day O Trek self guided which was organized by Andean Trails. We are so pleased we paid the extra to have all the camps set up & food included rather than carrying all our camping equipment & food. The camps were run by two different companies. One company looked after Seron, Frances & Central where we had tents on stilts. These came with a very comfortable mattress that filled the whole tent, sleeping bags & pillows. The other company looked after Dickson, Los Perros, Gray & Paine Grande where the tents were on the ground with individual mattresses & sleeping bags. I was very impressed with the tents on stilts & found them to be more comfortable & spacious.
The included food was very good & sometimes excellent! We appreciated having a welcome drink which we had before our three course dinner, either a glass of wine or a pisco sour! Very civilized especially as we were in the mountains.
We received plenty of information from Kathy at Andean Trails before the trek began & we received all our vouchers for the transfers into & out of the park & the camps. It was all very well organized.
We also received a welcome pack at the bus station in Puerto Natales which included a sleeping sheet liner, a large travel towel & a water bottle. I had brought my own but I need not have done although it was handy having two water bottles. I filled one with water & one with a fruit tea.
I have wanted to go trekking in Torres del Paine for many years & choose to do it as part of my 60th birthday celebration whilst I'm still fit & able! We are very pleased we choose the O Trek rather than the W Trek as we explored the whole circuit & the first four days from Central to Gray were much quieter & we made friends with some lovely people from all around the world. It was very special. The trek from Gray to Paine Grande was the busiest day on the trail as many people doing the W Trek were doing a day walk there & back. We were also there during peak time. We started the trek on 26th January.
We were very lucky with the weather. We only had one day of rain although it was on the longest day when we trekked over the John Gardner Pass from Los Perros to Gray. We were able to dry our wet clothes by pegging them up in the back porch of our tent & they dried overnight thanks to the wind!
My friend & I enjoyed taking our time every day except on the longest day as we had to be at El Paso ranger hut by 14.00 plus it was raining! We took our time to enjoy the scenery, take photos & we made our packed lunches last most of the day!
We also appreciated having a hot shower every evening except at Los Perros camp which is the most basic camp. Originally we were advised there would be no food provided there but we were offered a simple dinner which consisted of rehydrated food. It was better than nothing!!
It would have been good to have had an extra night at Frances then we could have had a more leisurely trek up to the Mirador Britanico although it would have been backtracking but it was less than 2kms to the Valle del Frances.
The last trek up to Mirador Base Torres was quite emotional. We saw many of the friends we had made on the O Trek plus it was goodbye to an Amazing Memorable Adventure. Thank you Andean Trails for your organization. We have been recommending you to all our friends!
M. Cook and D. Heyburn. Jan 2025, Paine Circuit Self-Guided. UK
» Paine O Circuit Full Trek: Self-Guided
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Deb O. and Lisa B., USA, Self-guided Tailormade Patagonia, Feb 2025. There were so many highlights! The summits and glacier excursions were magnificent. We were blessed with great weather most of the time. Having our own guide in Chalten was great and our guide was fantastic! There were a lot of details to this trip and they all came together nicely. The accommodations were very good. Very clean -no complaints. Guides were wonderful. Food was amazing -everything homemade. I think we benefited the local people. We acknowledged their services with appropriate tips and we patronized many local establishments while there. I can’t think of anything right now that I would do differently! Patagonia has been a “bucket list” trip for me. I will turn 60 and retire this year so it was my treat to myself. It was everything I hoped it would be. I hope it doesn’t change with the ever increasing tourism. It’s such a special place. They are very proud of their heritage and it deserves to be preserved. We found Andean Trails online and the e reviews were good and prices reasonable. It was a leap of faith that paid off. Thank you so much for bringing this experience to me.
» Patagonia Highlights Trekking Trip
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