Cuyaqoc Wayi Gear and Guide Initiative

Scroll to the bottom for our most recent 2025 updates by Crooked Trails co-founder, Tammy Leland.

Cuyaqoc Wayi, located in Vicos, Peru, is a unique community organization comprising 17 families providing homestays and tourist activities. Their purpose is not just to share their high Andian culture but to create meaningful connections with travelers and provide economic opportunities for the youth and young adult community members. By preserving and sharing unique cultural experiences, Vicosians are contributing to the richness and diversity of the global tourism landscape.

Situated at the base of Huascaran, the second tallest peak in Latin America, and bordering the Huascaran National Park, the village of Vicos attracts numerous visitors seeking outdoor adventures and cultural immersion. Many come here to trek, camp, and experience nature.

In addition to the Peruvian Andes cultural activities, the Cuyaqoc Wayi members would like to help grow their tourism programs by offering trekking and hiking opportunities and the equipment needed to provide hiking and camping trips.

Our project has a dual purpose: to enrich the tourism offerings in our village and to create lasting economic opportunities for our community's youth. By introducing trekking and camping experiences, we aim to attract a broader spectrum of visitors interested in outdoor adventures, thereby boosting tourism revenue.

Moreover, by involving local community members as guides, cooks, and hosts for these trips, we are fostering economic growth and stability within the village, ensuring the long-term success of our initiative.

The beneficiaries of this project are manifold. Firstly, our community members stand to gain economic opportunities through employment in various roles related to the trekking and camping experiences. Secondly, visitors to our village will have the chance to explore the stunning natural landscapes of the Peruvian Andes while engaging with the rich cultural heritage of our community through homestay experiences and interactions with local guides. With the funds allocated towards purchasing equipment for hiking and camping trips, we plan to invest in high-quality gear such as tents, cooking supplies, and safety equipment.

The Cuyaqoc Wayi members will develop hiking and trekking programs with photos, itineraries, and prices to publish on our social media and website and distribute to tour operators in Huaraz, where most tourists come. 

The community organization elders will work with the youth to train them and help prepare them to offer hiking, camping, and trekking programs, as well as teach them how to cook for tourists.  

This investment will ensure the safety and comfort of our guests and contribute to the sustainability and longevity of our tourism initiatives, ultimately benefiting both our community and the visitors we welcome.

February 2025 Updates

May 2025 Updates

A Return to Vicos: Trekking Toward Connection

Photos and words by Tammy Leland

It had been over five years since I had visited Vicos, Peru—a quaint community nestled at the foothills of Nevado Huascarán in the Andes Mountains. My journey began in the early morning, arriving in Huaraz at 6 AM after a long overnight bus ride. But the weariness quickly faded as I was welcomed back with a warm village breakfast by Pablo, Lucy, and their 12-year-old daughter, Andreas. It felt like coming home.

This visit was especially meaningful. The Community of Vicos Tourism Committee had been the recipient of one of our Crooked Trails grants last year—funds designated to purchase trekking gear and provide training for new mountain tourism experiences. I was here to deliver that gear: tents, sleeping bags, stoves, and pads that would open the door to hosting trekkers in the majestic Andes Mountains, the backdrop to their homes.

That afternoon, we set off together, climbing through breathtaking landscapes to the crystal waters of Lake Rocotuyoc and the iceberg-strewn Lake Conhelada, where we camped under the stars at 14,500 feet.

We spent time together learning the basics—how to set up camp, cook safely, boil drinking water, and care for trekkers adjusting to altitude. But just as important were the shared meals, the playful mountain pups, the alpacas grazing in high meadows, and the deep conversations about life in the Andes and what it means to host travelers with care and pride.

We returned to Vicos the next day to celebrate the Pachamanca (Mother Earth), one of my favorite feasts, reuniting with old friends and families who make up the heartbeat of the community.  The faces all surrounded me: Julian, Julio, Pablo, Magarita, Andreas, Lucy, and Magarita 2.  Missing were the old friends Manuel and Avito, who had recently passed, reminding me how important it is to come back again soon.

It was a peaceful, joyful, and deeply grounding time, free from the noise of technology and the burdens of the wider world. Just mountains, connection, and a shared vision for the future.  As one of my friends put it, “such a special experience to share in the midst of all that’s happening in the world". 

You Too Can Be Part of the Journey

You too can join our friends in Vicos in two powerful ways:

1. Travel with Purpose
Book a trekking adventure into the breathtaking Andean mountains of Peru with one of the region’s only community-based tourism trekking companies. Or, slow down and immerse yourself in daily life with a rustic, simple homestay—sharing meals, stories, and connection with Vicos families who have opened their homes and hearts to travelers.

2. Volunteer Your Skills
Help Vicos continue to grow their tourism programs by volunteering your creative talents. We’re looking for passionate writers of stories, photographers, videographers, and digital marketers to visit the community, document their work, and help build promotional content—websites, social media posts, and more. Your support helps amplify their voice to the world.

Whether you’re walking ancient trails or crafting stories that travel across continents, you’ll be part of something that matters—travel that uplifts and connects.

The Gear and Guide Initiative in Vicos, Peru, had a promising year!

Crooked Trails gave a grant to the Cuyaqoc Wayi Experiential Tourism Association in Vicos, Peru.  The Gear and Guide Initiative helped train local women and men to guide travelers through the Huascaran region of the Peruvian Andes. This initiative will provide economic opportunities for the youth and adult community members of Vicos, empowering them to share their region and local customs with travelers who visit from all over the world. 

Recently, the guides in training and community members hiked to a lake in the Cuyaqoc Wayi to celebrate the purchase of boots and jackets that can be rented to trekking visitors. In spring 2025, a group of visitors will bring tents, sleeping bags, and pads to the guides in training. Together, they will test the equipment and practice guiding as they trek through the region.

Lake Conhelada