Guides

Andrea has been designing tours with Amazonas Explorer since 2015. She moved to Cusco to take advantage of the fantastic hiking and be immersed in nature. Helping clients explore Peru is her dream job, and seeing new travellers fall in love with the country inspires her to create the best itineraries possible. While she’s an avid hiker and adventurer herself, she also loves sharing the culture and cuisine of Peru through her tours.

Q&A

Q: What is the best part of guiding tourists in your country?

A: Very difficult question, but Mountain Biking along the Andes is my favourite part of my country.

Q: What are guests most surprised about when visiting Ecuador?

A: The people, how friendly we are, the biodiversity that Ecuador has. Here you can have breakfast on the coast then have lunch in the mountains and finally have dinner in the Amazon basin.

Q: What is one experience anybody visiting your country should do?

Galapagos is the main highlight, but all of the visitors have to do the mainland multisport because this is an active tour where we mix with local gastronomy and the most important thing we share with local people.

Q: What is your most unforgettable moment when guiding?

A: When your guests don’t tell you anything, but you can see how excited they are in their faces.

Q: What is one local dish or drink that tourists must try on a visit to your country and why?

A: I love our local food, well the first dish fritada with tortillas that is fried pork with potato patties then empanadas.

Q: Where would you want to go on holiday?

A: Utah to ride the Whole Enchilada!

Q: What is the most challenging adventure you’ve ever done?

A: When I finished high school, I took my bike and rode it through Ecuador for 1 year, and I climbed almost all of our snowcap mountains along the way.

Q: What do your guests say is best about the trips you lead?

A: The diversity of our country and how the people are. They say also that the activities that we have are the best option to learn about our country.

Charles has been working with China Adventure Travel since graduating from university. He’s patient, personable, and willing to take on any challenge. Guests love his warm smiles and pleasant personality. He’s also an exceptional violinist!

Christian is incredibly familiar with the intricacies of creating an unforgettable adventure tour and never gets tired of leading new groups on their adventures. He’s particularly fond of the mountains and loves trekking tours.

Delilah is a favourite in Paradesa's TripAdvisor reviews, welcoming guests with warmth and humour. She has been guiding since 2018 and loves every day of her work. Delilah most loves sharing the heritage and culture of Borneo, as well as taking guests to hidden places normally only visited by locals.

Dickson graduated with a Travel and Tourism Management degree from Makerere University four years ago and has spent the time since touring people around Uganda. The knowledgeable, experienced guide is passionate about sharing his love for his country through tours, no matter which region since all offer something unique and spectacular to that particular area.

Dimitri has been a certified mountain guide since 2010. He started out as a cultural and mountain guide and holds several different certifications. Dimitri loves meeting new people and seeing the look on their faces when they reach mountain peaks. Besides mountaineering, Dimitri loves to be on the water and enjoys sailing and paragliding over the local lakes.

Eldy is a cultural guide with Thaki Travel. He has been guiding in Bolivia since 1995, and he loves being able to show off his country and the love he has for it. Eldy is highly knowledgeable about cities, villages, archaeological sites, culture, and everything else that makes Bolivia unique.

Hari has been guiding since 2009 and never gets tired of meeting new people from all around the world. He is an experienced mountaineer and a great teacher to his guests. He enjoys playing games, laughing, and having as much fun as possible with his groups.

Q&A
Q: What is the best part of guiding tourists in Morocco?
A: I love showing guests the High Atlas Mountains as this area is remarkably beautiful and our guests are constantly left in absolute awe.

Q: What is your favourite trip to do and why?
A: My favourite trip to guide is the Mountain Bike Tour of the Atlas Mountains and Berber Villages. I love introducing guests to the unique local culture, traditions, lifestyle, and of course, the mouth-watering food!

Q: What are guests most surprised about in visiting your country?
A: I think guests are most often surprised by the diversity in our culture, the richness of our history and traditions. They always expect the food will be good, but I think their expectations are often far exceeded in this area!

Q: What is one experience anybody visiting your country should do?
A: I would recommend that guests choose to explore Morocco in a variety of ways to see the best our country has to offer. This can include travelling by bike, by camel or on foot. The activities guests can enjoy here are endless, from cultural sightseeing to incredible trekking, and evening surfing!

Q: What is one local dish or drink that tourists must try on a visit to your country and why?
A: I love our local food, well the first dish fritada with tortillas that is fried pork with potato patties then empanadas.

Q: What is one local dish or drink that tourists must try on a visit to your country and why?
A: Hands down, this is Tagine! Guests may have tried Tagine elsewhere around the world,
but one must try Tagine in its birthplace for the true experience! To top this off, a traditional Min Tea is the perfect follow-up.

Q: Where would you want to go on holiday?
A: My ideal holiday destination is the beach. I really like Essaouira and Agadir.

Q: What is the most challenging adventure you’ve ever done?
A: The most challenging adventure I’ve ever done is exploring might Mount Toubkal by bike.

Q: What do your guests say is best about the trips you lead?
A: Our guests often tell us that their experience was excellent and that the trip they’ve completed with us is one they’ll never forget.

Hugo is an IFMGA certified mountain guide and a well-known cultural guide. He has 11 years of experience and, born at the foot of the Illimani mountain, has been fascinated by the mountains since he was a child. He started preparing for the IFMGA curriculum at the age of 23, and passed the exam in 2009. Ever since, he’s been leading groups in his beloved native Bolivia.

JC started as a trainee bike mechanic in 1999, building off his interest in sports to guide biking tours in Cusco and beyond. Amazonas Explorer aided JC in going to university and earning his official cultural guide certification, and he completed training in swift water rescue and first aid. This allowed him to guide a much wider range of trips, and he’s never happier than he is when showing his beloved country to new people.

Originally from the Southern French Alps, Julien has been playing in the mountains since childhood. He loves backcountry skiing and mountaineering, long hikes, trail running, mountaineering, and rock climbing. Julien loves to share his passion for travelling and the mountains, and genuinely enjoys coming up with new ways to explore his favourite places in the Alps with visitors.

Leah has 16 years of experience leading tours, consistently going out of her way to ensure everyone enjoys their time in China. She is a well-loved, popular guide who has a wealth of knowledge about China.

Machiel Breedt has spent the last five years guiding tourists in South Africa. He enjoys introducing participants to his country’s vast, diverse scenery, from the animals of Kruger National Park in the North to St Lucia and the beautiful coastline, to the Drakensberg mountains and the Wine of the Cape.

Marco is a tour manager and tour guide with over fourteen years of experience. He has led tours in Italy, Iceland, Switzerland, and some of the most prominent luxury tour operators in the United States. He is excited every day to share the Piedmont region of Italy with guests, as there is still so much to be discovered in the region.

Margot is a new guide with Galiwonders, and loves sharing her pride in her home region of Galicia with visitors. She enjoys sharing the history, stories, legends, and unknown information with tourists to connect them deeply with the region they’re in.

Maria has worked in the Athens office of S-Cape for nearly 4 years. She’s discovered an even deeper love for her country through the process of helping others explore it.

Olivier was born in Annecy, one of the most beautiful cities in the Alps, nestled between a beautiful alpine lake and the surrounding mountains. He began exploring the mountains as a child with his family, and as a teenager discovered the high mountains and mountaineering. As a certified mountain leader (hiking guide), Olivier has been able to lead groups through the most incredible parts of the Alps and in mountain ranges abroad. He now spends most of his time creating trip itineraries and leading tours.

Q&A

Q: What is the best part of guiding tourists in your country?

A: I like the fact that I don’t have to be between four walls in an office and Ecuador has so much to offer like volcanos, the rainforest, beautiful beaches, the Galapagos Islands, and I am in love with these amazing places within my country and I am very happy to show them to the tourists.

Q: What is your favourite trip to do and why?

A: I love to be a Tour Leader in the Galapagos Islands because is so amazing and unique how the species evolve to live in a harsh environment, the geology in the islands is just spectacular and we can snorkel, scuba dive, biking, hiking or just walk around the little towns and in each activity you get to see something interesting.

Q: What are guests most surprised about when visiting Ecuador?

A: That even though we are at the equator we have 4 natural regions; our elevation goes from sea level to 6263 meters Chimborazo Volcano (20668 feet) which is the highest point around the world measure from the core of the earth, travellers cannot believe how many native nationalities we have, the flora and fauna; more than 16000 species of vascular plants, 1608 species of birds including more than 130 species of hummingbirds all of them inside our small piece of land.

Q: What is one experience anybody visiting your country should do?

Actually one of the best experiences is getting the real deal. Getting to know our families, eating with them or be treated with a nice Ecuadorian meal prepared by the guide and his family.

Q: What is your most unforgettable moment when guiding?

A: Biking and snorkelling with sea lions in Isabela Island in the Galapagos.

Q: What is one local dish or drink that tourists must try on a visit to your country and why?

A: In Quito we have one drink we love during the festivities of the city in December we call it Canelazo made out of Naranjilla (Solanum quitoensi) cinnamon, cloves and sweet pepper cooked together, we serve it hot and pour some moonshine that is sugar cane liquor. We love to drink this during cold nights.

Q: Where would you want to go on holiday?

A: I would love to go biking in a new trail we have discovered around the highlands.

Q: What is the most challenging adventure you’ve ever done?

A: Downhill ride at Frogs trail close to Quito City in a front suspension bicycle.

Q: What do your guests say is best about the trips you lead?

A: The passion I have for my country and even I know all the places we visit, seems I always get surprised by mother nature and they said that I am smiling all the time even when its rainy and we cannot see a meter far from us.

Paul has been guiding professionally for 4 years, but unofficially guiding friends and family for 20 years. He loves making friends out of strangers and seeing the excitement in their faces as they kayak, cycle, walk, and explore. He never gets tired of the abundant mountain and sea views.

Paul is a certified guide with Adventure Journeys. He coordinates and leads most tours, and with 14 years of experience, he is confident in his ability to show the best of Ecuador. Paul loves having the chance to share his homeland with visitors and encouraging them to try things that they can only do in Ecuador. Paul loves Volcano Avenue more than any other place he guides in and never gets tired of sharing it with new people.

Rajiv has been working as a guide since 1996, and fell in love with sharing the ancient cultural and social roots of India with travellers. Rajiv believes that the diversity of India’s different regions in terms of food, language, and culture makes travelling the country an experience like no other. Rajiv runs all kinds of tours, but especially enjoys trekking tours. He’s climbed mountains up to 8,000 feet in -10 degrees with groups and considers those to be his greatest achievements as a guide.

Sabela is the CEO of Galiwonders. Before founding the company in 2016, she worked in Ireland in tourism. She ensures high-quality service, efficiency in planning, and constant client satisfaction.

Stephan is a trusted adventurer and a longtime guide with Ruby Range Adventure.
His love of the North and nature is what brought him into guiding over 25 years ago.
You can meet him on one of their canoe expeditions, on a sightseeing adventure or on a hiking trip- he does it all!

A native of Guangzhou, Stony graduated from the tourism program at Guangzhou University. He has been guiding with China Adventure Travel since 2001, and also travels extensively on his own to the most remote parts of China. He’s hiked the Great Wall many times and is known for his wonderful travel photography.

Stoyan is one of the most experienced guides at Adventure Trails. He has 12 years of guiding under his belt. Stoyan is comfortable in all kinds of adventure activities, but he is especially comfortable when it comes to mountaineering.