Our Story: How AB Expeditions Began
AB Expeditions was born from curiosity, adventure, and a deep love for the mountains of Cusco.
Our story began in 2015, at the same time that Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) was still unknown to most travelers. Back then, Abel—co-founder of AB Expeditions—was working as a mountain guide in the Ausangate area. During one of his trips, he met two backpackers who showed him photos on their camera of a colorful mountain they had recently visited.
When Abel saw the pictures, he was completely amazed. He immediately thought, “This could be one of the most incredible places for travelers to visit in the Cusco region.” The backpackers explained where the mountain was located, but the directions were not very clear. Still, that moment planted a powerful idea.
The First Expedition to Rainbow Mountain
Determined to find this mysterious place, Abel organized his first expedition on October 22nd, traveling through the Upis route together with Francisco, his trusted horseman.
The expedition lasted two days. On the first day, the weather was perfect. However, on the second day, when they finally reached the area, thick clouds covered the mountain. Visibility was very poor, and it was impossible to clearly see Rainbow Mountain. Disappointed but motivated, they returned to Cusco without success.
Francisco then suggested trying a different route: Pitumarca.
Success on the Second Attempt
Soon after, Abel returned for a second expedition, this time via the Pitumarca route—and finally, he found Rainbow Mountain in all its beauty. He shared photos on social media, and interest grew very quickly.
That moment marked the true beginning of AB Expeditions. We created our first website and started offering Rainbow Mountain day trips.
Our First Guests and Early Challenges
With Elsa’s previous experience as a cook and Abel’s long background as a guide, we organized our first tour. We left Cusco at 6:00 a.m., but when the group was only twenty minutes away from Rainbow Mountain, the weather suddenly changed. The sky turned dark, hail began to fall, and lightning forced our guests to turn back.
At that time, the hike to Rainbow Mountain took around seven hours, and there were no restaurants in the area. Our first group did not have lunch until 4:00 p.m. To solve this problem, we rented a local house, where Elsa’s father prepared meals for our Rainbow Mountain guests.
Improving the Experience and Adjusting the Schedule
To improve the experience, we decided to leave Cusco much earlier for the following groups, sometimes at 4:00 a.m. and later even at 2:15 a.m. This change allowed most travelers to reach Rainbow Mountain before the afternoon rains, especially during January, which is part of the rainy season.
Although rain often appeared on the return journey, most guests were finally able to see Rainbow Mountain. Step by step, the day trip became safer, smoother, and better organized.
Expanding to Multi-Day Treks
Once the Rainbow Mountain day trip was well designed and running smoothly, we began organizing multi-day Ausangate treks that included a visit to Rainbow Mountain. Before the mountain became famous, most travelers focused on completing the Ausangate circuit, especially the classic five-day trek, which was considered the main adventure in the area.
Designing these new itineraries was challenging at the beginning. Some guides arrived late for meals, unpredictable weather caused delays along the route, and on one occasion, a guide had to spend the night with a local family due to thick clouds and poor visibility. These early challenges taught us valuable lessons about timing, coordination, and the importance of strong local support.
Fortunately, everything worked out, and each experience helped us improve our logistics, planning, and overall service. Today, all of our Ausangate and Rainbow Mountain itineraries are carefully designed, well organized, and clearly presented on our website, offering travelers a smooth, safe, and unforgettable experience in this remote region of the Andes.
Becoming an Inca Trail Tour Operator
After establishing our Rainbow Mountain tours and Ausangate treks, we took the next important step in our journey: becoming an official Inca Trail tour operator. Thanks to our years of experience in the Ausangate region, we already had a strong and reliable team in place, including well-trained guides, professional cooks, experienced horsemen, and high-quality camping equipment.
With this solid foundation, we were fully prepared to meet the strict standards required to operate the Inca Trail. After completing all the necessary procedures and inspections, we successfully met every official requirement and earned our license as a fully authorized Inca Trail tour operator. This milestone allowed us to offer one of Peru’s most iconic treks while maintaining the same high standards of safety, professionalism, and personalized service that define AB Expeditions.
Building Trust with Our Porters
One of the biggest challenges in the early days on the Inca Trail was earning the trust of the porters. As a new company, many porters were understandably unsure whether they would be treated fairly or paid on time. Trust had to be built step by step.
By always paying on time, offering fair wages, and treating every porter with respect, we slowly built strong and honest relationships. Over time, our commitment became clear. Today, many porters are proud to work with AB Expeditions and feel confident knowing they are valued, respected, and supported as an essential part of our team.
Where We Are Today
Today, AB Expeditions organizes a wide range of tours throughout the Cusco region, including Rainbow Mountain, Ausangate treks, the Inca Trail, Salkantay, Lares, and Machu Picchu tours. In the near future, we plan to expand our operations to destinations across Peru.
Our Ongoing Journey
This is the story of AB Expeditions, built with passion, perseverance, and respect for the mountains and local communities. We invite you to join us and become part of our journey.
Our Co-Founder
Abel was born in the town of Ch´usso, which is located within the countryside of Cusco. He grew up speaking the Quechua language, where he went to school and high school in his local village. After finishing high school, he then began working as a porter for one year – where he was often mistreated given there was not enough food for porters, and often had to carry over 40 kg of supplies.
After saving up enough money, Abel then applied to a local institute called Tupac Amaru where he studied for 3 years to become a licensed tour guide. He then worked in Cusco as a tour guide for different travel companies for around 7 years. There he witnessed first-hand how various travel agencies were abusing their employees, such as the cooks, porters and guides. They were reckless with the health and safety of their workers, and showed total disregard towards their own wellbeing. This included paying them low wages (which were rarely on-time) and not being treated fairly. Abel himself was cheated a couple of times for his services as a tour guide, where he never received payments.
That was when he decided to leave and start AB Expeditions – a licensed tour company which not only leads incredible tours, but also provides a better service for all local workers whilst improving industry standards.
Elsa was born in the village of Pampacancha, which is located close to Ausangate Mountain (the 5th highest mountain in all Peru). She studied both at school and high school in her village, and then worked as a porter on the Inca Trail like her father had done before her. She found it difficult given the excessive weight that had to be carried, so instead became a cook on the Inca Trail and many other alternative treks that ended in Machu Picchu such as: Salkantay trek, Lares Trek, Ausangate trek. .
Elsa began as an assistant cook helping to carry the equipment, and then worked as a head cook for around 3 years. During this time she also saw how the porters and cooks were often mistreated, paid little and had to carry very heavy loads. Similar to Abel, Elsa wanted to do something to change this and help improve working standards for porters and workers all over the region. She then decided to become a tour guide, where she applied to the Antonio Institute and studied for 4 years. She then led tours for 3 years to throughout the region, before meeting Abel where they together launched AB Expeditions in 2016.
She is in charge of all our cooks, the training for porters, environmental policies as well as our social projects. You will often see Elsa with our group tours when visiting local schools.
My name is Abel, and I am the co-founder of AB Expeditions, a local travel company based in Cusco. I was born in Chinchero, in the community of Chusso. My journey began working as a farmer, then later as a porter on the Inca Trail. After that, I studied to become a tour guide, learned English, and spent 20 years guiding different treks around the Cusco region.
Over the years, I began writing blogs about the treks I’ve done and sharing useful tips about traveling in Cusco. Eventually, I founded AB Expeditions to offer authentic travel experiences with a strong commitment to supporting local communities and creating unforgettable adventures for our guests.
- Abel
- Abel
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- Abel
