Sunday 23rd July.
We can confirm that one of our groups is currently travelling and trekking in Peru.
Yesterday, the group were on the third day of the Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu. Due to the presence of a bush fire ahead on the trail, our Peruvian expedition leader, as a precautionary measure, took the decision to camp approximately three miles short of their intended campsite. Contrary to some news reports in the UK, the group were not evacuated off the Trail as they were not in any immediate danger as the fire was at least ten miles away.
The fire had started close to the train tracks below Intipata, but during that morning it had spread up the hillside and was burning on the trail itself, which meant that, at that time, there was no way of continuing to Machu Picchu. The fire was being dealt with by local firefighters and park rangers were giving assistance in the form of status updates on the location fire. The group camped at Chaquicocha with the view to reassessing the situation at dawn this morning. Late yesterday, it was announced that 80% of the fire has been extinguished, leaving just a reduced amount of the hillside still burning. By this morning (Sunday 23rd July), the fire had died down considerably, leaving only 20% of the original blaze still burning. The remaining fires were away from the trail and so the group was able to continue to Machu Picchu as planned. They had an early start this morning and should be arriving in Machu Picchu shortly.