UJ #9 - Adventure in Peru

Christian Declercq
It was in the early years of the park —which was created
in 1976—, there were no visitors and few restrictions
on access, but getting there was difficult. The
furthest we could go with tourists was the biology
post at Cocha Cashu. The visitors were impressed by
the experience.
In addition to the trips you organised to Manu,
what other options did you offer?
We started with treks in Cusco and -very interesting
at that time: excursions on horseback. We were the
first to do that. Then we thought that for following the
tourists mountain bikes would be a good idea; we
imported the first batch of mountain bikes into Peru.
Our expeditions left Cusco for different destinations,
such as the upper reaches of Manu National Park’s
buffer zone and the ruins near Cusco, including the
Urubamba Valley.
At the beginning of the nineteen nineties you
changed course somewhat. What happened?
The company was making good progress, we always
had incoming tourists; but by the middle of the
eighties, terrorism was affecting it severely, the situation
became untenable and we closed down; I moved
to Arequipa. There, I made use of all the knowledge
I had acquired about bicycles; I opened a distributor
for the Trek brand. I promoted mountain biking and
organised excursions and competitions.
Then you went back. How did you go back to
your roots?
Tourism in Peru recovered after 1995, so at the end
of that decade I decided to go back to Cusco and
started to develop tourism products with a rural theme.
Firstly I got involved in an American government
programme to develop new tourism businesses in
the Vilcabamba area. I was responsible for a number
of feasibility studies for the project, working closely
with local people.
“I also worked with funds from Swiss aid on an institutional
development project (Destination Management
Organisations) in the departments of Arequipa,
Apurimac, Cusco, Madre de Dios, Moquegua and
Tacna. In Colca we developed a project to restore a
Yanque church in
the Colca Valley.
"WE BECAME THE
FIRST ONES TO
ORGANISE TRIPS
TO THE MANU
NATIONAL PARK.
IT WAS A TRUE
ADVENTURE IN
THOSE DAYS"
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