Based on the great reviews here, I contacted Hernan in hopes that he would guide my group of four on a Sacred Valley tour, overnight in Ollantaytambo, and then a... read more full-day hiking the one-day Inca Trail (also known as the KM 104 trail, because that is where the train stops to let the hikers off) and touring Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, Hernan was already booked for our dates. However he offered to arrange the trip with another guide, Justino Onton Vera. I hesitated initially because I could find no information online about Justino. But on the strength of the positive reviews here about Hernan, we decided to go with Justino. It was a great decision. Justino was an amazing guide, full of knowledge about the area and adept at conveying it in an engaging way to each of the members of our group of ages ranging from 52 to 23. Justino speaks excellent English, has tons of connections in the area (he knew people at every site, which allowed us to skip lines and otherwise meet interesting, friendly locals), and is funny, positive and engaging.

Prior to contacting Hernan, I contacted many tour companies in the area about arranging the personalized tour I described above, and each time I was told that it either couldn’t be done in the short time we had or would be very expensive. Hernan quoted a much more reasonable price and he and Justino really followed through. I heartily recommend both of them.

  Hernan met us at the Cusco airport and we drove through the Scared Valley the first day. Hernan is a native of the area and has the most wonderful... read more stories and experiences from his youth to share with you. His English is impeccable and very easy to understand. We saw natives weaving with beautiful fabrics, visited amazing salt flats and walked around incredible Inca ruins. The next day Hernan met us for our tour of Machu Picchu. Wow, what can I say but this place is incredible and to have Hernan as your guide really made all the beauty and history of this site come alive. He is the very BEST guide you could possibly ask for. Book his tour Today !!!

  Hernan made our trip to the Sacred Valley so incredible! I reached out to him a few months before we traveled to Peru, and he suggested the itinerary (gave... read more us options depending on how long we could spend in the area), and then he took care of booking all the park tickets, got our train tickets, and arranged the driver. It made planning our trip so easy!

Once we arrived in Cuzco, I knew we were in experienced, capable hands. He is so knowledgeable about the history, the culture, and the geography of the Sacred Valley, and she shared all of that knowledge in a way that kept even our teen and tween interested. And he brought us to incredible local restaurants for lunch!

I highly recommend hiring him for your Sacred Valley visit!

  I can't recommend enough. An excellent tour guide who knows all the best places and people. He works hard to make sure your group is safe, well taken care of,... read more and have the trip of a lifetime. Our family has used his services twice with plans to visit again in the future. Honestly, look no further for the trip of your dreams in Peru.

  Hernan is excellent. I gaurantee this will be the best tour to Quillabamba and choquequirao you can find. He is a great guide, both thorough and knowledgeable. He is one... read more of the best tour guides I have ever used and always makes our trip a memorable experience. This is actually our second time to come to peru and do a tour with Hernan a because his tours are just so well organized and planned. It makes travel less stressful with more time to focus on the beautiful sights/ruins.

  What an amazing experience! Hernan exceeded every expectation we could have had. The hike itself was just incredible. Hernan is very well versed in the trail. ... read more He's been hiking it since he started as a porter at 14 years old. He knows the history, the plants, the birds....he could answer any question we asked him. He speaks wonderful English and is skilled at taking the group at the speed it needs to go.
We were so surprised by how deluxe the arrangements were. The food was incredible and so plentiful. The tents, sleeping bags and pads were very thick and comfortable. I am not someone who sleeps easily in a tent but it was very nice.
I fell in love w Peru and the Andes and can't wait to go back.
If you're thinking about going, I can't imagine a better guide than Hernan. He's like our family now!

  We had the best rip with Hernan and Jonathan. Hernan was our tour guide for four days through the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Hernan ensured we had a seamless... read more trip from picking us up at the airport and hotel every morning to walking us through Peruvian history. His love of sharing his country and culture with travelers is apparent and we truly enjoyed spending our time with and learning from him. (Also he knows all of the great places to eat.)

When demonstrations threatened to ruin our trip, he and Jonathan got up at 4:30am to ensure roadblocks did not inhibit their ability to pick us up on time. We had to reorient our day and take alternate routes but manage to visit all of the sites. I highly recommend traveling with Tour Guides Peru to everyone.

  My favorite part of this whole experience was the relationship we developed with our tour guide, Hernan Hermoza. We are leaving Peru with a forever friend. Hernan... read more is knowledgeable, caring, punctual, funny, smart & personable. He connected immediately with each member of our family on an individual basis, not just answering their questions but going out of his way to show examples of his description. We sincerely appreciated his humor! It was evident he truly CARED about our trip, about our experience...& about us. His knowledge of the whole area is impressive. His restaurant and meal suggestions were spot on! His recommendation to hire a very talented driver (Jonathan) was truly appreciated vs. taking public transportation everywhere esp during times of Covid.
Hernan was prompt with every email I sent him prior to our trip, something I truly appreciated. I highly recommend Hernan for an authentic, fun, stress free trip to Peru!

  The Best Private Guide Extraordinaire! We were nervous to go on this trip with Covid, but Hernan assured me it was safe to come, and yes - we felt... read more and were very safe here. I highly recommend coming now and missing the crowds - it is wonderful!

Hernan will customize your trip to suit your interests and help with everything you need along the way. We wanted to go off the beaten track and see more of LOCAL life in Peru. Hernan arranged a fantastic set of experiences for us in the Quillabamba region - an amazing lunch with a welcoming LOCAL family and then a tour of their farm. This was such a great experience. On this same leg of the trip we visited an amazing waterfall - had it all to ourselves to swim in and visited a hot spring to soak in. We also toured a coffee plantation with another LOCAL farmer and spent the day harvesting, preparing, roasting, and then drinking fresh coffee and chocolate! Amazing!

And of course, Hernan is the best local guide in the region to show you the caves, waterfalls, historic sites, relate the culture today to its roots, and brings a breadth of knowledge about the local flora and fauna. From where to stay to where and what to eat - he’s got all that all!

Even with all the Covid requirements to enter the country - it is easy breezy once you arrive. There is no need to retest once you enter the country (despite information I saw beforehand saying that you needed to do this or quarantine) nor to quarantine. The Peruvian people are very diligent about observing masking, distancing, and hygienic aspects of Covid.

Don’t wait until the crowds return - come on down now!

You may contact Hernan via email (have to write it in parts for it to be listed here) at hernanhermoza77 at @hotmail.com or via WhatsApp at +51 989 562 030

  How to describe Hernan, the perfect guide. When you arrive, you will meet a fantastic guide and when you leave, you will part good friends. Read all the... read more reviews and they are all true. His English is great and you will understand everything he says. Trust him, he will take great care of you. We always felt safe with Hernan and Issac (our Driver.) He guides you at your pace and makes sure you get to see everything you requested. You will see and learn more than those in tour groups..

Thanks to Hernan, we had an incredible 7 days in the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Cusco. He provided an excellent itinerary, procured all the tickets needed, and took care of us every step of the way. He and Issac, the driver, made a great team. They were very punctual, and Issac's driving ability made us feel totally safe on these sometimes precarious roads. Every detail was handled perfectly. Hernan's knowledgeable about everything --the people, the culture, the history, the ruins--and the details he provided made this experience more incredible than we could ever imagine. We are so thankful to be able to visit this iconic place, and even more thankful that Hernan was our guide.
So glad we trusted the reviews. Normally we would never send money to a foreign country; however, his reviews were so outstanding that we made a calculated risk. After many emails back and forth, we felt comfortable to wire the down payment. Thank goodness we did, this trip would not be the same without having a personal guide that cared so much about giving his guests the best experience ever. He was very passionate teaching us about the Inca history, traditions, beliefs. It was not just seeing the sites, it was learning about the culture. His knowledge of the history made our trip through the Cusco Region PHENONMENAL!!! "My Friend" was his favorite expression, and by the end of the trip we all felt like family. Both Hernan and Issac have a great sense of humor, and we had lots of laughs on our many sightseeing excursions. This trip was absolutely magical thanks to Hernan and Issac who are very special people! If you want the ultimate experience seeing the remarkable places in this area, contact Hernan

Hernanhermoza77@hotmail.com
+51 989 562 030 (WhatsApp)

  Hernan was an amazing tour guide! My family and I travel all over the world. We have used many different tour guides. However, we have never had a tour guide... read more like Hernan. Words can not describe how awesome Hernan is. He is knowledgable, fun, helpful, trustworthy, enjoyable, funny and so much more!

When we got off the plane, Hernan was outside and waiting for us with our name on his sign. When he made us feel like we were at home. He helped us get all of our stuff in the van. His driver was one of the best drivers in the world (I don't think anybody in America would be able to drive like him). Although he did not speak much English, his joyful facial expressions and large smiles were enough (Hernan did translate between us so we had many conversations).

Our first stop, was a delicious sandwich place. We all sat down and we ordered based on Hernan recommendation (I don't want to sound like I am on repeat so I am just going to say this now, every single place we ate was very good, Hernan ordered for us and we loved it all). After that, we toured Cusco, which was beautiful. I loved hearing about the history of the landmarks and how they came to be. We went up to this small village where they made the Alpaca items. The lady showed us the process of making all wool and how to get the different colors. We also got to feed the Alpaca, Llama and Guinea Pigs.

My dad and I are not in shape, my sisters and my mom are in shape. It was the perfect balance and our whole family loved it. What was nice about this hike is that we did not run into any tourist. We saw some of the kids playing while going up which was cool to see. When we got to the top, we heard about the Inca's and the whole history of the battle and why the buildings up there were left abandoned. After that, we did another hike (apart of the same trail) that was following the side of a mountain. Now, I am scared of heights. Like, take the average person that is scared of heights and multiply that by 1000. This hike was not bad, there were not any narrow parts. It was an amazing view. We saw some cows on the trail too!

That day, we had amazing chicken and tried Cuy (Guinea Pig). Guinea Pig is a dish that you must try when you are in Peru. It honestly doesn't taste that bad. It's a little bit crunchy. My whole family tried it. After lunch, we went up to the top of an Inca site. It was really cool seeing how they used to live and where they used to live. The views were of course, amazing.

The third day, we headed to Machu Pichu. We did the 7 hour Inca trail. Now, let me tell you, the weather changes very rapidly. We had very nice weather. However, when we got to Machu Pichu, it was pouring rain. Within an hour it cleared up and was all sunny again! Being scared of heights, I was very scared during this hike. It was nice to have Hernan because he was able to calm me down and helped me get through it. Do I recommend it? Yes, it's something you have to do! Hernan was nice enough to carry our lunches the whole first half of hike. When we got half-way we sat down and ate lunch. The box lunches that he brought were very good. I wish I could bring that to work with me everyday! Hernan then proceeded to carry all the trash the rest of the hike. During that hike, Hernan let me use his walking sticks which helped me feel more comfortable and move faster. I recommend bringing your own pair of hiking sticks even if you do not think you need them. I didn't think I would need them but turned out I did. Machu Pichu was beautiful. It was a site that I will never forget. We had perfect weather too! The bus down to Machu Pichu town is a little bit scary so if you are scared of heights do not sit in the window seat.

The third day was the scariest day of my life. We went up Huayna Picchu. Huayna Picchu is the mountain right behind Machu Pichu. It is very narrow and steep. My mother and sisters went ahead of us. However, my dad and I went with Hernan. Hernan took it step by step with me. He made sure I was okay every step of the way. I would follow his foot pattern and keep my head down. My nails clenched into the rocks, the dirt and anything else I clench onto. I kept telling Hernan that I couldn't do it. However, Hernan was able to convince me that I was able to do it and slowly but surely I made it to the top. Now, let me tell you something about Hernan. Hernan will not lie to you. If you ask if you are at the top, you will most likely hear no. Although I wish that he lied and told me yes, it put more trust into what he said. I appreciated his honesty even when others probably would have lied. Going down wasn't so hard for me, I was running and jumping down. This was a huge accomplishment for me and I felt very good afterwords and proud I was able to say that I did it. After, we had a nice and refreshing huge lemonade that tasted amazing. The food once again, was amazing! We then traveled back to Cusco.

The fourth and last day with Hernan, we did more stuff in Cusco. We started off by going to the local market. It was really cool to see everybody selling fresh things and all the different types of things being sold. You could spend hours shopping in that market. We then went to see the where the mummies were buried. After that, we saw another Inca site and we got to slide down a smooth rock slide which was a blast! We also got to go see where Hernan used to live and what the city was like. We then did a little bit of shopping, he took us to a place that explains everything about making clothing with Alpaca and how to detect fake and real. We then got to go to another Alpaca shop. Right outside of the shop is like 50 Lllamas and Alpacas. We got to feed all of them and that was a ton of fun, they were very friendly and funny! We then did shopping in the town. My mother wanted a pair of slippers and Hernan was doing everything he could to find the pair of slippers for my mom. It was a fun shopping experience and I normally hate shopping!

Our time with Hernan was coming to an end. As we made our way back to our hotel we all took a seat to tell Hernan how much he was appreciate and how special he made this trip for us. Hernan may not admit this, but he was tearing up.. and so were we. We all gave Hernan big hugs and took one last photo.

Hernan, thank you for giving the trip of a lifetime to my family. We will always appreciate what you did for us! You are not just an amazing tour guide but you are an amazing best friend! I wish you all the best and if you ever come to the US you have a place to stay!

  Hernan was able to answer every question we asked. He is incredibly knowledgable and has a great command of the English language. He was very accomadating when we were scheduling... read more our trip with changes. He customized our tour as we requested. Our bus driver Isaac, whom he arranged, was also excellent and we always felt safe with him. Hernan was always prompt and had great suggestions of restaurants/etc. for every area we visited. When we went with him to Ollantayambo, he picked out a wonderful restaurant that served us chicken on hot stone grills. He was very patient with us shopping and taking photos. He did a great job of pointing out places to stop for photos and taking excellent family pictures of us that we will cherish forever.