Tour Guide Spotlight - Introducing Frank Jara

What's your name? 

•    Frank Jeff Jara Cáceres

 How long have you been a tour guide for?

•    I’ve been doing this amazing job for over 12 years

How long have you been a tour guide for VTC?

•    I began to work for Valencia Travel 5 years ago

 

 

Tell me about a hidden spot in Peru that you love, that most tourists wouldn't know about!

•    One of my favorite hidden spots in Peru should be Waqrapukara, this is an archaeological site that is in the southern part of Cusco, hidden in the middle of very steep mountains and you can only see this site doing a hike This is one of the places that deserves more promotion and a better tourist infrastructure in order to make  it more accessible and attractive to visitors.

 

 What do you love most about Peru?

•    What I love the most about Peru is the culture, the cuisine, the people and of course that Peru has one of the most diverse landscapes in the world, and is extremely beautiful. The Andean mountains, the Rainforest and a long coastline. I love the different and diverse cultural attractions: Inca archeological sites, beautifully colored textiles and handcraft are just some highlights.

If there's one essential phrase that any traveler should know when visiting your country, what should it be?

•   The philosophy of  "Ayni" which means cooperation and reciprocity...... today for me, tomorrow for you. "Tupananchiskama" means, until life finds us again and “I love Peru”. Are phases tht are with me every day.

 

What's the best local beer/wine/spirit, & dish, that new visitors to your country should try?

•    Beer.- I love Cusqueña
•    Wine.- Intipalka Malbec.
•    Spirit.- Ayahuasca 
•    Dish.- Lomo Saltado

 What's your favorite VTC tour, and why?

•    One of my favorite tours is the Classic 4 days Inca Trail, this hike walks the true  and original Inca Trail, left by our ancestors. It is an  unreal experience with the spectacular views, all the logistics taken care of  by our friends "The Porters" that I like to call “Chaskis"... which in Quechua , means "runners”;  the dfferent sensations, and after 4 days you are able to see Machu Picchu as a gift from Pachamama.

 

What's the best memory you have as a tour guide?

•    Too many, but I remember a “blindfolding in Machu Picchu”, it was very especial and emotional for the students and their parents, because with this group we went to one of the lookout points of Machu Picchu and we blindfold the students with scarfs, then after I counted to 3,  they opened their eyes and I saw the kids crying and so impressed because it was the very first time that they were in Machu Picchu. Then when I looked forward, I saw their parents  whowere so very happy and some of them where even crying as well as trying to record this moment with their cell phones at the same time. It was simply memorable!

 

What are you most looking forward to once travel opens back up?

•    Guiding is my passion and one of the things that I love the most, is to show my beautiful country to our visitors which was stopped because of the pandemic. Now that tourism is coming back, I hope the things return to how it was before without restrictions and of course to recover our way to life.