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Adventure-Travel Abroad

Adventure Specialists, owned and operated by world-travelers Amy Finger and Gary Ziegler, runs trips both here in Colorado and also in Mexico's Copper Canyon and the Peruvian Andes. Living primarily in their solar powered, wood stove-heated 1876 log cabin office at Bear Basin Ranch, Gary and Amy have been running custom adventure travel operations since 1970. Brief descriptions of their amazing adventure trips follow, but check out their website or give a call to talk to them and really learn how amazing these trips are.

Adventure in the Peruvian Andes
Just below the Equator lies a place of mystery and romance, raging glacier fed rivers roar through deep canyons slicing the igneous spine of the Andes, towering ice peaks hover like sentinels over mist shrouded jungles. Lost Civilizations and Forgotten Cities beckon the adventurous!

Joining British-born Peru resident, Barry Walker (considered by some to be the leading authority on Peru's neo-tropical birds), Gary Ziegler and Adventure Specialists some years ago began a partnership with the Cusco-based Manu Expeditions. Trips jointly arranged by both companies can take you on Amazonian cloud forest tours and water tours of Manu National Park, or adventure-archeology horse treks and climbing expeditions.

As an accredited archaeologist in Peru, Gary has access to projects and sites not available to tour companies. Over years of operations, they have trained and retained the very best support staff, guides, cooks, wranglers, drivers, program assistants available. They deliberately avoid over used tourist areas (such as the Inca Trail) that every other tour operator offers. Each year, they cook up a new exploratory adventure to keep life exciting.

All programs include a visit to Machu Picchu with shopping and rest time in Cusco. Small inns and lodges are chosen for comfort and flavor, away from large tour groups. Camps are comfortable safari style. Hiking treks are supported by pack animals and also riding horses to allow for the choice to ride. Adventure Specialists owns and trains their own horses near Cusco, Peru.

Click here to learn more about Adventure Travel in Peru!

Adventure Travel in Mexico's Copper Canyon

Just south of the U.S.-Mexico border lies a remote, rugged region of unusual, diverse beauty. Vast pine/oak forests cling tenaciously to ridges, peaks and plateaus. Great canyons carve deep incisions into the igneous heart of the continent so deep that they host their own unique ecosystems. Homeland to the reclusive Tarahumara tribe, the Sierra Madre mountains are rich in history and legend, haunted by the restless shades of fallen warriors, martyred Jesuits and the peasant soldiers of Pancho Villa's army.

Each month October to April, Adventure Specialists departs from El Paso, Texas for a memorable 10-day journey back through time. Following the scenic drive from the border, we pause for a fun night in the cowboy town of Cuauhtemoc, and then travel across the Sierra Madre Mountains to a rustic lodge near the canyon rim. The following morning, we disappear on a six day hiking trek into the remote depths of the Copper Canyon, accompanied by pack burros and our seasoned Mexican / Tarahumara staff. Comfortable camps feature roomy tents and local campfire cuisine prepared in an exotic setting by our Mexican cook.

Reliving legend and history, we enthusiastically share our thirty some years our accumulated knowledge of the Sierra Madre. Exploring new areas, we make interesting archaeological finds and observations. We identify much of the unique vegetation, talk about the regions pyroclastic origins, search out elusive birds, Trogans, Magpie Jays and soak in hidden, canyon hot springs.

Click here to learn more about
Adventure Travel in Mexico!