To help celebrate International Womens Day read about some of KE's inspirational female leaders:

Kantu Valer

Kantu is our 2016 leader of the year, voted for by KE clients and as recognition of the great job she does leading our groups in Peru. Originally from Cusco, Kantu leads our best selling 'Choquequirao to Machu Pichhu'. Here is some client feedback that says it all: “Kantu looked after our every need. She has a great personality & her enthusiasm for her work & her country is infectious. Her knowledge of flora & fauna was second to none. She made everyone in the group feel welcome & set a pace for the trek that matched our capabilities. There was never smile off her face from the first minute to the last.”

Kathy Murphy

A lifelong passion for climbing led Kathy from Cumbria in the UK to her present home in Chamonix, where she works as an IFMGA mountain guide. Kathy organizes our Alpine mountaineering holidays and can also be found guiding KE groups during the summer season. Very much a people person, when asked what aspect of guiding that she enjoys the most Kathy said "Being in the mountains for me is not a solitary experience - it is so much about the people you share these adventures with."

Val Pithkethly

Val is one of KE's longest serving and most experienced Himalayan and Andean trek leaders. Val coordinates our operations in Peru's Huayhuash, where she has literally brought light to hundreds of people in the remote villages there though her work supplying local communities with solar powered lighting.

>> Find out more about our Leaders