Students take on Machu Picchu and Everest for charity
Two climbs will raise money for Amnesty International and Teenage Cancer Trust
Oxford Brookes University students will climb to Machu Picchu and Everest Base Camp next summer.
Student organisers are partnering with Choose a Challenge, which works with students, universities, and charities to offer a series of charity fundraising challenges each year.
Jemima Honeyborne, 20, and Ludovica Cannizzo, 22, are the Challenge Leaders for the Machu Picchu trek. In August, they will take a group to Peru to raise money for Amnesty International.
The group will hike the Salkantay Trek, a popular alternative to the Inca Trail. A six-day trek, it is considered more physically challenging than the Inca Trail, reaching a higher altitude of 4,630 metres. They will climb between 12 and 22km each day.
Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is facing criticism about overcrowding and tourism mismanagement. The Peruvian government currently limits admissions to 4,500 daily visitors, or 5,600 during peak season, and permits must be booked well in advance during busier months due to high demand.
Earlier this year, the New 7 Wonders of the World organisation said that Machu Picchu could be removed from its list over concerns about mismanagement. In September, a protest from residents relating to tourist infrastructure disrupted a passenger train service and left 900 tourists stranded.
Peru is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in Latin America, and 49% growth in inbound leisure travel spend is forecast for the country between 2025 and 2030 (WTM Global Travel Report, 2025).
Jemima and Ludovica are both frequent travellers and have previously travelled solo. Discussing solo travel, Ludovica said: “If you pick the right country… if you feel ready for it, it’s the best experience.”
Jemima added: “It’s very freeing”.
The organisers of the Everest Base Camp trek, Tom Coward, 19, and Willow Christie, 19, will embark on a seven-day hike to the South Base Camp in Nepal.
The South Base Camp is situated at a height of 5,364 metres. Before the climb, students will spend time in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, which the organisers say will be a highlight of the trip.
The Everest trek, taking place in September, will raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. As part of their fundraising efforts the group will also complete the 3 Peaks Challenge, which involves climbing the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours.
Choose a Challenge determines both the destination and charity, and students choose the challenge which most appeals to them.
Challenge Leaders, Tom and Willow, think that the physical demands of the climb, and the achieving the fundraising target, will be impressive to future employers. Tom, who took part in a similar trek to Ciudad Perdida, or the “Lost City”, in Colombia last year, said: “A lot of teamwork and communication is involved”.
30,000 to 40,000 people climb to Everest Base Camp every year. In August, Nepal opened up 97 other mountains, offering free permits to encourage climbers to consider other peaks and alleviate the pressures on Everest caused by overcrowding.
Tour operators employ local guides to accompany travellers on such climbs, and sometimes porters who carry tourists’ baggage and equipment up the steep slopes. However there have been calls for improved working conditions for such workers, particularly in Peru.
From the Choose a Challenge website: “All of the guides, porters and support staff that represent Choose a Challenge are paid a fair wage, and we operate with strict limits on how much weight they are each permitted to carry”.
Both groups are still accepting sign-ups from students. The next information meetings will take place at the end of the month:
Everest Base Camp: Thursday 27th November, 6-8pm. Location: to be confirmed via Instagram (@everestforbrookes)
Machu Picchu: Thursday 27th November, 6-7pm. Location: to be confirmed via Instagram (@brookesmachupicchu2026)