Peru
 

I am currently planning our first trip to Peru. It is not as long as I would like, but PTO is what it is. This will also be our first trip to South America.

The plan is to fly to Lima from the US on Monday
Fly to Cusco on Wednesday
Train to Machu Picchu on Friday, spend the night at Machu Picchu
Train back to Cusco on Saturday evening
Fly back to Lima on Monday and back to the US either late Monday night or Tuesday.

While at Machu Picchu, we are considering adding a hike to either HUAYNA PICCHU or MACHU PICCHU mountains. Obviously, we live in South Carolina, where we are pretty much at sea level. I must be honest, I know the altitude will be quite different. Hiking at those altitudes will be slow going for us, but I want to experience as much as possible.

I do have some tours scheduled, but I was hoping you guys could give some insight into things not to miss, or better yet, restaurants not to miss. If anyone has a thought on the hiking, I want all the opinions.

Thanks, guys!!

A friend did a very similar trip last week. I will ask him for some advice.

My experience in Peru on a medical mission as a relatively fit 40 yr old was interesting. Was in Arequipa (7600 ft), about the same as Machu Picchu. Resting heart rate 82 bpm, oxygen saturation was in mid 80's (normal in high 90's).
Altitude sickness is no joke, used Diamox to help symptoms and sucked on Coca lozenges, which helped somewhat. You will fatigue easily, stairs will make you breathless and activity more challenging, however everyone's body will react differently. Cusco is at much higher elevation (11,000 ft), actually got to about 15,000 ft during trip to Colca Canyon which just sitting drinking a coffee I was breathing harder. Stay hydrated, don't push yourself to hard, and enjoy a beautiful place.

I live at 9000 ft. Some of our visitors do alright without climatization, some do not. In general, if they don't know how they'll react to altitude, we recommend spending time at a lower elevation first. A few days help. When I go to 14+ K ft, I feel it still. Yes, I can easily go up inclines/stairs and all, but yes, I can tell I just went up another 5-6 thousand feet. If you don't know how you react to altitude, I would take the suggestion and take the meds. And yes, "Altitude sickness is no joke, stay hydrated, don't push yourself to hard, and enjoy a beautiful place."

We have a Cessna 182T. The maximum altitude is is 18,100 feet. We never ever go up that high. Mostly we are below 5,000 feet.

When we went to the Rocky Mountain national park which is at 11,796 feet on Fall River Pass, walking around is a real exercise. My 911 felt like I was pulling a heavy trailer, just low power.

You will feel it for sure.

I did this trip a few yrs ago. MP altitude is no problem. But you are going to feel it when you get to Cusco. They sell medication for this at the Lima airport. I forget what it's called (Sorocha-something), but it works and you will want it.

A 70 YO wife of a friend went to Peru specifically climb(?) MP. I think that means the Inca trail, which is either a 2 day or 4 day hike. She trained for 2 months and she's already an avid hiker/biker. I didn't hear about any problems adjusting on her part but that doesn't mean she did or didn't. What she did tell me was that she was examined somewhat at the site before securing her place for the trip. They don't want any problems with their guest hikers.

There are 200 daily permits available and they do sell out. There is an unofficial waiting list. I don't know all the details but it sounds like you're not going on that particular adventure. The Huchuy Picchu you mentioned is more easily done both physically and booking. However, it sounds like you should make your decision now and not expect to just set out in the park. All of it is restricted and requires a permit from what little I know.

Of course there are many, many arranged tours and are likely highly suggested.

Thanks for the responses so far:

When traveling to the Rockies I experience a small headache the first day but goes away quickly if I drink enough water. shortness of breath during hiking does happen. We are going in the spring so I have adjusted my running on the treadmill to include walking on a 12% incline and I’ve switched up my weight training to add more walking lunges, stairs and heel raises. So I am trying to physically prepare as much as I can. I do plan on getting the alt sickness medicine, Diamox before going.

As far as the mountain hiking is concerned: we have reservations that night at the hotel at Machu Picchu and they will provide a guide for the hike as part of our stay. I just need to decide on which one I would like to do.

Thanks again for the responses so far!

Smart move taking the train in. Spend a couple of nights in MP. Do HUAYNA PICCHU if you're not afraid of heights. Get out of Cusco asap because you may have trouble sleeping.

Why would Cusco cause trouble sleeping?

Cusco sits at roughly 3400 meters. Anything above 2500m gives normal people slight issues where you’ll wake up randomly due to shortness of breath.
Aguas Caliantes (the base of MP) is roughly 2000m so you’ll be fine there.

Stephanie, my only high altitude experience was the 1978 Porsche Parade in Aspen. But I'd like to add my best wishes for your adventure...enjoying life the best you can for as long as you can. A tip of my hat to you & your hubby...:)

Water.

Drink more. And then drink some more.

Were ~2200m here in the New Mexico mountains. Visitors immediately recognize the (~25%) lack of O2 but they only slowly understand how dry it is. It's even dry between the raindrops in our summer monsoons.

Sounds like a great trip.

I have no idea… how safe is it there? I was just reading about a warning for Brazil.

It's safe. I never felt unsafe there. There's riff raff anywhere in the world. Peru is so dependent on foreign tourism, that I can't imagine too many bad guys have the balls to hassle tourists. That doesn't mean you won't pay more than a local for stuff at a market or trinket shop.

The most unsafe I ever felt, probably in my life, was in the twin prop plane we took to see the Nazca Lines. I sat right behind the pilot and held onto the handle on the back of his seat the whole time. I felt like I was in a Stuka over Rotterdam. OMG, it was terrifying. AND there were plenty of other planes all around us, dive bombing and doing parabolas for the views. VFR only. Never again.