Altitude Sickness in Cusco, Peru

[SDakota Cruiser]

My wife and I are planning on taking a Holland America cruise that ends in Lima, Peru. I would to take an extra 4-6 days too explore Cusco, the Sacred Valley and especially Mucha Picchu.

 

My wife is really concerned about altitude sickness. How much of a problems is this? What percentage of visitors to Cusco experience this problem.

 

Do the prescription medications help along with the local coco tea and rest?

 

Thank you in advance for your advice.

[azcruiser64]

Check out this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=840446&highlight=altitude

 

A little old but altitude problems should still be the same.

[Northern Aurora]

While I don't know what percentage of visitors experience altitude sickness, your wife really should consult with her physician before going.

[catergirl]

the key is to take it easy. that's why a lot of people experience it, they go on these 3/4 day tours from the cruiseships that have you on the run!! we did it ourselves before the cruise and I planned it all myself. was concerned about the altitude sickness and since cusco is way higher than MP, I decided to have a pick up from the airport and have us taken down to the sacred valley right away to the lower altitude. drank lots of coca tea in lima airport and after arriving, took our time, not eat too much, no booze, and lots to drink/hydrate. we were tired, but no sickness. have a good time:)

[woodley]

We took the medication and drank the coca tea. Like others have said you must take it slowly. Have a driver meet you at the airport and let him deal with your bags.

The hotel we stayed in was designed around a courtyard with small flights of stairs and we became very breathless while walking up and down these stairs. We rested in the room for a couple of hours before we ventured out and took frequent stops and stayed hydrated also no alcohol. Although we had no real problem we were aware we were tired and knew if we had exerted ourselves in anyway it may have been different. We were very aware of our breathing something you do not usually notice or pay attention to.

We were also given coca candy, coca bread and offered the tea in many places.

 

After going to Machu Pichu and returning to Cusco a few days later we found the effects of the altitude seemed to be less than the day we arrived in Cusco.

[maryann ns]

Check out this recent thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2220150&highlight=sacred+valley+cuzco

 

I would suggest you try to take a couple more days for this trip. It is a fascinating area. Fly to Cuzco and immediately go down into the Sacred Valley for a couple days (market at Pisac, Inca sites at Ollaytatambo and elsewhere, then take the train to Machu Picchu. We ended up seeing in in one day, then take the train to Cuzco and explore around there.

 

We read before going that atltitude sickness is more a problem for younger people and we were in our sixties when we went. We had no problems.

[Floridiana]

Fly to Cuzco and immediately go down into the Sacred Valley for a couple days ....

 

We read before going that atltitude sickness is more a problem for younger people and we were in our sixties when we went. We had no problems.

 

Excellent advice to go down to the Sacred Valley to a hotel there. We loved Ollantaytambo.

 

Unfortunately, altitude sickness is not restricted to a specific group of people. It can hit anyone, young or old, smoker, non-smoker, athlete and couch potato. I got it and I am not young. The good news is that Peru has excellent doctors specializing in this affliction. Once you throw up like I did, more than a headache pill and coca tea are necessary. My doctor took me to his clinic in Cusco, put me on oxygen and a drip with medication. I was as good as new half a day later. We continued our trip, also to Lake Titicaca which is even higher.

 

In our hotel, only I and another woman had altitude sickness. Some other people had a slight headache. Many people had no adverse reaction at all.

[kiwismith]

Don't let altitude fears keep you from seeing this interesting place! It is a bucket list item, for sure. :)

 

My husband and I (60 and 55 years old) just got back from there. We live at sea level on the U.S. Gulf Coast. We did take the prescription medication from our doctor, beginning two days before ascending. We did not have any noticeable side effects, so I feel it was a good precaution.

 

Whether you take the medication or not, make sure to drink plenty of (bottled) water, take it a little easy on the first day and you should be fine. We had 10 people on our tour, ages 13 to 80+. Most did NOT take the meds and no one experienced altitude sickness.

 

We traveled to higher altitude in Tibet last year. On that trip, the ones who did not take the meds had one day of headaches, wooziness, and general ill feeling but they recovered on the second day.

 

Good luck and enjoy!

[OCruisers]

"kiwismith" ... Thank you very much for your informative post. :)

Our friends want us to go with them to Peru but not sure because I tend to get lightheaded just going to the mountains in North Carolina. :o

 

LuLu

[Karennella]

We were on tour which was designed to give us time to adjust to the altitude. So were were to go directly from Cusco Airport to Sacred Valley and spend three days there at the lower altitude. However there was a major strike which closed the roads and we had to spend the day in Cusco. A few people did start feeling unwell. My main problem was my mild arthritis seemed to play up, especially when we did get to Machu Picchu. (I remember my knee specialist grimacing when I told him where we were going!!) But my husband found his main problem was an extremely dry mouth and nothing would help that.

It is definitely worth the risk, as far as I am concerned.