Hi there! I am going to Peru at the end of November for 3 wks (tickets arrived this morning!! YAY!!). I am only in Lima for 1 day upon arrival, and after that its off to Cusco for the Inca Trail. I can't wait!!!

My main issue is that i have no idea what to take. Please could any refined travellers give me the lowdown on what is needed as i don't want to end up taking really unnecessary stuff.

I am also very interested in staying with a peruvian family upon my travels to get a real taste of their lifestyles. Does anyone know of an organisation that has lists of families who are willing to put travellers for a small fee? I am not sure which town / village / city i will do this in, so a national list would be a great help.

Lastly, my best friend and I would like to hire a car to take us off the beaten track a bit. My only concern is (1) the driving conditions and rules & (2) do the hire cars registration numbers make them a targets for thieves?

Thanks in advance for your responses!!! J

see the posting ..."Peru a million questions".

I just put some information for someone who is inquiring almost the same thing that you are looking for.

For the four day Inca Trail hike we were instructed to take layers....warm during the day and cold at night. Long sleeve ts, zip off pants, fleece, outer shell, short sleeve t's, socks and hat. For meds, blister kit, moleskin glide, heavy sunblock, pepto, immodium, etc. We are going at the end of august so assume will be colder (and maybe rainier( in november)

Take a good pocket flashlight (Maglites are fine) and a Swiss Army type knife. Both can come in very handy.

november falls in the southern hemisphere spring so it shouldn't be colder than August, which is winter.

we're going in Sept and we're preparing to take warm clothes for night time and tshirts and shorts for the day, when temps should be in the upper 60s or 70s fahrenheit.

does anyone know if there's anything one can take for altitude sickness, besides the mate de coca?

Diamox is a prescription for altitude sickness. I've also heard you can do just as well by drinking alot of water and taking advil. I got the prescription, but sometimes there are side effects and since it's never been an issue for me when in Colorado, I am thinking I should have probably just gone with the water/advil route.

EP101,

My understanding is that you can also get altitude sickness pills from your GP / Pharmacist. The only issue is that altitude sickness affects people differently, so you may not need the pills if you have been at high altitude for some time.

It may be best to be prepared in the long run anyway.

Enjoy your travels.

Hi there!

Just to prevent, buy some altitude sickness in your home country. You can always get generic version in any pharmacy in Peru withouth a doctor's prescription. However, it doesn't necessarily means that you will not get any altitude sickness. My fiancee and I went to Peru last year, and we went to Cuzco for 4 days, she suffers from migranes and she even brought altitude sickness, but none of those prescriptions helped her out, she was suffering for 1 1/2 day with terrible migranes, vomiting, etc. Once you arrive to Cuzco, you need to take it slow and try not to do anything physical streneous, as your body will need to adjust with the altitude, pressure etc.

Are you going to be in Cuzco for the 3 weeks? In any case, during the day Cuzco can get really hot or it can rain as well. Nothing too extreme though, except for the nights. So definitely take some shorts, jeans, you can always buy some sweaters down there, rain jacket, hiking shoes, spray bugs, pepto bismol...etc. If you are going to be in the coast, then it's spring time, and the weather is in the high 60's low to mid 70's, the nights are nice and cool ....nice enough to wear a light jacket.