xyz99

This is a weird question, and the concern is due to certain medical needs, so please be considerate. Don’t tell me to “adjust to local conditions” or that I am too pampered, so I need to stay home.

We are planning a 2-weeks trip next summer to Peru , and have some concerns regarding the availability of clean facilities / bathrooms with running water during our day trips. I might just be ignorant in this matter, and this might not be an issue at all, but need confirmation that we can find them in: Lima , Cusco, Sacred Valley , MP. I am not worried about the hotels we will stay in, and we will not track to MP.

Other than restaurants (at lunch time), how feasible is to find clean bathrooms with running water when visiting the towns of Sacred Valley ? I suppose this might not be an issue in Lima and Cusco, but please confirm. What about MP? I heard that the only bathroom is outside the park, not sure about its cleanliness, but would we be allowed to use the one in the hotel there?

Our other Peru destination is Manu – and while I am not worried about the Manu Wildlife Center where we plan to stay, I am worried about the “jungle bathrooms” during day trips. Can we avoid using them? How long are (generally), these trips?

In the end this issue will make or break our planned trip, so I would really appreciate your input. Thanks.

fball

The bathrooms leave a lot to be desired. Some restaurant bathrooms have toilets that are flushed from a barrel of water where you scoop out the water & pour into the toilet. I saw these in Agua Calientes, small towns in the Sacred Valley, and on the way to Manu. The bathrooms were fine in Ollantaytambo & Cusco.

I would check with your tour guide re. Manu. There are no "jungle bathrooms". Other than at the lodge, we went in the bush. There are decent bathrooms at the Yine lodge where you fly into. The bathroom in Boca Manu itself is in a store & is very primitive. There are no bathrooms (literally) to stop at for many miles on the bus ride into Manu.

We always carried our own paper & we always used lots of Purell. Most of the bathrooms did not have soap & many did not have running water in the sink. This is particularly true for the towns en route to Manu. Once in Manu, other than at the check-in station at the entrance to the park, there were no facilities of any type.

We did not go to the Manu Wildlife Center but did Pantiacolla tours. I'm sure the facilities are similar. The water used in the bathrooms (including showers) is from the river.

It is definitely third world travelling. You have to remember that in Manu, once past Boca Manu, there really are no people so there are no facilities of any type.

mlgb

You won't have a problem in Lima, between museums and supermarkets there was usually something nearby.

In MP you'll have to exit the site itself but I believe I used a nice bathroom inside the Sanctuary Lodge near the buffet restaurant.

I stayed in Ollantaytambo so had a bathroom at my hotel. I can't remember what the situation was in Pisac. I probably didn't go til I got back to my hotel!

crellston

We spen 3 weeks + in the sacred Valley & so got to find a lot of the toilet facilities. Apart from the big hotels and better restaurants (which are your best bet) don't expect the facilities to be clean at all. Carry your own paper + wet wipes and hand sanitizer spray. Cusco and Olly will not be a problem - Hearts cafe on the square in Olly is owned by Sonia, an english woman who has written books on food hygiene so she is a bit of a stickler for cleanliness. In Pisac there are decent toilets in the bigger restaurants in town but I do not recall any up around the ruins themselves (there may be some in the tourist office at the entrance. There are few decent facilities at the smaller towns like Chinchero, Moras etc.
You don't say whether you ae using a guide/tour etc. if you are, I would suggest you mention it to your guide at outset.

fball

The toilets at the ruins in Pisac are stand over a hole type. Very dirty. My 14 year old found it quite a new experience.

jennhawk

There is really no way to predict what you will get. We hiked to MP, and used pit-like toilets on the trail (or the backside of a tree but when we got to MP, there was something wrong with the water supply, so the nice, modern bathroom that would normally have been fine, was the worst we had seen, because there was no flushing.

I agree with the necessity to carry your own paper. We bought toilet paper whenever possible, and then rationed it carefully. I would also carry hand sanitizer, though I don't remember if this was available in Peru. We were drinking boiled river water, though, so Purell did seem a bit excessive eventually.

chepar

>The toilets at the ruins in Pisac are stand over a hole type. Very dirty.<

Yes, with a big barrel of water outside that doubled as a communal hand dip/source for the attendant to get water out of to "flush" the toilet. Yuk.

Besides the bathroom inside the Sanctuary Lodge (which I'm not sure you can access unless you're eating at their restaurant or staying at the hotel) there is a public bathroom next to the shop that sells Tshirts - you pay one or two soles to enter.

Definitely carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer and your own paper with you.

xyz99

All,

Thanks a lot for answering this in so much detail. Now we will need some soul searching and determine what risks we are willing to take. Would love to go to Peru , but health issues are more important.

fball, because we are not 100% sure about the trip, we haven’t contacted any guide for Sacred Valley yet. Maybe we should, and ask for his advice, too. I am sure that the few that are highly recommended on this board know restaurants in the area with clean bathrooms.

For Manu, the lodge has private bathrooms, running hot and cold water, so that is not a concern. We would fly there, then take a 90 min boat to the lodge. I guess this area though is the main issue…. And Pisac.

MP, we’ll eat at the restaurant. That will be an expensive bathroom stop, but worth it

Thank you all

fball

If I had health problems, I would NOT go to Manu. My husband & I are both health professionals in our mid-50's. We are both very fit & healthy. He developed food poisoning on the bus ride from Cusco to Atalaya with associated bacterial enteritis. (This was from a highly recommended & spotlessly clean restaurant we had eaten in previously.) If we had not had an arsenal of medication, including cipro, he would have had to have been helicoptered out.

You cannot count on the flights being on time or available as they are completely subject to the weather. Radio contact is spotty from the lodges to Cusco & even to each other.

I am sorry to say but I would consider a different location that is less isolated.

It is incredibly beautiful & amazing to see Manu, but there are no services of any kind as no one lives there.

mlgb

Maybe a lodge near Iquitos such as Ceiba Tops would be better.

dtwkc

There was a bathroom at the market in Pisac, kind of U.S. gas station bathroom "quality."

The bathroom outside Machu Picchu is totally fine. It costs 1 sol to enter and they have paper that you take on the way in. The one in the lodge is very nice, but the one outside the gates is perfectly adequate.

Definitely bring paper and sanitizer. I never encountered a bathroom without running water, but there was frequently an absence of soap and/or toilet paper.

xyz99

All,
Thanks again for your input – I am sad to report, but after thinking more about it, we decided to eliminate Manu from the itinerary.

We will keep Sacred Valley, Cusco, Lima and MP, and most likely not replace Manu with another jungle destination. We’ll try another jungle destination sometime, somewhere else. Unless we can find a lodge with an extensive trail system, where wildlife viewings are possible on the premises, and trips do not exceed 3-4 hours (similar to Bosque del Cabo in Costa Rica, which we loved).

Elizabeth_S

xyz99 - my experiences were somewhat different than others (in the SV/Cusco/Pisac/etc) perhaps because we had a guide and wherever he suggested we use the facilities it was absolutely fine (with the exception of occasional lack of TP - but we always take our own). I highly recommend our guide (for others reasons as well!)

His name is David Choque - here is his website (lots of positive reviews here if you search his name)

http://www.cuscotoptravelperu.com/



And here's a link to our blog

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...lake_titicaca/

xyz99

Elizabeth,
It looks like you had a wonderful trip, loved your blog, and thanks for sharing your good experience. David Choque is one of the guides we are considering, but haven’t contacted any yet. How much in advance of your trip did you contact him?
Thanks

Elizabeth_S

Hi - about 3 or 4 months before a trip in January.

xyz99

Great, so still plenty of time left for us, for a July-Aug trip. Now I’m looking for something else (maybe Arequipa?) to replace Manu with. Back to research…but I love that part.

mlgb

If you like archaeology and museums, the north coast of Peru has some amazing adobe pyramids with murals, and associated museums. Look up Chan Chan, Huaca de Luna, El Brujo, Museo Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán. You can fly to Trujillo or Chiclayo from Lima.

fball

I think your decision is wise. There are other jungle areas that are less isolated. I think mlgb's suggestion is good. Just because you decided not to go to Manu, you don't need to give up on the Peruvian jungle idea. You will be fine in the Sacred Valley, Machu Pichu & Cusco.

crellston

xyz99 - we loved Arequipa. We arrrived the evening before a major fiesta which lasted all day. A most amazing spectacle but from speaking to teh locals, one which happens fairly regularly. Also, Santa Catalina convent is allmost worth the trip on its own. More detail and photos on our blog
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...ai/1/tpod.html
entries 63 and 64

yestravel

Second for Arequipa -- really nice town. U can do an excursion into Colca Canyon which is fascinating.

Also a second for David Choque--he was fabulous. We contacted him about 2 months before a trip which was in April.