Smart advice: staying healthy in Pérou

A trip to Pérou is a unique experience, so there's no reason to spoil it by getting unnecessarily sick. The risks of falling ill in Pérou are numerous—fatigue, jet lag, altitude, unfamiliar foods—creating ideal conditions for the infamous traveler's diarrhea. To help you avoid such mishaps, here are 5 important recommendations to keep you healthy throughout your stay in Pérou.

Traveling in Pérou can be exhausting: oxygen deprivation due to altitude, hygiene standards far lower than what our bodies are accustomed to, non-potable water, significant climate variations—in short, the conditions for falling ill during a Pérou trip are very real. Yet it's far from inevitable; you simply need to take the necessary precautions to make the most of your stay. Here are 5 tips to help you avoid getting sick in Pérou, because prevention is always better than cure!

Key recommendations for staying healthy in Pérou

1. Prevention before cure!

The most logical step to avoid falling ill in Pérou during your trip is to keep your vaccinations up to date. Pérou doesn't require any mandatory vaccinations, but it strongly recommends yellow fever when visiting certain areas like the Amazon or central regions. Ensure you're current on common vaccines such as polio, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, and tetanus.

If you know you have particular health risks, don't wait to suffer the consequences abroad—prepare a travel medical kit with medications prescribed by your doctor. Consider packing Gravol (for nausea), Imodium (for diarrhea), Pepto-Bismol (for stomach upset), and similar essentials.

2. Wash your hands frequently

Caught up in busy days of exploration, we often forget how much we touch—banknotes, doors, handrails, other people's hands—gradually accumulating thousands of bacteria and germs. Most cases of traveler's diarrhea and other travel-related illnesses, when not caused by contaminated water, result from failing to wash hands frequently.

The simplest solution is to follow this basic hygiene practice: wash your hands as often as possible, especially before eating or using the toilet. When traveling in remote areas of Pérou where sinks and soap may not be readily available, carry small bottles of alcohol-based hand sanitizer designed for this purpose!

3. Don't drink tap water

Even if some tell you "go ahead, drink the tap water—I did and didn't get sick!" we're all built differently, and the risk is high, especially in your first 10 days, of falling ill from tap water. There are several reasons for this: the water may not be potable, pipes can be dirty, or your body has never encountered certain local bacteria.

The simplest approach is to avoid drinking tap water directly or indirectly (brushing teeth, washing fruits and vegetables) until your body adjusts to the changes. Bottled water is genuinely inexpensive, so it's worth skipping the diarrhea and ruined vacation days!

4. Be selective about what you eat

If you're a food lover or want to try everything you see, this advice will be challenging! But common sense dictates being very careful about what you consume. Your body may not recognize certain foods and could reject them, you might be allergic to things without knowing it, raw foods could be contaminated or spoiled, the water used might not be potable—so ask yourself the key question: will eating this make me sick?

Avoid street carts selling raw food, stay away from visibly unhygienic restaurants, and don't eat food that's been sitting out too long (buffets), especially if it's been in the sun. Stick to cooked or fried dishes whenever possible if you have limited options.

That said, don't be overly cautious either. When traveling through major tourist destinations and following standard precautions, you have every chance of avoiding the common ailments that affect travelers.

5. Watch out for altitude

Traveler's diarrhea and food poisoning aren't the only things that can make you sick—altitude sickness can too! Since Pérou is a country with mountains among the world's highest, you'll need to be vigilant about altitude sickness, also called soroche in Pérou.

Certain key moments during your Pérou trip—such as visiting Arequipa, Cusco, Puno, crossing the Ticlio pass, or exploring Huaraz—can take you rapidly from low to very high altitudes; your body needs acclimatization time. Even if you feel fine initially, allow a few hours for acclimatization. Early symptoms include headaches and sometimes nausea. At very high altitudes or during rapid ascents, risks increase and symptoms worsen, potentially leading in extreme cases to cerebral or pulmonary edema, which can be fatal without rapid descent to lower altitude or treatment in a hyperbaric chamber.

The simplest way to avoid these problems is to avoid exertion during the first hours, rest, drink plenty of fluids (ideally coca leaf tea), eat light and small meals, and allow your body to gradually adjust to reduced oxygen and altitude. Most importantly, plan your trip to ascend gradually in stages. We recommend, for example, never starting a Pérou trip by going directly from Lima to Lake Titicaca. Begin in Arequipa and Colca Canyon, or in Cusco if traveling in the south. Learn more about soroche…

Nomadays and food safety

During excursions and treks, we minimize risks by selecting restaurants that maintain minimum food hygiene standards and by working with highly experienced trek cooks who are specially trained. For meals not included in your itinerary, we recommend the best restaurants in cities, regardless of your budget.