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Miscellaneous: Perhaps the most important thing to remember when packing for your trek on the Inca Trail is that you will not need as much “stuff” as you think. The old guideline of laying out all your necessities on your bed at home and then removing two thirds (or realistically, half) is fairly accurate. Packing light in Peru is especially important because there are weight restrictions for in-country flights as well as on the trail.
On our Inca Trail treks, we provide group camping gear including tents, stove, cooking equipment, sleeping bags, pads, food, and utensils. The Peruvian government has placed restrictions on the weight porters can carry on the trail. You are allowed a total of seven kilograms (16 pounds) of personal gear to give to the porters to carry for you (including your sleeping bag which weighs approximately four pounds).
In the mountains the weather can change drastically and quickly. You should be prepared for cold, hot, rain, and sun. Two theories crucial to your comfort are and “synthetic fibers” and “layering.” Synthetic fibers are vital when at altitude because they help to wick moisture away from your body. Layering is the system which allows you to add and subtract layers as needed, before you get either too cold or too hot. For instance, during the day, you might leave camp wearing a polypropylene tank top under a wicking t-shirt, under a long-sleeved fleece and covered with your waterproof and windproof jacket (with a hood) and pants (a material like Gore-Tex is great). Throughout the day you might become warm enough to shed three of those layers! At night, you might be most comfortable with a bottom layer of polypropylene underwear, topping that with a fleece or wool layer, adding a down jacket, and finally your waterproof outer layer.
Comfortable hiking boots are essential. You should wear your boots in advance to break them in! Equally important are lightweight and comfortable sandals or shoes (we love Crocs!) to wear once you get to camp.
Other clothing to pack: hiking pants and shorts (zip-offs are nice because they are pants AND shorts!), fleece pants and top, socks, a down jacket or vest, a couple extra under-layers (these are the ones that will bear the brunt of your sweating, so it is nice to have a clean one each day), a sun hat, fleece gloves and a pair of warm waterproof gloves or mittens.
What else? A headlamp with extra batteries is very useful for nighttime bathroom breaks or to illuminate the inside of your tent. A camp towel or bandana is useful for taking “bird baths” on the trek. A cheap plastic rain poncho will cover you and your pack in the event of a downpour (you can buy this in Peru right before we depart on the trek). Although we provide a fleece sleeping bag liner for you, you might consider bringing your own lightweight silk liner.
We highly recommend one or two trekking poles! Studies have shown these reduce muscle wear and knee strain and can help with balance. You must outfit your pole(s) with rubber tips to bring them on the Inca Trail.
Finally, you should have a daypack that is comfortable and large enough to carry water, snacks, and extra clothing during the day. Plan on packing at least 2 one-liter bottles that won’t melt when hot water is added. Hydration packs (like Camelbaks) also work well.
Written Apr 16, 2010
Phone: 888-758-8687
Website: www.incatrailhiking.com
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Luggage and bags: 5 things you truly need: a good daypack, comfortable shoes, wicking hiking socks, a fleece jacket and your mental toughness.
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Did the Inca trail recently. No matter what people say -- bring a rain jacket &/or poncho, no matter what season it is. Our first day of hiking was sunny & great, then it rained for 2 days. Our guide said that we didn't need ponchos..hhhm.. Should have brought one. Also, you can buy your winter hat/cap, gloves & scarves in peru -- much cheaper & la ighter load for you. Buy them, use them & give them as presents when you go home.
Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Altitude sickness pills, diarrhea meds, toiletries, etc can be purchased in Peru. Cheaper, don't need prescription -- just ask your local guides what you need.
Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: You don't have to bring your own sleeping bags and/or mats. Unless you're emotionally attached to yours, you can rent them in cuzco for $12 each. Not too bad if you're going to be traveling peru for weeks, carrying that extra weight is not going to be fun.
Miscellaneous: Make sure you bring PADLOCKS for your luggage. You will be traveling by bus, train, etc. There have been reports on people going under buses, digging through luggage bags in airports (they stole my ipod charger & a a traveling friend of mine also lost his ipod & battery charger -- these 2 are big in the black market) and etc.
Written Sep 20, 2006
Helpfulness
Luggage and bags: 5 things you truly need: a good daypack, comfortable shoes, wicking hiking socks, a fleece jacket and your mental toughness.
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Did the Inca trail recently. No matter what people say -- bring a rain jacket &/or poncho, no matter what season it is. Our first day of hiking was sunny & great, then it rained for 2 days. Our guide said that we didn't need ponchos..hhhm.. Should have brought one. Also, you can buy your winter hat/cap, gloves & scarves in peru -- much cheaper & la ighter load for you. Buy them, use them & give them as presents when you go home.
Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Altitude sickness pills, diarrhea meds, toiletries, etc can be purchased in Peru. Cheaper, don't need prescription -- just ask your local guides what you need.
Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: You don't have to bring your own sleeping bags and/or mats. Unless you're emotionally attached to yours, you can rent them in cuzco for $12 each. Not too bad if you're going to be traveling peru for weeks, carrying that extra weight is not going to be fun.
Miscellaneous: Make sure you bring PADLOCKS for your luggage. You will be traveling by bus, train, etc. There have been reports on people going under buses, digging through luggage bags in airports (they stole my ipod charger & a a traveling friend of mine also lost his ipod & battery charger -- these 2 are big in the black market) and etc.
Written Sep 20, 2006
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Luggage and bags: Waterproof bags
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Waterproofs - it rains a lot. A rain cape is a good idea, looks a bit stupid but gives excellent ventilation in the heat .You can also put it over your daypack at the risk of looking like the hunchback of Notre Dam!
T shirts/Trousers that dry quickly- everything gets damp here
More clothes than you think you'll need. Everything gets wet quickly either from rain or you sweating buckets and you'll need to change clothing often
Neutral coloured clothing. Bright colours can frighten the wildlife.
Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Anti malarials
Antiseptic wipes/lotions etc
Mosquito repellent/after bite
Sun lotion (above SPF 15, preferable 30. The sun is very strong)
Sun hat - my God its so hot there!
antibacterial alcohol based hand wash & tissues to use as toilet paper
Photo Equipment: batteries
plastic bag to protect camera
Zoom lens for photographing wildlife
binoculars for wildlife spotting
Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: torch
headtorch for night hikes
battery operated fan if you don't like the heat and humidity
Miscellaneous: Acidophilis(friendly bacteria capsules) buy them from health shops, helps protects against runny bottoms and tummy upsets!
Updated Aug 23, 2006
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Luggage and bags: backpack
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: sturdy and comfortable walking shoes
pair of socks for each day
cap
Toiletries and Medical Supplies: diamox pills prescribed by your MD (just in case you needed it)
Photo Equipment: a good camera with lots of memory space because once you get there you`ll be trigger happy
Miscellaneous: never forget your sunblock
Updated Jul 15, 2006
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Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: If going in the low season, Cusco can get rather chilly at night. Had to wear a sweatshirt and some nice wool socks. Also was nice to wear my hiking boots around and some long underwear. Extra bankets at the hotels/hostels are highly recommended. But in the day time, it warms up a bit where you can wear shorts and a t-shirt.
Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Was fine with bringing just advil, although some people in my group got a little stomach sick. Drink a ton of water to flush your system and you should be good to go. Might want to bring a roll of toilet paper with you as a lot of places (besides where you'll be staying) don't have toilet paper available in the stalls.
Photo Equipment: Digital cameras is definitely nice to have. All over Peru (Lima, Cusco, Ollantaytambo, and even Puerto Maldonado) there are places where you can download your pictures from your digital camera (no matter what type of memory card you have) onto cd so you can keep on taking those pictures.
Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: If in the rainy season, definitely bring some rain gear, or you could get ponchos pretty cheap out on the streets. A bag cover might be nice to just in case you're hiking around from place to place and you get caught in a down pour. Garbage bags also work pretty well.
Miscellaneous: If you're going into the rainforest, definitely, bring some mosquito/bug repellant if that stuff bothers you. I kind of like bugs, but sometimes the mosquitos get a little annoying.
Written Jan 7, 2006
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Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Wow, sunblock is essential like most people here point out. We were really stupid and went out one day on a low altitude, cloudy sky hike and ended up being so sunburned that we were in bed a full day suffering. Completey stupid of us, and it was a day wasted that easily could've been avoided had we ONLY FOLLOWED THE OTHER TIPS!!! :-) So please, listen when people say -- cover yourself in sunblock no matter what!! We saw so many other burnt faces it's just not worth it.
Written Dec 1, 2005
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Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Most all public restrooms do not have toilet paper or soap. I would highly suggest always having some on hand, as well as some hand sanitizer. Also -- do not put the toilet paper in the toilet, but in the trash can next to the toilet. Some places have signs telling you this but it's a general rule to help the poor plumbing.
Written Dec 1, 2005
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Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: To check todays Peru weather
or the average weather during your travel month:
http://weather.yahoo.com/regional/PEXX.html
For instance, august average temperature:
Lima
avg high=66.0° F, avg low=60.0° F
Arequipa
84.0° F 75.0° F
Cusco
67.8° F 35.1° F
Puno
No August average available.
Today: 53° F 28° F
Figure it is about the same
in August as Cusco because
the altitudes are similar.
In general, figure on 3° F drop for every 1000 ft of
elevation gain, at night. So if the low in Lima at sea level
is 60 F, then Cusco is about 10,000 ft higher so
it is about 30 F colder. Puno is also high altitude.
Updated Jun 8, 2005
Website: http://weather.yahoo.com/regional/PEXX.html
Helpfulness
Luggage and bags: If you can avoid bringing large suitcases with you, do it. The streets in Cusco aren't really paved. They're more like tiles and cobblestones, and are really narrow. If you have large luggage it would be very difficult to maneuver. If you can't avoid it, arrange for a car to take you where you need to go so that you don't need to drag your luggage all over. Small luggage and backpacks are highly recommended.
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Good hiking boots and comfortable walking shoes/sneakers are a must. Because the majority of the streets aren't really paved, you'll need good, comfortable shoes with a good thick sole for walking around. People don't really get dressed up too much (not that we saw, anyway), so there's no need for women to bring high heeled shoes. You'd just be miserable and probably end up breaking your neck. The streets can also get pretty slippery when wet, so keep that in mind. Pack an umbrella, and make sure to bring a jacket. We were there during the first week of May which is the beginning of the dry season and heading towards their winter, and it got pretty cold at night (40's F). It'd just be colder at night, the deeper into their winter it gets. You should also pack a hat of some sort to protect you from the sun. We also had hiking pants that zipped off into shorts, and they came in handy on our hikes. When we got too hot, we just zipped the legs off and tossed them in our backpack.
Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Pack some headache medicine in case the high altitude gives you a headache. I'd recommend packing some immodium or kaopectate for those "unexpected" issues. Also, bring a really good sunblock with a high SPF (30 or over). The high elevation and the proximity to the equator make the sun very strong. Even on cool, cloudy days the sun is very strong, so don't let it fool you. My husband and I learned that the hard way and have the weird sunburn lines to show for it...
Photo Equipment: Camera, batteries (and recharger), film, extra memory cards, tripod. There are so many things that are picture-worthy, so don't be caught unprepared!
Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: We didn't camp out, but I'd suggest a warm sleeping bag because the nights were pretty cold (40's F).
Updated May 12, 2005
Website: http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/04-08/cuzco-nutz-and-bolts.html
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