If you’re wondering whether or not you’ll get really sick due to the extremely high altitude in Cusco then this article should help you prepare and hopefully not get sick at all. With all this altitude sickness stress, you’re probably wondering, is Cusco worth visiting? Yes it is.
One of the first signs we noticed that we were just not getting enough oxygen was a tingly sensation all over the body when walking uphill. Also, going up regular stairs in a hotel or restaurant will have you feeling very out of breath faster than you’re used to.
I just want to preface with saying that I traveled to Cusco with my friend Ramon and you see him in a lot of my photos. We both had absolutely zero symptoms of altitude sickness whatsoever. In this guide I’ll tell you everything we did to prevent altitude sickness in Cusco.
Something to note is that: We did drink alcohol from the very first day, walked up and down hills a lot and did tours and hikes on our very first day in Cusco. All without experiencing altitude sickness.
I hope all these tips and tricks would help you a lot, but the reality is it depends on the person and some people even say it’s almost random and doesn’t really have anything to do with physical fitness. I still think physical fitness has some part to play in determining how you feel.
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1. Buy and take altitude sickness pills before arriving in Cusco
We were so paranoid and worried that altitude sickness would ruin our trip and waste the days we had in Cusco, that we decided to try preventative measures. At the airport in Cusco we bought coca tea pills and also at a pharmacy near to our hotel we got altitude pills. I specifically asked for Diamox at first, but they didn’t have at any pharmacy we went to, but they gave us an alternative.
Now, these pills and coca tea are supposed to help with easing the symptoms of altitude sickness. Not stop or prevent it completely. I’m not too sure the magnitude of the effect of the pills we took, but in the end we were perfectly fine and felt like ourselves.
2. Drink coca tea constantly
With every breakfast, lunch, dinner and even randomly, try your best to drink coca tea. We were mainly drinking coca tea because it felt nice and warm while Cusco was so very cold, especially in the morning.
I was surprised when I realized that coca tea is basically free everywhere in Cusco. At every restaurant, at our hotel, bars, on hikes and tours, coca tea was offered and was 100% free. It seems the locals here know how essential it is for tourists to have coca tea to prevent altitude sickness in Cusco.
3. Take it easy for the first few days
For me, the first realization that I was located at a totally different altitude level was how I felt after walking up my hotel stairs. When you just arrive in Cusco, your body is not well adjusted to the altitude as yet. What would be a walk in the park back home was a marathon here. But, at least for me, I had to do something exerting to trigger that feeling.
A lack of oxygen in your body will also trigger a tingly feeling all over when you start to do more physically demanding things. There was this really long flight of stairs we had to walk up in order to get to our hotel if we ever go deeper into the city. Walking up those stairs and later on, uphill on hikes, made me feel a cold and tingly spark throughout my body.
4. No alcohol and drink plenty of water
Alcohol doesn’t cause any symptoms related to altitude sickness in Cusco. What it does is it worsens any symptoms you may get by a lot. Alcohol just makes adjusting to the altitude much harder. Any headache, fatigue, dizziness or nausea will feel worse.
Alcohol also disrupts sleep sometimes and makes you dehydrated. Which is why you need to drink loads of water. I am a person that usually drinks a lot of water consciously. In Cusco I was drinking even more water than I usually do. And trust me when I say I drink a ton of water. I would drink regular water, along with the water from the coca tea.
