As soon as people book their trip to our country, specifically Cusco, they start wondering about altitude sickness. The air at high altitudes contains less oxygen than at sea level and forces your body to work harder to get the oxygen it needs.

Over several days at altitude, your body adjusts to the lower amount of oxygen in the air. This is why we always recommend spending at least two days in Cusco before beginning any trek, an alternative is to go into the Sacred Valley so you can acclimate easier and you can still tour around.
With altitude sickness, you may first feel like you have the flu or a hangover. You may have a headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, trouble sleeping, trouble breathing during exercise. If any of these effects become severe, please contact our office and we will help you get to a doctor.
We always recommend easing into activity slowly, allowing your body to adjust. Drink plenty of fluids such as water or coca tea.

Remember the tours or treks to Machu Picchu are not a race. Even those in the best shape will suffer from altitude sickness when they race to the top of the mountain too quickly. Go slowly, it will give your body time to adjust to the mountain.
Your healthcare provider may prescribe medicines, such as acetazolamide and dexamethasone, to help prevent altitude sickness. Start the medicine two days before you get to a high altitude. Continue to take it while you are at high altitude.
You must remember that this is your holiday and you do not want to stress out about the possibility of getting sick from the mountains. Do everything slowly. Drink lots of water. And enjoy the coca tea. If anything does happen and you unfortunately get sick, let your guide know right away – all INCA SOUL guides are trained in how to help you get through it.

Welcome to Peru, of course the weather is unpredictable. Typically, the dry season in Cusco is from April through October, but this does not stop rain from falling in June or the sun from coming out in December – just be prepared. No matter which month you are doing a tour or trek, please make sure that you have rain gear that includes a waterproof jacket, pants, poncho and waterproof gloves. Many people forget about gloves, but being cold and wet makes hiking very unpleasant.
Also prepare for four seasons. Many of the tours and treks through the Andes involve many micro-climates and you will need to be prepared for all seasons. Layers are always key as they are easy to adjust to the different temperatures. And evenings will always be cold, so please be prepared with a warm winter-weight jacket.

Every Inca Soul guide has received training in first aid from a physician. We conduct mandatory training every year in February – every single guide attends. When guiding you, they will have with them a first aid kit for basic medical problems (traveler’s diarrhea, cuts/scrapes, etc.) and oxygen. They know how to make you feel better.
In case something unexpected happens and you feel you can no longer complete the trek, they will figure out the safest and quickest way off the course and to a clinic. You will never be left alone; you will have a member of the team escort you every step of the way until safely with a doctor. When you are feeling up to it, we will make sure that you still have the chance to visit the highlights (Machu Picchu) and reconnect with your family – group, traveling by train comfortably.

To protect your travel investment, we definitely recommend the purchase of travel insurance. Obtaining travel insurance before you leave home is strongly encouraged and very easy.

Inca Soul uses biodegradable soap and transports all our garbage back to Cusco. Our Workers, Guides, chefs, and finally if you are doing the Inca trail with us, our porters are trained to look after the trail and pick up any waste from other groups, as well. We also use environmentally-friendly chemical portable toilets that allow us to pack waste out. We believe in leaving no footprint behind.

Inca Soul is really proud of the work we do for our small community. This is a main focus for our company. We have worked with villages directly to help supply them with needs their families were missing. We have supported local schools by giving them computers and books, actually we had the chance to build a small school under the support of our clients. We currently sponsor a teacher at the village most of our porters come from to ensure their children are offered the best education.
We believe the most important, we offer ORGANIC. We buy all our food from local farmers and markets and serve the freshest ingredients. We provide English classes for all our team: guides, porters, chefs and drivers.

We are always looking to do more for our partners. Please let us know of your ideas and we will work to help.

If you are hiking with us the Inca Trail or a different trek, All of our treks include porters, who are responsible for carrying and setting up all equipment. They will also carry your personal (belongings) duffel, which you will receive at your briefing the night before your trek. The duffel that we provide cannot exceed 7 kg/14 lbs., and must include your sleeping bag and an air mattress.
Each Inca Soul porter is given a proper UNIFORM, SALARY and INSURANCE. They are the backbone of our company.

We are completely respectful with our family members, we understand that dressing our people looks nice, but we are very careful to respect them. Our team won’t be use as marketing object neither as merchandising.

At Inca Soul we cover all expenses of our members, their salary is according to the Peruvian law and they get an extra bonus yearly if they are recognized in our reviews or feedback. We highly recommend to tip them according to your satisfaction and level of service. We really treat you well, better to have some extra money for them. If you want more information about it, read our blog about tipping.