Travel Advice Your Peru Travel Questions Answered 19th March, 2025

If you’re heading on a trip to Peru with Kandoo and it’s your first time visiting this incredible country, it’s expected that you might have some questions about safety, local customs, visas, travel insurance, vaccinations and more. Below, we’ve answered some of our most frequently asked questions to help you prepare for your journey and get you excited about your upcoming trip.

Given the diverse landscapes and activities in Peru, including trekking in remote areas, having insurance can give you peace of mind during your travels. It’s always a good idea to review different policies before your trip and choose one that best fits your needs. Kandoo recommend World Nomads insurance from personal experience, but you can check out our other trekking insurance providers in our blog.

The easiest way to get to Machu Picchu is to get the train from Cuzco (three and a half hours away) or Ollantaytambo (90 minutes away) to Aguas Calientes. There are several trains a day and you can get a shuttle bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu.

Alternatively, there are a number of spectacular trekking routes to Machu Picchu including the famous Inca Trail and the Salkantay Trek. We may be biased, but we believe trekking one of these routes is the absolute best way to get to Machu Picchu.

You can find out more about the different trekking routes to Machu Picchu in our blog.

All our Peru treks have a difficulty rating of 3 out of 5, which we consider moderately challenging, meaning that you need a good level of fitness. These kind of treks need preparation, and we would suggest a minimum of 3-6 months of fitness training to ensure you can keep up with the itinerary. For this reason, we recommend that our Peru treks ideally need booking at least 6-12 months in advance. There is a limited number of permits issued each trekking season, so booking as far in advance as possible means you have a better chance of getting your trip confirmed for the dates you want to visit Machu Picchu.

As well as fuelling yourself with lots of carbs and nutritious foods on your trek, you need to stay well hydrated and should drink between 2-3 litres of water per day. At higher altitudes, keeping well hydrated is more important than ever as the lower air pressure forces you to breathe more quickly and deeply, and you lose a lot of water through your lungs. Depending on your daypack, you may have the option of taking two standard 1 litre water bottles or a 2 litre hydration bladder. Every morning, our team will fill up your bottles with water that has been filtered and boiled for drinking.

All trekkers travelling with Kandoo Adventures will spend at least a day in Cusco before departing on the trail, giving your body time to acclimatise. Our routes have been designed to aid your acclimatisation wherever possible, but the following will also help your body adjust:

• Stay hydrated – drink more water than you think you need. Even when you do not feel thirsty you should drink at least 2-3 litres of fluid every day while trekking as you can easily become dehydrated at high altitudes.
  
• Take your time – you need to keep your respiration rate low enough to maintain a normal conversation. If you are panting or breathing hard, you must slow down.
  
• Diamox – there has been a lot of research on Diamox that shows it is reasonably helpful in avoiding AMS by speeding up the acclimatisation process. In the UK it is a prescription drug which must be prescribed by a doctor. Diamox is taken before you start trekking to prevent altitude sickness, not once you are on the mountain and symptoms have developed.
  
• Coca tea – coca tea is thought to help relieve the symptoms of altitude sickness. In Cuzco, all the hotels have dried leaves and hot water available throughout the day so you can make your own tea whenever you wish. With Kandoo we will take coca leaf tea bags on the trek for you.
  

For more information, check out our full guide on altitude sickness and acclimatisation.

As a guideline, we recommend tipping $20 per day for the guide, $12 per day for the cook and $5 per day for the porters as total from the group.

Quechua is the second most commonly spoken language followed by Aymara, and both are also recognised as official languages in the regions where they are commonly spoken. Quechua originates from the Inca empire and is one of the Peruvian languages that spread across the country before the Spanish colonised Peru. Aymara is a language spoken in Peru by people who live around Lake Titicaca, as well as those who settled along the Peru–Bolivia border.

Other secluded communities also developed their own types of Peruvian languages, but these are at risk of extinction.

There are notes, or bills, with denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 soles. There are also coins of 10, 20 and 50 cents, as well as 1, 2 and 5 soles.

Peru is generally still a cash society, so it is important to carry enough cash with you for personal expenses. The Peruvian sol can be purchased in advance, although we recommend requesting small denominations (10’s, 20’s and 50’s) as the larger notes are more difficult to spend. If you want to withdraw money when you arrive, ATMs are available in Peruvian towns and cities, airports and malls, and most major credit cards are accepted.

Peru operates on a 220V supply voltage and 60Hz. As voltage can differ from country to country, you may need to use a voltage converter or transformer whilst in Peru. Most voltage converters and transformers come supplied with plug adapters, so you may not need to buy a separate travel adapter. All converters and transformers will have a maximum power rating (AMPS or WATTS) so make sure that any appliance you intend to use does not exceed this rating.