Macchu Pichu question

[John Saxton]

A question for those that have ventured to Peru and been to Macchu Pichu.

Has anyone who has done this had any issues with the Altitude in this region?
I am given to understand that the altitude may affect different folk and of course this is probably due to their levels of fitness/lung functionality!

Have heard that a B12 shot is good blood vessel enhancement so am looking at this as a means to counteract the thinner atmosphere at those heights.

Any feedback on personal experiences would be most appreciated.

Cheers:)

[BobL]

I've not been but I would not be unduly concerned unless you planning to hike the trail?
As most people go thru Cuzco you are much more likely to feel the symptoms there than at Machu Picchu so I would go a few days earlier to acclimatise

This info might be useful :
Beware of Altitude Sickness in Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail (http://www.incatrail-machupicchu.com/peru-travel/altitude-sickness.html)
altitude sickness - Machu Picchu Forum - TripAdvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294318-i3352-k214814-Altitude_sickness-Machu_Picchu_Sacred_Valley_Cusco_Region.html)

BTW I can recommend the audio book by Hiram Bingham on his rediscovery of Machu Picchu in 1911.

I hope to get there some time.

[John Saxton]

Thank you Bob for your response.

I have a little reading on this.I guess the altitude sickness thing comes down to the individual and their capacity to deal with it.

Cuzco is of the main concern I know that the hotels have oxygen available for those guests that require it ,personally I have never experienced it having been up to the peak of Mt Cook some 12000 ft in NZ but that was as a younger bloke.

Activities will undoubtedly be at quite a slow pace.

The time frame we have is limited as it is an excursion off of a cruise ship nominally over a period of 3 days to spend up there,whether that is enough to acclimatise oneself will remain a moot point.

Cheers:)

[_fly_]

Some people I was with in nepal got it, the sherpas made them go 50 metres higher, feel sick for 10 mins then come down those 50 metres and they felt ok at that level again. but that was 3500 metres before anybody felt anything.

[swk]

A good few years ago a friend of mine suffered altitude sickness climbing Mt Kilamanjaro. She had to be rushed down the mountain to the thicker air with more oxygen. She did it under her own steam, basically jumping down hill supported by two guides. Apparently very miffed that what took some hours to go up only 15 minutes or so to get down! :)

However I did a check on good 'ol wiki.
Kilamanjaro is over 19000 feet, while Macchu Pichu is "only" about 8000 feet. Typically for flying, oxygen isn't required till about 10000 feet. Airliners pressurise their interiors to the equivalent of 8000 feet too.

So, if you are not very active I don't think you will notice at all** (same as in a jet). However, if you start working hard you'll feel the difference, but unless you are very badly out of shape you won't come to any harm.

As a check Cuzco seems to be about 12000 feet, so potentially, long exposure there gets you into the realms of oxygen deprivation with meaningful effects.

Regards
SWK

**I spent a month at a place which was 5000 feet up once. It wasn't noticeable at all until I dived into a pool and tried to swim a distance underwater. I can usually do about 25m but this time I don't think I got more than 10! Was quite surprised till I worked out what was going on. Also I took more than a few days to acclimatise to get back to respectable underwater lengths even at just 5000 feet. I don't know if 3 days or so is going to make a meaningful difference on your trip.

[John Saxton]

Thanks for all your input,even though there is lots of reading on this nothing accounts for personal accounts or knowledge of others experience.

From what I can garner along with the B12 shots some other means prescribed by your GP such as Diamox can help to offset the high altitude issues. Drinking plenty of water will be necessary to expel the lactic acid build up in the body by urination.
The time spent at Macchu Pichu at the lower altitudes may well be enough to counter the debilitating effect of the higher altitudes at Cuzco.
The main concern here is not for myself rather for my wife ( with health issues )who insists that it is one that needs to be cleared from the bucket list before we get back into the caravan once again!

Cheers:)

[Trav]

I went to Cuzco and Maccu Piccu once. We had no trouble with altitude, although we had travelled overland through the Bolivian Altiplano (high plain) so we had travelled much higher than either Cuzco or Maccu Piccu. I can tell you that altitude is tough to manage. We made it to around 5000 or 6000m or more (I can't quite remember) and it was all I could do to get out of the car and look at a few things.

I think if you travelled overland from Lima to Cuzco and then on to Maccu Piccu you'd prob be ok. I would be wary of flying from sea level to Cuzco direct.

For the record, the Inca trail was one of the coolest things I've ever done. The Galapagos Islands were better, but Maccu Piccu was pretty awesome.

Trav