Detailed Packing List for Baylor in Peru
Documents
- passport
- photo copy of passport to keep in your wallet
- drivers license
- insurance card for your regular health insurance
Money
- $500 cash (minimum)
- credit card
A frugal traveler should be fine with $500, but a more lavish traveler may want $800-1,000. Breakfast and lunch is provided every day at the school, and I will give you money for your evening meals. However, some of you may get tired of the meals at the school or want to eat at nicer restaurants than fits in the program budget.
A credit card is helpful in two ways. First, all of the restaurants and stores in Cusco take credit cards, which is a convenient way to pay for most things. Second, it’s the best way to pay for medical treatment in an emergency. The program fee provides traveler’s insurance, but it is a pay-first policy. You will have to pay for your treatment and then be reimbursed later.
Visa seems to be more widely accepted in Peru than MasterCard or other types of credit cards. You should always pay in the local currency, Nuevo Sols, with your card. If you allow the merchant to charge you in US dollars, they may apply an unnecessary 2% “currency conversion” fee.
Luggage
Since we’ll be flying on a regional airline (such as LATAM, Peruvian, or Avianca) from Lima to Cusco, I suggest using the size restrictions for that airline as they’re generally more restrictive. Plan on bringing one checked bag, one carry-on bag, and one small handbag.
https://www.latam.com/en_us/travel-information/baggage/carry-on-baggage/
- Checked Bag
- weight: 50 lbs
- size: 62 linear inches (H+W+D) (including handles and wheels)
- Carry-On Bag
- weight: 17 lbs
- size: 21 x 13 x 9 (including handles and wheels)
- Handbag
- you can bring a small bag to put under your seat (e.g., a purse or European carryall).
- size: 18 x 14 x 8
I suggest finding a backpack that works with the Carry-On limit and plan to use it as your backpack for the Salkantay hike (described below). An average-size book bag like the kind students carry around campus should be adequate for the hike (for example, The North Face Jester is 19 x 13 x 7.5).
Try to bring just one checked bag, but you are allowed to bring a second if you are able to keep up with it on your own and are willing to go through the hassles at the airport to pay the extra fee.
In the Cusco airport, they charge a fee based on the total weight of your baggage regardless of how many actual bags you check. The charge is about $3 per kilo (4.4 lbs) over the maximum of 23 kg (50 lbs).
Laundry
Good news! You won’t have to do laundry on the trip. The residence has a laundry service that charges about $2 per kilo (4.4 lbs) and returns your clothes in about 24 hours. There are places near the residence where you can take clothes to be dry cleaned or to give special instructions, but none where you do your own wash. I suggest you only bring clothes that are easy to clean and don’t require special care.
Clothes
Our time in Peru will be very casual. Cusco has very nice restaurants and shops, but tourists tend to dress for adventure. You may, of course, bring some formal clothes but it will never be required.
Climate
The most important detail to keep in mind is that it’s winter in Peru. You might like to have one or two pairs of shorts and a couple t-shirts, but don’t plan on wearing them very often. Most of you will want to wear long pants and a long-sleeve shirt or sweater all the time. During the day, temperatures will reach into the 60s or 70s. However, like most high-altitude places, when the sun goes down (about 5:30 pm in July) it gets cold quickly. The night temperature will drop into the 30s. Layers are a good idea. The residence also gets chilly at night, so you might like to have flannel pajamas, wool socks, and warm house shoes.
Bring a rain jacket that you can stuff into your backpack as well. It doesn’t rain much in the summer, but rain is possible any day in the mountains.
Sun
The next most important packing detail is to be aware that you will be at very high altitude for several weeks, and the risk of sunburn becomes more serious as the atmosphere gets thinner. You may have experienced this kind of sunburn before on a ski trip. You should make a plan to keep your skin safe either by being serious about sunscreen or by wearing clothing that keeps you covered: light long-sleeve shirts you can wear even on warm days, a hat with a brim, etc.
Medicine
Cusco is a great town that every year hosts over a million tourists comfortably and safely, but it’s in a developing country, and you should be prepared to deal with stomach trouble.
Fortunately, the Amauta Spanish School facility has a doctor on-site who can help diagnose and prescribe medicine for you, if you get sick. There are pharmacies in Cusco where most drugs can be purchased, but they may not be a brand you recognize.
Some of you may want to be extra-cautious and talk to your doctor in the US before starting the trip. It is possible to get an antibiotic in advance and keep it with you until you experience symptoms. Your doctor may also be able to prescribe a strong loperamide (sold over-the-counter as Imodium).
If you’ve had problems in the past with altitude sickness, you might also talk to your doctor about that as well. Diamox (or Acetazolamide) is commonly prescribed to help people ease into altitude, but it’s not for everyone because of side effects.
For most of you, altitude medicine is unnecessary. I don’t plan on taking any. I usually have a mild headache and loss of appetite for about 2 day, then feel great the rest of the trip. We won’t plan any big exertion for the first few days while everyone is acclimatizing.
Electricity
Peru uses 220v power (as opposed to 110-120 in the US). The hotels and the residence where we will stay have the same style of electrical plugs that we have in the US. Some other places only have Type C plugs (2 round prongs, like those used in France and Germany). I generally bring an adapter, but rarely need it.
I recommend that you NOT bring a converter. Check the voltage range for the electronics you’re bringing. Most USB and computer chargers are rated up to 240v and can plug directly into the outlets in Peru. With a little planning, you can probably get by without a 110v appliance.
If you want something like a hairdryer or curling iron, you have two options: bring a dual-voltage (travel) appliance, or buy one in Peru.
Dorm Room
Your Amauta dorm room is in the same building where you’ll take class and eat breakfast and lunch. It will have a bed, nightstand, and a study desk with a chair. They will provide bed linens, wool blankets, and a pillow, but not towels. I suggest bringing a luggage lock for your luggage, and then using the same lock to secure things in your nightstand. The dorm has free wifi, but cell signal strength is weak.
Bulky Things
You may find it easier to buy some things in Cusco rather than pack and carry them. There are a few stores very near the residence with products similar to what you would find in a CVS, and there are stores with products similar to a Walmart just a 15-minute taxi drive away. For example, you might bring a small towel and plan to buy a larger towel or two once you’re settled into Cusco.
Excursions
For the day hikes, you’ll mostly rely on the same things you’ll want for life in Cusco and on the Salkantay hike. You’ll want a backpack to carry a water bottle, rain jacket, sweatshirt/sweater, snacks, and sunscreen.
A harder question relates to hiking shoes. The Salkantay hike will be rough on your feet with lots and lots of rocks. If you already have a pair, bring them. If you don’t, I recommend buying hiking shoes, but under two conditions…
- the $75 to $150 cost isn’t too much for you
- you can commit to walking several miles in them before the trip so they don’t rub blisters while you’re on the trail
If either of these is a problem, just bring a pair of athletic shoes, preferably with a thick sole.
Salkantay Hike
This part of the trip has some special requirements. Our fee includes porters who will cook our meals and setup our campsites, as well as horses that will carry all the heavy things. A sleeping bag will be provided for you.
Let’s start with the backpack. As mentioned before, I suggest finding a backpack that also works as your Carry-On (described above) and using that bag for both your Carry-On and your hiking backpack.
You can also bring a Horse Bag, a small bag (e.g., a duffle or stuff sack; the gym bag I bring measures about 18 x 11 x 12) to be carried by the horses. The bag limit is 10 lbs per hiker. You’ll only have access to the bag at the campsite in the morning and evening. While we’re hiking we have to carry our own water, jacket, snacks, and anything else we want for the trail.
Pack clothes and supplies for 4 days / 3 nights:
- Wednesday – all day hiking, sleep in tents
- Thursday – all day hiking, sleep in tents
- Friday – hike in the morning, sleep in a hotel
- Saturday – tour Machu Picchu in the morning, travel back to Cusco in the afternoon
The next issue is the cold. The days walking on the trail should be beautiful: 70 degrees and sunshine. But, when you’re at high altitude, it can rain anytime and the temperature can drop quickly, especially when the sun goes down. You should expect it to be 70 degrees at 3:00 pm, 50 degrees by 6:30 pm, 40 degrees by 10:00 pm, and 30 degrees by sunrise.
When you’re thinking about clothes for this trip, look for clothes that are both light weight and that will keep you warm, such as a goose down (or synthetic) jacket, wool socks, fleece pullover, etc. Cotton is the worst material: it’s heavy, a bad insulator, and dries slowly if it gets wet. Nylon, polyester, and wool are better. For the hike, try to pack as few things made of cotton as possible.
As for water, the program fee includes two 1-liter water bottles each day. If you want to purchase more bottled water (about $4 per liter), there are usually stores where we camp that sell snacks and things to drink. The program fee also includes hot tea and coffee 3 times a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Be sure to experiment getting your trail essentials into your Horse Bag and your backpack. Your Horse Bag must be under 10 lbs., and I recommend keeping the backpack you plan on carrying under 10 lbs. as well. Remember to fill your water bottle before weighing your pack (a liter of water is about 2.2 lbs.). If your backpack exceeds 12 lbs., throw something out.
The PDF at the top of the page has a checklist of items specifically for this hike.
Phone & DUO
If you’re using an international plan with your current phone, you can use the “DUO Push” method (the one that goes through the DUO App) in Peru. If you’ve been using the “Call Me” or “Passcode” methods, you should download the App and be sure you can work with the “Push” method.
If you plan on purchasing a Peruvian SIM card, you need to make a plan to keep DUO working. You have two options.
- enroll a “tablet” as a secondary device – This is an easy option if you have a tablet. If you don’t have a tablet, an old smartphone will work (e.g., that old iPhone 5 in your sock drawer). This solution is also helpful after Peru because it gives you a permanent second option to handle DUO if you’ve lost your phone. Adding the tablet/smartphone is explained here: https://www.baylor.edu/its/index.php?id=936632
- replace DUO phone number once in Peru – After you purchase your new SIM card in Peru, you can email the Baylor HELP DESK <helpdesk@baylor.edu>, and request they drop your current number and add your new international number to your DUO account. This solution has two small issues you should be aware of. It will take a few days to get your new SIM card, and then another few days before the HELP DESK makes the change. During that time, DUO will not work for you. Also, you will need to email the HELP DESK once you return home requesting they re-add your US phone number.
