Packing list for Peru, travel insurance for Peru, and taking your belongings

What to take with you to Peru: spotlighted

Featured items:

• Documents: a passport that is valid for at least 6 months, and copies!
• Money: taking Peruvian Sol is useful for everyday business and because ATMs can sometimes be empty. US dollars are very useful to have with you for emergencies.
• Care: high factor sunscreen and good lip balm, for trips to altitude.
• Outdoor and practical: cap or hat and sunglasses because the sun is incredibly strong.
• Protection: a raincoat is essential with the unpredictable weather and a rain cover or liner for your backpack will probably come in handy too.
• Comfort: a quick-drying towel.
• Clothing: in Peru, a layering system with lightweight, quick-drying clothing for the rainforest and slightly warmer clothing for the higher towns and mountains is useful.
• Shoes: comfortable walking shoes.
• Medicines and travel kit: a small first aid kit with plasters, painkillers, ORS (dehydration is a thing) and hand gel. Mosquito repellent is also important.
• Safety: a money belt.
• Technology and equipment: world plug type A&C, as a Dutch person you often need a travel plug.

What are some other options for packing:

• Reusable water bottle with filter, because tap water is technically drinkable, but often tastes strange.
• Toilet paper, easily biodegradable tissues for the public toilets.
• A pee cloth for when you go for a long walk (never just leave paper behind in nature!).
• Headlamp for when the power goes out or for when you are hiking.
• Power bank for during the hikes.
• A hat for in the mountains - although it is of course much more fun to buy one there.
• Altitude sickness pills if you have big plans (they are also available there).
• A mosquito net, if you are planning to go to remote areas yourself. Most jungle treks and lodges offer accommodation with mosquito nets.

What should you keep in mind when traveling to Peru with your belongings?

• Which medicines you can and cannot get, especially if you are going to more remote places.
• In which season you are going to Peru and what the weather is like in the places you are going.
• What is the situation with mosquitoes in the locations you are going to visit.

Are there mosquitoes in Peru?

• There are mosquitoes in Peru, but not everywhere.
• Mosquitoes particularly enjoy the lowland areas, such as the Amazon and other forests. Mosquitoes are also found at Machu Picchu. In the higher areas, including on the Inca Trail, they are hardly found.
• There are more mosquitoes during the rainy season in the Amazon.
• The mosquitoes can transmit several diseases.
• More about protection against mosquitoes and insects.

Are there sandflies in Peru?

• Peru has several species of sandflies. Most of them are found in the Amazon, but little is known about the further spread of sandflies.
• Sandflies increase in numbers during the dry season.
• The country also has a high number of cases of Leishmaniasis.
• Socks, long, airy clothing and mosquito repellent help a lot.
• More about sand flies and sand fleas.

Can you buy DEET, or other mosquito repellents, in Peru?

• Yes, mosquito repellent is available in Lima and Cusco, but often expensive and without or with lower concentrations of DEET.
• So the choice is limited.

Can you buy a joint or weed in Peru, or take it with you to Peru?

• Using cannabis for your own pleasure is not permitted in Peru. Nevertheless, you are allowed to have 8 grams of marijuana, or two grams of derivatives, in your pocket if it is really just for you.
• The police are not always predictable, so you do run a risk.
• In any case, do not smoke in public. That can cause quite a bit of irritation.
• The rules are somewhat vague and in transition with regard to medical cannabis. But as a tourist you are not allowed to use it, or take it into the country.