Each year I take 2-5 small group tours to Peru and Machu Picchu. The Traveling Professor has been doing that for about 3 years now. I often speak at travel shows and with civic organization about traveling to Peru. People call me with questions about Peru regarding altitude sickness, the safety of Peru, hotel quality, and well, they wonder if Peru is a "third-world" country. In this blog post I will tell you more about Peru and what you can expect if you are traveling solo to Peru or on one of my small group tours to Peru and Machu Picchu.
I was exhibiting at the Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show this weekend and one of the most common concerns brought up by people interested in a tour to Peru and Machu Picchu was the issue of altitude sickness, also known as soroche or AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). No matter how you slice it, 10% of all travelers to Peru and Machu Picchu will get it, but in this blog post I will give my tips on how to avoid it and how to handle altitude sickness if you do indeed get it while on a tour to Peru.