Review: Peru Tour, Sacred Valley, Lake Titicaca, Machu Picchu, Culture, Nature, Cuisine

We would be definitely much more careful about the water we drink and use for personal hygiene, and use hand sanitizer at every occasion. We would not take so many warm clothes (been scared by trip reports mentioning how cold it is in the highlands in August-September - it was not cold at all). We would probably try to stay even longer and cover a couple of additional areas that we couldn't visit this time (such as Colca Canyon and Nazca lines).

TRAVEL COMPANY COMMENTS:

Thank you for your in depth review of your recent trip to Peru. We are glad to read that you had a good time and that everything went to plan. Of course we are sad to hear that you picked up a stomach bug whilst on your trips. Peru is still considered a third world country, and the quality of the water coming out of the taps is much lower than that of perhaps some first world countries. Water purification systems do exist in Peru, and indeed many of the hotels that were used in your trip also have secondary filtration systems for the water. Bottled water in Peru is easily available, and a half liter bottle costs around 1 Sole (US$ 0.30), so it makes sense to always use bottled water. As a long time resident of Peru (who over the years has had his fair share of stomach related issues), I would say that it is okay to use the tap water to clean your teeth, but not to drink. However, for tourists who are visiting Peru for just a few days it makes sense to use bottled water for everything; why run the risk? The tap water in Peru is highly chlorinated, so the likely hood of picking up a bug from the water is actually very minimal, and it is most likely that you picked up something from poorly prepared food, which of course is harder to control. For this reason we always recommend to our clients that eating in high quality restaurants is always advisable.  

Our guides are trained to advise our clients about general health issues and water, but to make sure that are up-to-date we shall review our standard procedures, and also update our travel documentation for clients.