What else should i bring?

Hi April,

Welcome to TravelBlog.

Things I took which I was glad I did;
lightweight trousers which zip off at the knees (DON'T wear jeans for walking on the Inca Trail)
torch ( a head one would have been better)
toilet paper
hand sanitiser
sunblock/sunglasses
Extra camera batteries, plenty of memory cards, more batteries
A good raincoat - recommend Gortex

I also took a small guide book on NZ, mostly pictures, and gave it to my porter - went down really well!

Depending on which company you go with, they may provide boiled drinking water for you in the mornings. I took iodine tablets, but hardly used them because we were provided with water.

You'll hear differing opinions on footwear. I wore hiking boots, others didn't and were ok - but I prefer having some ankle support.

Might think of someone else later..... :-) Reply to this

I went in April 3 years ago, and although we had near perfect weather the whole time we were very fortunate. There had actually been a lot of rain prior to that, causing a landslide at the end of the Trail, meaning we had to cut short the last part and spend the last night in a hostel in Aguas Caliente. (It had a silver lining though, instead of watching the sunrise from a fair distance we got to watch it from immediately above MP, and get down among everything before it got busier.) So, I would go for the good raincoat above the emergency poncho. As you mentioned it doubles as a warm jacket. From memory there were heavy rain showers late afternoon sometimes in Cusco.

Btw, the climb up Huayna Picchu is very worth it, but is limited to 400 people a day so head there before wandering around the site by yourself. Don't forget to get your passport stamped at the gate into Huayna Picchu.

I felt safe in Cusco. There is a strong police presence in the public areas like the main square. If I wanted to get anything out of/put anything into my bag I went and sat near one of the police while I did it. Also, if catching a taxi home after dark I asked one of the police to stop one for me.

How long will you be there before your Trail trip starts?

**I actually wished I had taken more than one of the little guide books, so that I could have given more away. I gave the one I had to my porter at the final dinner we all had together, and when we left the restaurant we saw all the porters crowded round it!! I got way more pleasure from that, than whatever small amount I would have paid for it in the first place :-)

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Thanks Jo, I will be in Lima on the 12th, then to Colca Canyon, then to Cusco for 2 full days before my trip starts, and 3 days following the trek. Good to know you felt safe is Cusco. I will keep my eye open for guidebooks, I live in a tourist area in San Diego, I see them at the drugstore. For sure will bring a rainproof jacket, thanks a lot for your advice! Hopefully we can be one of the 400 lucky ones, but if not, we are stay in Aguas Caliente so we can opt to return. Cheers! Reply to this

Walking sticks! they were a great help especially when climbing down the mountain, it helped my balance as we had some shaky legs 😊 Reply to this