I am going to huancayo, peru on saturday. Does anyone know the following?

Question

a- Altitude sickness - are there any natural remedies to help with this?

b- I am staying in a volunteer residence, has anyone ever been?

c- wat should i be careful of?

thanks.

Answer 1

Oh Huancayo is really nice! Make sure you visit surrounding towns like Ingenio where there is a trout farm, and Cochas (something like that) where they make these carved seed pods.

a- Altitude sickness: there is coca tea which is supposed to help, and sorochipil is also supposed to be good. My personal advice is just eat normally and drink a lot. Altitude sickness only affects some people more severely though, I guess, so if you are not sure if you are one of them, take one of the above. One time I went to Cuzco I didnt drink enough and I got very dizzy.

b - Volunteer residence - really depends on where you are going. I had a friend who was in one in Huancayo, coincidentally, and she said the place was OK but the work was terrible, very disorganised. That was just her experience in that particular one, though.

c - Be careful of... thieves and food. Try not to look too touristy, keep money in pockets and dont carry many valuables around. Also be careful not to be ripped off! Sometimes taxi drivers or others raise prices a lot for the tourists, so try to know roughly how much a local would pay before buying or paying for something. Food: Is really good, just make sure you eat in places you can see are reasonably popular, and dont eat things like lettuce or other salad things where the outside is exposed and they might not have been washed.

Have a great time!

Answer 2

a) Your best bet is to take ACETAK before you travel. it's what the high mountain rescue people take. You start taking it 2 days before you go.

b) been to huancayo, but not to a volunteer residence, so sorry, can't help there.

c) be carefull with pickpockets, especially close to the main square.

There's a trout farm in nearby Miraflores, so you should try some of that.

Answer 3

Coca tea is an excellent remedy for altitude sickness.  I live in Lima, and recently took a trip to Cuzco -  fresh coca tea worked very well.

Can't help you much with b or c, but if you're in Huancayo, definitely have the papas a la huancaina!

Answer 4

About High-sickness "SOROCHE" everybody offers you Coca Tea to smooth it sown. But there's a pill that help a lot, SOROCHIPIL.

You can get it on any big Pharmacy. I used it on my son when he was 8 years old and went to a mountain 12,000 ft above sea level my wife also suffers a lot up there and now she enjoys going to the mountain thanks to the sorochipil.

Always be carefull in downtown Huancayo not carrying valuables, pickpoketers are in the lookout for foreigners, just go with some locals.