Altitude sickness
Let’s say that your altitude line is just over 3,000m. To illustrate this point, mountaineers have come up with a term called the acclimatisation line, which describes an altitude line at which someone’s altitude sickness symptoms appear. Given enough time at a ‘reasonable’ starting altitude, the body will acclimatise, and progressing to higher altitudes, whilst remaining asymptomatic, becomes possible. Third, an increase in pressure in your pulmonary capillaries forces blood into areas of the lungs that are not used when breathing at sea level.Īnd finally, a certain enzyme is secreted which promotes more effective transfer of oxygen from your haemoglobin to your blood tissue. The second thing that happens is that the number of red blood cells – which carry oxygen in your blood – increases. The good news is that the body is very ingenious and immediately deploys measures to start dealing with the lower levels of oxygen per breath.įirst, you will notice that your breathing becomes faster and deeper (even at rest) – this is a good sign so embrace it! Lima, Peru) oxygen saturation in the air is about 21% and barometric pressure is around 760mmHg (millimetres of mercury).Īs one ascends oxygen saturation stays relatively constant but air density drops, which means the % of oxygen per breath reduces (imagine oxygen molecules moving further and further away from each other at higher altitudes).įor examples, at 3,600m (just above Cusco), barometric pressure is around 480mmHg, and oxygen per breath is 40% less that at sea level!Ī few hours after arriving in Cusco you will undoubtedly feel the ‘thinness’ of air, and even walking short distances will put you out of breath.
Most, if not all visitors to Machu Picchu, arrive by flying into Cusco which sits at 3,400m – on the boundary of the high and very high altitude zone.Īt sea level (i.e. What makes treks to Machu Picchu tough, and potentially dangerous, is the speed at which you arrive at high altitude. Most people can ascend from sea level to 2,400m without experiencing altitude sickness symptoms, but beyond this height changes in oxygen and pressure levels start having an impact on people’s physiology. There are other zones above extreme altitude, but these are limited to the Himalayas – like the death zone which is above 8,000m!
In mountaineering parlance, there are three main levels of altitude: Rick Curtis’ Outdoor Action Guide to High Altitude, written for Princeton University, and insight from the Everest Base Camp Medical Centre in Nepal were two particularly helpful resources.Īcclimatisation refers to the process by which the body becomes accustomed to lower levels of oxygen, and is only achieved by spending time at various levels of altitude before progressing higher. In this detailed article on Machu Picchu altitude sickness we have provided general information on the process of acclimatisation, an overview on altitude sickness, HACE and HAPE, as well as provided details on preventative medications like Diamox and natural remedies like coca tea.Īt the end of the article we have provided useful information on travel and trekking insurance, which we recommend you have for your Machu Picchu trek.Ī variety of authoritative resources have been used to put this article together.
Altitude sickness how to#
It is important that you understand these risks so that you can take the best preventative actions, as well as be well-informed on how to deal with altitude sickness symptoms, and it’s severe variants – High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) – both are very rare conditions on Machu Picchu treks. All treks to Machu Picchu involve going to ‘ high altitude‘, and therefore come with obvious altitude sickness risks.