A hiking trip in Peru definitely required a packing list that I had to research for completeness. Below, I have included all of the items that I utilized while hiking Chocoquirao. During this trip, a portion of the beginning and end of the trip was spent a hotel in Cusco. For that reason, I was able to pack in a larger bag and leave my additional luggage at the hotel. I hope that this list helps the more unexperienced hiker pack for their next trip.
1. Phone
2. Sols
3. Camelback
4. Hiking boots
5. Flip Flops vs tennis shoe
6. Insect Repellant (DEET)
7. Hand Sanitizer
8. Sunscreen
9. Sunglasses
10. Hat
11. Headlight
12. Energy Snacks
13. Camera
14. Back up charger
15. Medications
16. First Aid – band aids, etc.
17. Gloves/Scarf
18. Baby wipes
19. Plastic bags – to pack clothes in
20. Waterproof clothes/jacket
21. Passport
22. Deodrant
23. Toothbrush/paste
24. Toilet paper
25. Dry Shampoo/Soap
26. Lip balm with SPF
27. Thermal underwear
28. Underwear/sport bras
29. Socks
30. Hiking pants
31. Day pack/backpack
32. Tops – sleeveless, short, long
33. Jacket
34. Fleece
35. Pillow
36. Quick dry towel
37. Blister treatment
38. Swimsuit
Being an amateur hiker, many my find my list overdone. I feel that it is a pretty comprehensive packing list. Obviously, you can edit the items for your own needs and wants. I looked at multiple websites to come up with this list. Plastic bags are great to pack all clothes in. As I utilized clothing, I converted plastic bags into “dirty” bags to keep clean clothing separate. For my day pack, I utilized the Osprey Daylite. I felt this day pack was not quite large enough. Another challenge I faced was my Camelback leaked the entire trip. I was not able to use it. If you do buy new items, I recommend testing them out to ensure they do actually work.
Blister treatment/moleskin is an absolute must! My hiking boots are La Sportiva. They are fantastic. I ran into very few issues with comfort. I did need to utilize the moleskin on a couple problem areas after several days. It was recommended prior to leaving that we have waterproof boots that went to the ankle. I purchased almost all of my supplies from REI, Patagonia, and Amazon. One of my favorite purchases from REI was a Buff Original Multifunctional Headwear. I utilized this mainly to wear around my neck to protect against sunburn.
Walking sticks: I do not have my own walking sticks, but I did make the decision to rent them for the trek. The cost was $20. My friend who has more experience hiking said they were tremendously helpful to her in the past. I couldn’t agree more. Six of eight people in our group chose to utilize them. The two that did not were both very skilled hikers.
Bathrooms: All of the campsites on our trek had a toilet. However, there is no toilet paper. There are also showers available, but there is no warm water. One day I did try to take a cold shower and it literally took my breath away. I preferred to utilize baby wipes over a cold shower. I did keep clean clothing aside that I wore at night. In addition, I did keep a full clean outfit for Machu Picchu.
Insect Repellent: Prior to leaving, I bought a bottle of Permethrin. One bottle was not adequate to treat all of my clothes for the trip. There are very specific instructions for how to use. I do not know whether this was actually beneficial to me or not. I bought DEET and utilized this the entire trip. Keep in mind that DEET has to be applied prior to sunscreen. The last couple of days in the hike I was wearing short sleeves and did get several bites on my arms. Several people on the trip kept their arms and legs covered and did not get any bites.
Cell phone and cameras: I bought the best back up charger I could find. I fully charged it before I left. This kept my phone charged without any issues the entire trek. For the remainder of the trip, I brought a converter for use in the hotel. I did not get cell service until we returned to the start of the Choquequirao trail on the last day. Between my Nikon camera and cell phone, I could have kept my devices charged for another couple of days.
