Cautions for Trips to Sierra
The Soroche
Quechua voice that means "sickness of the heights", or sickness of the mountain, produced by the decrease of oxygen in the air.
The effects that produce are sickness, headache, and lack of appetite.
People that are in good physical conditions are less susceptible, or almost unlikely, to suffer from soroche. To avoid the soroche it is recommended when arriving to a city with great altitude, not to carry out physical efforts and to rest the first hours for the acclimatization, this way is not very probable to be affected.
Usually in the airports and hotels offer to the visitor's arrival an infusion of "mate de coca", healthy and hot drink that avoids the soroche. This infusion is made with the leaves of coca, and it is not considered a drug.
If you have planned a trip for the southern Andean area of Peru, it is advisable to make the circuit Arequipa, Cuzco, Puno, in that order, since they are cities of smaller to more height and they allow a better physical acclimatization.