A woman looks out from an Incan half wall up towards Dead Woman’s Pass on the Inca Trail in Peru.

5 Essential Tips for Avoiding Altitude Sickness

Avoiding altitude sickness takes careful planning. In this post, I share my top 5 essential tips for altitude sickness prevention and alleviating its symptoms during your travels.

When asked about my favourite travel destinations, I would list Tibet, Peru’s Sacred Valley, and the Bolivian Altiplano very high on that list. And if you have ever asked me for my travel tips for these places, I most likely rambled on about the importance of altitude sickness prevention.

If you live at sea level like me, altitude sickness probably isn’t something that you often think about. I have seen altitude sickness ruin once in a lifetime experiences – and that is why I am very passionate about this topic!

Altitude sickness prevention takes careful planning. In this guide, I share my top 5 tried and tested tips for preventing altitude sickness while travelling.

But first…

What is altitude sickness?

Most people don’t experience altitude sickness symptoms until they reach elevations over 2,500 m/8,202 ft above sea level. At that elevation, barometric pressure (the amount of force air applies to our bodies) and oxygen levels start to decrease. The higher up you go, the lower barometric pressure and oxygen levels get.

A woman sitting on an orange hill with wind swept purple hair looking out at red valleys in Peru's Sacred Valley. — Palcoyo Rainbow Mountain – elevation 4,900m/16,000 ft above sea level. I was definitely experiencing some mild altitude sickness symptoms. But since I anticipated being at altitudes of 2,500 m/ 8,202 ft – my symptoms could have been a lot worse.

If you are experiencing altitude sickness symptoms, it is your body’s way of telling you that it is not getting enough oxygen. These symptoms include:

headaches/dizziness
nausea/vomiting
tiredness/lethargy
loss of appetite
shortness of breath
muscle aches
insomnia

…and they are known to get worse at night!

There are 3 types of altitude sickness. The first type is acute mountain sickness (AMS). This is the most common type and the symptoms listed above pertain to AMS. For the purposes of this post, I will be putting more emphasis on this type of altitude sickness.

The other two types of altitude sickness are High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). HAPE and HACE are less common and the more severe forms of altitude sickness. These types could lead to a coma or even death.

AMS symptoms usually take effect within hours of reaching a higher elevation. The severity of these symptoms usually lessen within a day or two as your body adjusts to the change in barometric pressure and oxygen levels.

Tips for Alleviating Altitude Sickness Symptoms

There is no way to predict who will experience (and to what severity) altitude sickness. Age, fitness level, and vices have absolutely no bearing on this. In addition, just because you didn’t experience altitude sickness on a previous trip doesn’t mean that you won’t experience it during your next adventure.

A woman sits on a ledge overlooking Lake Umayo in Peru.

My tips below are more so for alleviating AMS symptoms rather that avoiding them altogether. For example, regardless of how acclimated I am to an area, I always experience shortness of breath when I am at 3,000 m/ 8,942 ft and above sea level.

Disclaimer: I am by no stretch a medical expert or professional. This article is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, or treatment to you or to any other individual. Through this post, thethrillofpursuit.com provides general information for educational purposes only and is not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or other information, service or product you obtain through this post.

1) Talk to your doctor before your trip

Prior to my trip to Tibet, I talked to my doctor about my concerns regarding altitude sickness prevention. I was prescribed acetazolamide (trade name Diamox). As per my doctor, a half dosage of Diamox could prevent AMS. However, should I suffer from a full bout of AMS, a full dosage of Diamox could be used as treatment.

When I met up with my travel group for Tibet, 10 out of 12 of us were on Diamox. While the 10 of us experienced mild AMS symptoms on our first day in Lhasa, the 2 members of our party who weren’t taking anything for AMS prevention suffered. Because of those 2 friends, I ALWAYS make sure to ask my doctor for Diamox when planning on exploring regions with a high altitude.

A woman climbs up 432 steps to the terrace of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. — Potala Palace in Tibet. Elevation – 3,700m / 12,100 ft above sea level. Reaching the Palace terrace after climbing 432 steps will forever be one of my most treasured memories. Hindsight – taking precautions against altitude sickness played a huge role in allowing me to cherish that moment. At this exact moment, a couple of my friends were looking for a place to vomit.

I cannot stress enough that I am not a medical professional and am in no way qualified to be giving medical advice. I am sharing my personal experience with Diamox for informational purposes only. Bottom line is, I think it is a great idea to talk to your doctor prior to your trip to see if there are any options for altitude sickness prevention for you.

2) Allow for time for your body to acclimate

If you’re not keen on taking medication, then budgeting enough time in your itinerary to allow your body to acclimate is the best advice I can give.

If your timelines allow for it, you should plan to spend your first day at a higher elevation at rest. Your body needs to get used to functioning with lower barometric pressure and oxygen levels. If you’re short on time, I would recommend low impact activities at most on your first day.

Training for that dream hike in the Andes would all be for nothing if your body wasn’t given the time to acclimate to the altitude!

3) Focus on your breathing

While hiking on Isla Incahuasi on the Bolivian Altiplano, my guide gave me the simplest (and effective!) advice to combat AMS symptoms:

“Take a deep breath through your mouth and slowly exhale through your nose”.

I took this advice with me to the Inca Trail and it helped me so much on my ascent to Dead Woman’s Pass – the highest point of the trail at 4,215 m/13,829 ft above sea level.

When at higher elevations, listen to your body. If you’re experiencing AMS symptoms, rest to lower your heart rate (it will most likely be going haywire) and breathe deeply to give your body oxygen.

A woman sits on a rock in Bolivia’s Isla Incahuasi among giant cacti and looks out on the Salar de Uyuni. — Isla Incahuasi on the Bolivian Altiplano. Elevation 3,656 m/ 11,995 ft above sea level. The guide who took me here told me to take deep breaths through my mouth and slowly exhale through my nose to combat altitude sickness.

4) Stay hydrated

This is a good reminder in general but is ESPECIALLY important when travelling at higher altitudes. On that same note, avoid alcohol and smoking.

Eating more carbs (ensuring about 70% of your caloric intake comes from carbs) may help alleviate AMS as well.

More like this– Travel Guide: Preparing for the Inca Trail

5) Natural remedies

If you’re in a pinch and travelling internationally, there’s always remedies for AMS that are steeped in the local tradition.

Some examples:

Coca leaves – only legal in countries dissected by the Andes mountain range, coca leaves have been used to combat AMS symptoms since the time of the Incas.

During my time in the Peruvian Andes, I ate coca candies and drank coca tea. I’m not sure how effective they were for AMS symptom relief (I was taking Diamox) but they definitely gave me a boost of energy during my hikes.

Gingko biloba and other Chinese herbal medicines – Eastern medicine offers a number of herbal supplements to treat AMS but gingko biloba is probably the most famous.

I personally haven’t tried gingko biloba to prevent AMS. Since they were in a pinch, my 2 friends who didn’t bring Diamox with them bought some gingko biloba supplements to ease their symptoms. While my mind was blown after climbing 432 steps up the Potala Palace, my friends were looking for a quiet place to vomit =S

A view of Bogotá from Monserrate’s funicular. — Monserrate funicular in Bogotá, Colombia- elevation 3,152 m/ 10,341 ft above sea level. Bogotá was the perfect city for me to get acclimated for the rest of my planned adventures up in the Andes.

The Essential Things to Remember About Altitude Sickness During Travel

Most people experience AMS symptoms when they reach an altitude of over 2,500 m/8,202 ft above sea level.
The most common symptoms of AMS include shortness of breath, increased heart rate, headache, nausea, and fatigue.
It is a good idea to allocate at least 24 hours of rest when ascending to altitudes above 2,500 m/8,202 ft above sea level to allow your body to acclimate to the lower barometric pressure and oxygen levels.
Remember the tips I listed for alleviating AMS symptoms covered in this post!
If AMS symptoms do not improve after 24 hours or get worse, seek medical help and descend immediately, where possible.

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If you have any tips for preventing altitude sickness or have questions regarding my experience hiking some of South America’s high altitude trails, I would love to hear from you in the comments below <3