Travel light and have a carefree vacation — drop-off laundry is common in Peru, so bring five days’ clothing and put it all in a medium-sized backpack.

For Peru’s hot jungle and coastal climates, we recommend light, fast-drying clothing that protects your arms and legs from sun and mosquitoes. Protect yourself from the sun with a wide-brimmed hat, bandannas, sunscreen, and sunglasses. These same clothes can be worn in the Andes, though you will want to add a lightweight rain jacket, fleece jacket, and silk-weight long underwear.

Miscellaneous items include a Leatherman-style folding knife, small roll of duct tape for repairs, mending kit, hand sanitizer, headlamp with extra batteries, camera, voltage adapter, water bottle, roll of toilet paper (Peru’s public bathrooms are always out), binoculars, pocket English-Spanish dictionary, book, journal, and a tiny calculator for confirming money exchanges. Don’t forget your medical kit with standard medicines, insect repellent, water purification tablets, and antimalarials.

Paperwork should include valid passport, plane ticket, student card if you have one, a yellow vaccinations card, travelers checks, ATM card and credit card, and a copy of your travel insurance details. Email yourself numbers for travelers checks, passport, and credit cards in case these things get stolen. Photocopies of the first few pages of your passport and your plane ticket are also a good idea.