FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

How many days are needed?

Three days, two nights. Check our recommended hiking routes.

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What guidebooks do you recommend?

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Central Andes. LP is our favourite hiking guide, by far. Be sure to get the most recent edition as it is frequently updated. Consider too Lonely Planet Healthy Travel Central & South America.

This book is essential to plan your Misti climb. Carry it for details & route description.

You also need a general travel guidebook, of course.

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Other recommended books?

There are hundreds of books on Machu Picchu & the Inca Trail, but very few that do more than mention the Misti Trek.

You might still consider these:

The Lost City of the Incas, by Hiram Bingham who rediscoverd the ruins.

The Inca Trail, Cuzco & Machu Picchu, by Richard Danbury. Even those not hiking the Inca Trail like this compact guide.

White Rock, by Hugh Thompson. Explorer’s adventures seeking Inca sites.

Monuments of the Incas, by John Hemming & Edward Raney. Black & white photos.

Exploring Cusco, by Peter Frost.

E-mail recommendations for other recommended books.

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What are the best Misti websites?

There are surprisingly few useful websites on this hike. But (again) thousands for the Inca Trail.

We’ve linked to sites throughout & listed the best under Links.

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What is the best map?

IGN 1:100,000 Characato (sheet 33-t).

We did not buy this topo. The description in Lonely Planet Trekking in the Central Andes was sufficient. Plus information given us by our trekking company in Arequipa.

If you want to buy the topo, try first the Colca Trek agency in Arequipa.

More information and a listing of on-line maps on our Map page.

Monastery in Arequipa

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