I was in Peru in June (their winter) not too long ago. I went to Lima, Machu Picchu , Cusco, and Puerto Maldonado. It was an awesome trip. As far as using a hammock I have mixed feelings. When I went to Peru, at the time I had a DD (travel) hammock/bivi. The problem with my hammock choice was that the bottom of that hammock is water proofed as to also act as a bivi if you can't find any trees!. During the day when I wanted to kick my feet up and hang, with all the humidity I had a sweat jacuzzi in my yummy hammock
At night the temperature dropped. Lucky for me, I had been smart and planned to scout it out on my first trip.
Things to seriously consider:
Hammock choice -You need something that breathes the locals use Cotten hammocks.It also needs to be thick enough that the Mosquitos won't suck you dry ! At night it gets cold so plan accordingly.
Things like insulated sleeping mats, sleeping bags (I like to open mine up and use it as a top cover as to not hurt any of my beautiful goose down
), thermals ,sweaters, and jackets can make your nights a lot more comfortable. It sounds like a lot of things to bring, but it can be done both lightweight and compact. All it takes is money....lol.
On another note, don't take the jungle lightly! It's a different animal! You're going to want to be in your hammock before dark. By dark I mean both the dark from the sun going down, and the dark of the clouds of death mosquitos that come around at the same time. For bugs, I applied permethrin to the outside of everything ! Backpack, shirts, pants, socks, under hammock,boots,hat and it really did help so it's something you might want to consider. One night I looked down and just from the inside of my bug net attached to my hammock, I saw tons -I mean tons of giant crab looking spiders the size of my hand alllllllll over the ground and trees. Thank you God for my bug net! I saw a Rainbow Boa snake right below me, a big Tarantula (Chicken Spider) along the path, and that's where I decided lights out now please...lol .. Oh and after the Mosquitos came out, the bats weren't far behind. Another good reason to get in your hammock early. They were not just bats, but vampire bats ..... They want your blood tun tun tunnnnnn! LoL ..
What else is important? Boots. They need to be water-proof! There is tons of water in the jungle, not to mention all the rain that can happen in the rainy season which was just starting when I was there.
I don't know you or your experience level so please don't take this the wrong way.
But, Peru is no joke.. No joke what so ever! It's hot during the day especially while hiking and the nights get cold. If you go in to the amazon area like I did, do not go alone. Pay a guide to go with you because it's super easy to get lost. Right before my trip to Peru I had seen a news clip about indigenous tribes that had killed a tourist near to where I was planning on going, so you have to know not only how not to get lost but where u can go and where you can't !
Hopes this helps!
sincerely, a Fellow tree dweller.
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