Travel insurance for Peru: coverage, costs & tips
For Peru you want emergency medical travel insurance, with attention to altitude and trekking. Cusco and the Inca Trail sit high enough to cause altitude sickness, and OHIP pays almost nothing abroad. Confirm your plan covers high-altitude activities before you book.
Key takeaways
- Altitude sickness is a real risk in Cusco, the Sacred Valley and on the Inca Trail.
- OHIP covers almost nothing in Peru and never pays providers up front.
- The best-equipped hospitals are in Lima, often far from trekking routes.
- Confirm high-altitude trekking is covered, or add Sports & Activities.
Peru is a trekking and history lover’s dream, and most of its highlights — Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu — sit well above 2,000 metres. Altitude changes the health picture, and the best hospitals are a plane ride away in Lima, so insurance deserves real thought.
Why coverage matters here
Lima holds Peru’s best-equipped private hospitals. In Cusco and the trekking regions, care is more basic, so a serious case may need transport to the capital. As a visitor you pay privately — full cost or an insurer’s guarantee of payment — and emergency medical travel insurance covers both the treatment and medically necessary evacuation and repatriation. In the Andes, that evacuation element is not a formality; it is the scenario most likely to generate a large bill.
Altitude is the headline risk
Cusco sits around 3,400 metres, and the classic Inca Trail climbs higher. Altitude sickness ranges from mild headaches to serious conditions that need descent and medical care. Emergency treatment for a sudden medical emergency like severe altitude illness is generally covered, but confirm it — and if you are trekking at altitude, make sure the activity itself falls within your plan’s limits or is covered under our optional Sports & Activities add-on. Acclimatise slowly, hydrate and consider spending a day or two in Cusco before any strenuous trek.
The OHIP gap
OHIP will not help here. Ontario largely eliminated out-of-country coverage in 2020, and any small reimbursement is paid after you return, never to the Peruvian provider up front. Travel insurance covers the real cost and lets an assistance team coordinate payment directly.
What to look for
Choose a solid emergency medical limit with explicit evacuation and repatriation coverage, and 24/7 assistance you can reach from a remote trailhead. TripCovered provides around-the-clock help in multiple languages. Declare any pre-existing condition — particularly heart or lung issues, which altitude can aggravate — and confirm it meets the stability period, unchanged for a defined window before departure.
When to buy
Buy your coverage when you book, not just before you fly. Early purchase means you are protected from the moment money is committed, and if you also want to protect prepaid, non-refundable costs — a cancelled trek permit or a missed internal flight — that is a separate coverage from the emergency medical plan. Decide which risks matter to you before you pay.
What drives the cost
Premiums reflect your age, trip length, the coverage amount and your health. Travellers 60 and over complete a short medical questionnaire that sets the premium, not eligibility — TripCovered has no age limit, and under 60 there are no medical questions. Match the policy to your real dates, and if Peru is one of several trips this year, compare a multi-trip annual plan with single-trip coverage. Because reaching Lima for serious care can be costly, choose a coverage limit that reflects that rather than the cheapest figure on offer.
Practical tips
Keep your policy number and the assistance line separate from your phone — useful on a multi-day trek. If you fall ill, call assistance early so they can arrange care and, if needed, transport to Lima. Save itemised bills and medical reports. Don’t rush the altitude: the most common trip-ruining problem in Peru is pushing too hard, too fast, too high.
Peru rewards the prepared traveller, and preparation includes the right coverage for its thin air and remote trails. Before you go, compare your options and get a quote matched to your dates, your health and your trekking plans.
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Purchase now →Frequently asked questions
Does travel insurance cover altitude sickness in Peru?
Emergency medical treatment for altitude sickness is generally covered as a sudden medical emergency, but it is wise to confirm. If you are trekking at high altitude, also check that the activity itself is within your plan's limits or covered under the Sports & Activities add-on.
Does OHIP cover medical care in Peru?
Not meaningfully. Ontario largely eliminated out-of-country coverage in 2020, and any reimbursement is small and paid after you return — never to the Peruvian hospital. Emergency medical travel insurance covers the real cost and coordinates payment.
Where is the best medical care in Peru?
The best-equipped private hospitals are in Lima. Cusco and other tourist hubs have clinics, but serious cases may need transport to the capital, which a plan with evacuation coverage can arrange and fund.
TripCovered is a licensed insurance referral service operating in Ontario. Insurance is administered by North American Air Travel Insurance Agents Ltd., doing business as TuGo®, a licensed insurance broker in all provinces and territories. The issuer of the contract is Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. and Industrial Alliance Pacific General Insurance Corporation. Coverage is subject to the terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions of the policy. This website provides general information only and is not a contract of insurance. Always read your policy wording before you travel.