Question 1

How to prevent altitude sickness when hiking up to Lenin Peak Base Camp?

Audrey · Accepted Answer

The Pamir-Alay Mountains have some high-altitude mountain passes (over 4,000-5,000 meters) and trails, so it's important to take precautions against altitude sickness, especially if you don't have prior experience trekking or hiking at altitude. This Peak Lenin Base Camp Trek has four mountain passes over 4,000 meters / 13,120 feet and one peak summit at 5,130 meters / 16,830 feet, meaning that acclimatizing to altitude will be very important for its successful completion. We recommend the following steps and precautions to avoid altitude sickness for a more enjoyable experience. These recommendations apply to the Peak Lenin Base Camp Trek and any of our high-altitude trekking tours. Recommendations to Avoid Altitude Sickness

Rest for at least one night in Osh after your international flight: This is important if you are traveling a long distance and have jet lag. Starting the trek rested will help your body adjust to altitude in the next days.
Acclimatize with a lower elevation hike or trek first: We highly recommend you take a trek at 2000-2500 meters around Kyrgyzstan before this trek. We have other horse treks or treks by foot at lower altitudes if you plan to take them.
Drink lots and lots of water: One of the best ways to combat altitude sickness is by drinking lots and lots of water. Try and start and end your day by drinking a liter of water. Your body will be thankful for it.
Eat, even if you might lose your appetite at altitude: It's common to not be very hungry at high elevations, but it's still important to try and keep eating so that your body has energy to use when climbing ascents and going up. Take nuts or dried fruits (the Osh Bazaar is a great place to pick these up) as healthy snacks along the hiking trail.
Move slowly when trekking or hiking at altitude: A slow and steady pace walking up hills and when climbing up to high mountain passes is the best way to not tire yourself out and also allow your body to adapt to the higher elevations. This is much better for your body than racing up a hill and then resting for long periods of time.

Note: Some of our clients come directly without doing any high altitude adaptation. They just start the trek one day after they arrive in the country. It affects their sleep and causes headaches during the trek. However, all of our customers manage to do the trek even though they get high altitude issues thanks to the support of our expert trekking guides. On this Peak Lenin Base Camp Trek, it is possible to use horses for support over Jiptick and Sary Mogul Passes, but not on the hike to Base Camp or Yuhina Peak. These high altitude segments of the trail need to be done on foot.

Question 2

How to prevent altitude sickness when hiking up to Lenin Peak Base Camp?

Audrey · Accepted Answer

The Pamir-Alay Mountains have some high-altitude mountain passes (over 4,000-5,000 meters) and trails, so it's important to take precautions against altitude sickness, especially if you don't have prior experience trekking or hiking at altitude. This Peak Lenin Base Camp Trek has four mountain passes over 4,000 meters / 13,120 feet and one peak summit at 5,130 meters / 16,830 feet, meaning that acclimatizing to altitude will be very important for its successful completion. We recommend the following steps and precautions to avoid altitude sickness for a more enjoyable experience. These recommendations apply to the Peak Lenin Base Camp Trek and any of our high-altitude trekking tours. Recommendations to Avoid Altitude Sickness

Rest for at least one night in Osh after your international flight: This is important if you are traveling a long distance and have jet lag. Starting the trek rested will help your body adjust to altitude in the next days.
Acclimatize with a lower elevation hike or trek first: We highly recommend you take a trek at 2000-2500 meters around Kyrgyzstan before this trek. We have other horse treks or treks by foot at lower altitudes if you plan to take them.
Drink lots and lots of water: One of the best ways to combat altitude sickness is by drinking lots and lots of water. Try and start and end your day by drinking a liter of water. Your body will be thankful for it.
Eat, even if you might lose your appetite at altitude: It's common to not be very hungry at high elevations, but it's still important to try and keep eating so that your body has energy to use when climbing ascents and going up. Take nuts or dried fruits (the Osh Bazaar is a great place to pick these up) as healthy snacks along the hiking trail.
Move slowly when trekking or hiking at altitude: A slow and steady pace walking up hills and when climbing up to high mountain passes is the best way to not tire yourself out and also allow your body to adapt to the higher elevations. This is much better for your body than racing up a hill and then resting for long periods of time.

Note: Some of our clients come directly without doing any high altitude adaptation. They just start the trek one day after they arrive in the country. It affects their sleep and causes headaches during the trek. However, all of our customers manage to do the trek even though they get high altitude issues thanks to the support of our expert trekking guides. On this Peak Lenin Base Camp Trek, it is possible to use horses for support over Jiptick and Sary Mogul Passes, but not on the hike to Base Camp or Yuhina Peak. These high altitude segments of the trail need to be done on foot.