I finally got to climb to the top of Rainbow Mountain Peru and must say it was everything I expected and even more! The mountain itself is incredible, and its easy to see where it gets its name Rainbow Mountain from as you can see from my photos below. Here, I plan to give you a detailed account of my experience and show you that no matter what your age, it is very easy to visit Rainbow Mountain any time of the year!
You will need to wake up early to enjoy this natural marvel at its best. Between 3:45 am and 4:15 am, we’ll pick you up directly from your hotel to start our ride to the south of Cusco through beautiful landscapes of valleys and agricultural communities. First we will drive for around 2 hours to to the town of Cusipata (3,329m / 12,772 ft.).
After breakfast near Cusipata we will continue our trip by van, following a beautiful way between the mountains, accompanied by our first views of Ausangate, highest peak of Cusco. Along the way we will pass through herds of hundreds of alpacas and llamas and the occasional shepherd or local people moving about their daily activities.
Our ascent will begin in Phuluwasipata and last about 2 hours, bringing us to our final destination and highest point on our Rainbow Mountain trek (or Vinicunca trek), at 5,020 mts / 16,470 ft. Here we will stop to admire and appreciate the outstanding views in all directions and the rare geological formations that appear to be painted with exotic colors by Gods hand. Far below and into the distance are infinite valleys and glaciers as far as one can see. We will stop for about 30 minutes – the perfect amount of time to rest, to have a snack, and immerse yourself in this wild environment before we must begin our descent, roughly an hour and a half hours towards the point where we started the day’s hike in Phuluwasipata, there our transport will be waiting to take us to restaurant in Chillihuani where we enjoy an energizing lunch. We will have time after lunch to visit some of the local households and observe the lifestyle and customs that are still being practiced today since Inca times. Here the native language of Quechua is spoken very well and agriculture is essential for life.
At the end of the day our tour will conclude with an opportunity to meet with local people from the community before making our journey back to Cusco in our private van. We will leave you back at your hotel around 4:30 p.m to 5:30 p.m.
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