Lunch.
To make the most of our time on the trail and at the rainbow mountain, our day will start before dawn. Collecting you from your Cusco hotel at around 5:00 am we make a 2-hours and 40 minutes’ drive through the South Valley to the base of the mountain a small community called Chillihuani and Phulawasipata (4,625m/15,173ft).
On our way we will see a multitude of llamas and alpacas, shepherds dressed in beautiful and colorful costumes as part of their tradition, pass by beautiful creeks leading to the highest parts, be surrounded by snowy peaks, with the impressive Ausangate mountain towering in the distance. Almost at the top we will observe the change of the landscape from green to red, further we will discover a beautiful mountain range with different colors extended from mountain to mountain, our destination, Rainbow Mountain.
After making ascent for around 1 hour 30 minutes we reach the magnificent Rainbow Mountain of Vinicunca (5,036m/16,522 ft). ¡No photoshop or Instagram filters are required here! This awesome display of colour is 100% natural, and completely breathtaking.
Taking our time at the summit to take pictures and explore the area, your guide will let you know when it is time to return, the return hike downhill will be a lot quicker than the ascent and should take around 1 hr 20 minutes. After that we will have lunch in Cusipata.
Finally, it’s just a 2 hour 40 minutes’ drive back to Cusco. We drop you off at your Cusco hotel around 16 hrs, weary but with incredible memories of a very unique day.
- Meals: Lunch.
- Lowest Elevation: 4,625m/15,173 ft.
- Highest Elevation: 5,036m/16,522 ft.
- Distance to walk 8 km / 5 miles (Round Trip).
- Approximate walk time: 1 hr 30 minutes UP; 1 hr 20 minutes DOWN.
- Level of Difficulty: Challenging (due to elevation).
