This is my second blog post about my trip to Peru. I’m writing in the order of my favorite days, so if you didn’t see the first post about my amazing day in Machu Picchu, check it out here.
I traveled to Peru with my awesome Australian friend Adam who happens to have a similar traveling style to me- plan it as you go. We had to do a little bit of planning for Machu Picchu, but that’s the only thing we had booked (besides our flights to and from Peru) before our trip. When I was telling friends before I left about going to Peru, someone asked me if I was going to see Rainbow Mountain, and
that was the first time I had ever heard of it, but I looked at one picture of it and knew I wanted to see it, so we put it on our list of possibilities during our 10 days in Peru.
that was the first time I had ever heard of it, but I looked at one picture of it and knew I wanted to see it, so we put it on our list of possibilities during our 10 days in Peru.
Adam and I flew into Lima on July 25 and spent two days there before flying into the town of Cusco, which is the main starting off point for people who want to see Machu Picchu and explore the other Inca sites that are in the area. Cusco is a great “base camp” because it’s high elevation, and is a great place for people to get acclimated before heading to even higher spots- such as Rainbow Mountain.
When we arrived in Cusco our first Airbnb host filled us in a bit about Rainbow Mountain, also known as Vinicunca or Montaña de Siete Colores. He actually recommended a different location that still had the rainbow look, but was less of a distance away, at less altitude. But you don’t go all the way to Peru to do something halfway, right?
On our first day in Cusco, we walked to one of the many travel companies that provide tours to the many sites that the area has to offer. We walked to the first one we saw and booked two of the tours we went on during our time in Cusco- touring the Sacred Valley and Rainbow Mountain. Getting acclimated prior to ascending the mountain is so vital that the tour organizers told us that we could not go to Rainbow Mountain until we had been in Cusco for at least 3 days, which worked out perfectly for our schedule: we headed to Machu Picchu on July 30 and the next day was Rainbow Mountain day!
Visiting Rainbow Mountain was one of my favorite days, but it was also one of the worst days. I don’t want to use the word “warn” because that sounds much too negative, but I want to make people aware of what they are getting into if they do Rainbow Mountain, because just like a lot of Peru for me, I was very unprepared. Going to Rainbow Mountain is no joke- It is a hard hike! The elevation makes it tricky! But all good things in life can’t come easily. If it was not a pretty nice day, I can’t imagine hiking it- I would definitely recommend NOT hiking it on a rainy day.
So just how high is Rainbow Mountain you ask? Check out this graph I found that explains: Denver is 1,609 meters above sea level, Cusco is 3,399 meters, and Rainbow Mountain is 5,200 meters, or 17,060 feet– just a little over a hundred meters less than Mt Everest basecamp. 
So what does altitude sickness feel like? Adam and I, luckily, did not get hit with it too bad, I did have a slight headache my first day in Cusco, and hiking up Rainbow Mountain you can walk just a few steps, not even uphill, and feel out of breathe. What can you do to avoid or alleviate altitude sickness? They sell over-the-counter altitude sickness pills (we bought some but never needed to take them) and there’s the coca leaves that you can a) chew on (like chewing tobacco, put it in your cheek) b) drink it in your tea (which we had every morning and several times a day- because it’s just everywhere! There were even people selling it as we climbed up Rainbow Mountain) or c) eat in it candy form (the gummies were delicious!)
The morning of July 31, we were picked up at our Airbnb by a few Peruvians in a van, alongside about a dozen other travelers, at 4 in the morning. That’s right- 4am! We got home from Machu Picchu the evening before around 11pm, and got up just a few hours later. We had a three hour bus ride to Rainbow Mountain, stopping in a little town to have breakfast that was provided for us. Breakfast was eggs and bread, though when we told them that we couldn’t have dairy or gluten we were brought a plate of tomatoes, cucumbers and avocao- my kind of breakfast! Then we proceeded up a windy narrow road towards Rainbow Mountain.
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| Watch out llamas- here we come! |
When we arrived, we were provided walking sticks, though hikers were also given the option of taking a horse up. The tour we took cost us only about 30 dollars- that included transportation, breakfast and lunch, and a tour guide. Since being home I have seen tour companies online offering the same trek for a hundred dollars or more- so definitely wait to book until you are in Cusco. The horses cost extra, but a lot of people did it. I feel a bit bad for the horses though, they bring people up (with a Peruvian leading the way) and then are ran back down to get another tourist. We saw one horse fall on the way back and get up hobbling and I felt awful. We opted out of the horse and went by foot instead. The base altitude of where we got dropped off is 14,189 feet (4,326 meters), so we had to ascend over 900 meters. *Note- we found out later that most everyone that did the full trek I’m going to talk about took a horse for the first part of the hike.
When we started off our day, it was pretty chilly. It would get to below freezing in the evenings in late July in Peru, but would get up to around 60 in the afternoons, so every day we would start off bundled up- hats, gloves and probably 4 layers, and slowly the layers would come off. But, there is snow on the ground the higher you go- Rainbow Mountain hasn’t always been visible, the colored stone was once completely covered by a glacier- so it was pretty chilly all day, especially when the sun would disappear behind the clouds.
It took us about two hours to get to the top, and we were left on our own to make it up there. Our “tour guide” just found us when we reached the top and then directed us to our next route. There were quite a few people hiking that day, and we held our own with our pace, pausing a few times for a coca tea and bathroom break (the grossest makeshift porta potty I ever saw, make sure to bring toilet paper or tissues with you on this hike- or dress like the Peruvian women do so you can just squat and go potty like we saw one lady do. It makes going to the bathroom publicly more discreet- but we know what you were doing chica! And I’m not mad at you lol). The hike was tough, lots of heavy breathing and effort, check out the video Adam made:
And then, we were there, the top of Rainbow Mountain- and it was glorious! All the colors…
Once you get to the ridge where you can see all the colors you can continue up a few more hundred feet to get an even better view, and at that point it wasn’t even hard to walk up, perhaps because we were on an adrenaline high, though it was a bit more crowded with people.
So why all the colors? Remember this was covered with ice, and then when it melted the water mixed with minerals in the ground- red is rust, yellow is iron sulphite, purples are goethite and green is chlorite. And don’t forget that to our backs there was more ice and snow.
We also had to take some photos with the locals and their llamas!
After spending about 20 minutes taking in the sites our guide found us and told us it was time to continue the tour. When we booked, the company (called Inka Time) told us that something that made their tour special was the hike back to the bus taking a different route- through the Red Valley. So, there would be fewer people and different scenery. Not everyone on our tour went this way- some people went back the way we came, but we wanted an adventure. Something that wasn’t mentioned to us- the hike back was 10 miles and over 4 hours (the other group went straight back to the bus and had to wait for us at the lunch spot). Had we known this, we would’ve definitely packed differently, more drinks and snacks for one (and don’t forget the toilet paper!!!). Something else we were very excited about with this hike- after one more incline, the rest of the route home was downhill.
It was a beautiful hike, with changing scenery around every turn, starting off with some very red mountains (hence the name Red Valley).
After taking in the views from the top of the ridge, it was time to descend. It was a snowy path, and the group of girls in front of us started off, and as we watched every single one of them fall, I knew I was in trouble. And I did indeed slip and slide all the way down. Luckily no one got hurt, but it was very intimidating. Adam took a lovely video of me stumbling around (and he was the only one who never fell- what a graceful guy).
The rest of the hike was flat, just pretty long- and very pretty. We passed farms, lots of llamas and alpacas, varying landscape with different stones and grasses, streams- I’ll let the pictures talk for themselves.
The local community is one of the only llama and alpaca shepherding communities left in the world. The animals were all over, and now I know they are very gifted climbers.
Not only did I feel exhausted, slip and slide down a snowy hill, have aching feet, and have to pee into holes in the ground on this hike, but I also put my hand into a prickly patch of something that did not feel great- I think I earned my rugged Girl Scout patch from this trek.
This is our “we’re so tired- how much longer do we have to walk” look. (Answer, another hour).
So that was our day exploring Rainbow Mountain. It was an amazing day, but it was the toughest hike I’ve ever had. I hope you enjoyed the pictures, and I hope this blog helps someone decide whether or not to take on Rainbow Mountain. Stay tuned for the next blog about our day in the sand dunes!
Cannot get over your pictures of stunning Rainbow Mountain 🤩 always wanted to visit this part if the world. Lucky you!
It was absolutely stunning! A hard hike (because of the altitude) but soooo worth it!
Cannot get over your pictures of stunning Rainbow Mountain 🤩 always wanted to visit this part if the world. Lucky you!
It was absolutely stunning! A hard hike (because of the altitude) but soooo worth it!