BEST RAINBOW MOUNTAIN HIKE 1 DAY
1 day
Full Day
Instant confirmation
About this activity
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 4:00 AM, we make a 3-hour drive through the South Valley to the trailhead at Llacto (4,638m / 15,216 ft). Our transportation is comfortable though. Upon reaching the Cusipata village (3,300m/10,826ft), we provide a full continental breakfast, perfect fuel for the hiking ahead.
Our trek beings along a meandering path in the foothills of the magnificent Andes. As dawn continues to break around us, the surrounding herds of Alpacas and Llamas will be waking too and our paths often cross along the way.
The whole area is home to many Fincas (local farms) and there will be opportunities to see traditional Quechua people working the land as they have generations. The surrounding forests are home to some unique fauna and we may see Chinchillas or even Vicuñas (a non-domesticated relative of the llama family found only in South America) so make sure you have your cameras ready. As if all that wasn’t enough, the striking colours of the red mountains are all around us, and provide a spectacular backdrop for this portion of the hike.
After making a challenging ascent for around 1 hour we reach the magnificent Rainbow Mountain of Vinicunca (5,020 m / 16,466 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, explore the area or just take in the spectacular views.
Your guide will let you know when it is time to return, and we hike downhill the way we came for around 45 minutes. In a sense though this is an altogether different hike as we take in the views that were behind us on our ascent.
Reaching the trailhead we drive 40 minutes to a local restaurant at Cusipata village where a delicious lunch will be waiting for us.
Finally it’s just a 2 hour drive back to Cusco. We drop you off at your Cusco hotel around 4 PM, weary but with incredible memories of a very unique day.
• Total distance hiked: 8 km / 4.97 miles
• Starting/minimum altitude: 4,638m / 15,216 ft.
• Maximum altitude: 5,020m / 16,466 ft.
• Overall trek difficulty: Challenging
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Our trek beings along a meandering path in the foothills of the magnificent Andes. As dawn continues to break around us, the surrounding herds of Alpacas and Llamas will be waking too and our paths often cross along the way.
The whole area is home to many Fincas (local farms) and there will be opportunities to see traditional Quechua people working the land as they have generations. The surrounding forests are home to some unique fauna and we may see Chinchillas or even Vicuñas (a non-domesticated relative of the llama family found only in South America) so make sure you have your cameras ready. As if all that wasn’t enough, the striking colours of the red mountains are all around us, and provide a spectacular backdrop for this portion of the hike.
After making a challenging ascent for around 1 hour we reach the magnificent Rainbow Mountain of Vinicunca (5,020 m / 16,466 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, explore the area or just take in the spectacular views.
Your guide will let you know when it is time to return, and we hike downhill the way we came for around 45 minutes. In a sense though this is an altogether different hike as we take in the views that were behind us on our ascent.
Reaching the trailhead we drive 40 minutes to a local restaurant at Cusipata village where a delicious lunch will be waiting for us.
Finally it’s just a 2 hour drive back to Cusco. We drop you off at your Cusco hotel around 4 PM, weary but with incredible memories of a very unique day.
• Total distance hiked: 8 km / 4.97 miles
• Starting/minimum altitude: 4,638m / 15,216 ft.
• Maximum altitude: 5,020m / 16,466 ft.
• Overall trek difficulty: Challenging
Included
- Professional Bilingual English speaking tour guide (additional tour guide for groups of nine people or more)
- Pick up from your hotel and transportation to Llacto (trailhead)
- Return transportation from Llacto to your Cusco hotel
- One breakfast, one lunch in a local restaurant in Cusipata
- Emergency oxygen bottle and medical kit
- Breakfast
- Lunch
Not included
- Trekking poles – you can rent them from us
- Emergency horse and horseman
- Tips
- Travel /Health/Emergency Insurance
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- What to bring
- Water (recommend at least 2L)
- Rain jacket/poncho
- Winter hat and gloves and ain pants
- Snacks
- Sun block (factor 35+ recommended, the sun can be strong)
- Sunglasses and sun hat
- Camera with spare batteries (no. batteries run down faster at high altitudes)
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Features
Sport
55%
Cultural
35%
Tourism
35%
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