After a couple of days acclimating in Cusco, and one awesome hike done, it was time for me to take on some serious elevation.  While Cusco itself lies at a pretty high elevation, and there are lots of places to climb even higher, there is really only one place in the area where you can reach the soaring height of 5,000 meters: Rainbow Mountain.

While reaching 16,400 feet might not sound like anything special, in the rest of the world where meters reign supreme, 5,000 meters is a massive deal!  There are only a few places in the world where this height can be reached, and here, you can do it via a moderate day hike!

To say I was looking forward to this hike would be an understatement!  Yes my first time at extreme elevation was a big deal, but also, the views!  Rainbow Mountain is very much Instagram famous, and the gigantic Ausangate would be visible from the summit!  It had everything required to make for a great day! 

Miles/Elevation:

4.3 miles

1,184 feet vertical gain

About Rainbow Mountain:

Located in the Cusco Region of Peru, Rainbow Mountain has become one of Peru’s most well known destinations.  With an elevation of about 5,200 meters, this place is no joke.  The main tourist trail only reaches a highpoint of just over 5,000 meters, but that is more than enough for some pretty serious altitude sickness!

Known for the vivid stripes of color that give this peak its name, the ground here contains numerous different minerals.  You will see vivid white, red, green, and yellow; visible due to large quantities of quartzose, iron, copper, and sulfur.  Due to these striking colors, the mountain has become something of an Instagram sensation.  

Getting There:

To reach Cusco, most international travelers will first have to fly to Lima.  From Lima, Cusco is a short 1 hour flight.  From other cities in Peru such as Arequipa or Puno, a bus is probably the best option.

From Cusco, the trailhead is a 3 hour drive, including 2 hours on paved roads and 1 hour on rough dirt roads.  I highly recommend taking a guided trip for this one.  On a guided trip, you’ll likely stop for breakfast just before starting on the dirt road, and the guide will take care of the checkpoint and pay your fee.  I think you could drive, but it’s a long trip, and dealing with the checkpoint could be problematic.  Plus, guided trips really don’t cost too much.

Tips:

• Bring cash, especially coins and small bills.  There is an entrance fee, paid bathrooms, food and drinks, and souvenirs for sale.
• Spend at least 2 full days at altitude before attempting this hike.  5000 meters is no joke.
• Turn around if you are feeling the effects of altitude sickness.
• While you technically could probably drive here yourself, it is much easier to take a tour here from Cusco.

Rainbow Mountain:

Section 1:

From the parking lot, begin walking uphill.  There are some steps leading away from the parking area, but surprisingly, the steps actually lead to more infrastructure.  Next to the parking lot is a large market, and you’ll have to walk through it in order to start the hike.  It’s a bit strange finding a market up here close to 5,000 meters, but hey, everyones gotta make a living.

Once you’re through the shops, the hike really gets going.  The first 80% of the hike is relatively flat and fairly easy, but everything is much harder at this elevation!  The trail is a pretty nice gravel road, and the grade really isn’t bad.  I took it slow, and I was well ahead of the recommended pace.  Even hiking slowly though, I could feel the altitude!

Just below the hiking trail is the horse path.  You’ll see horses and their caretakers running up and down the mountain all day!  For a fee, tourists can catch a ride uphill and downhill.  It feels like cheating to me, but if your goal is simply to see the views, go for it!  I don’t know the exact price but it was somewhere around 60 soles, or $15, going up.

After 20-30 minutes, you will reach the first waypoint of the hike.  There are 3 pretty obvious sections of the hike, and they are broken up by way stations along the trail.  The first one is about a mile from the parking lot, and has bathrooms and a couple of food stands.  The guide asked us to wait for him there, and after a quick chat, he released us to head to the summit!

Section 2:

Beyond the first bathroom station, the trail remains pretty easy.  Views are mostly the same on the climb up, but that doesn’t mean they’re boring!  To the left there is a seriously impressive ridgeline that is always nice to look at, and ahead in the distance is Rainbow Mountain itself!

As I began approaching the second bathroom station, the elevation started hitting me.  I was feeling super weak, had a slight headache, and my stomach wasn’t feeling quite right.  I took a pretty long break at the second bathroom stop, and after steeling myself, I began the push to the summit.

To The Summit:

The initial climb from the second bathroom stop is much steeper than anything I had encountered thus far, and I had to take it pretty slow.  In my defense though, everyone was moving pretty slow!  Except for the horsemen who were literally running up and down the mountain!  It’s incredible what a lifetime at elevation can do!

After a quick ramp up from the bathroom stop, the trail began a short series of switchbacks.  Included in these switchbacks were steps built into the mountain, which on one hand helped with footing, but on the other hand just felt so steep!

After a short but arduous climb up the switchbacked trail, I arrived at the main Rainbow Mountain viewpoint!  This viewpoint is on the saddle between the big, striped peak that everyone takes pictures of, and the smaller peak that many climb.  The view looking up the stipes of color was really cool, but the crowd wasn’t so great.  

There was a line waiting to get to the best photo spot, and scattered around the area were locals offering dressed up alpacas for photo ops and food for sale.  I understand why the locals are here and why this place is so busy, but it did detract from the overall experience a bit.

From the saddle, I elected to continue climbing to reach the summit.  I knew the summit was over 5,000 meters, but I wasn’t sure how high the saddle was, and I wanted to make sure I crested the mythical 5,000 meter mark!

I was definitely feeling it at this point, but summit fever kicked in.  Taking it slow and steady, I made really good time and actually passed quite a few people on the way to the summit.  I definitely wasn’t moving fast, but climbing slowly is better than not moving at all!

After another grueling climb at extreme altitude, I was on the summit, and if I thought the views were great earlier I jumped the gun!  From here, the view of Rainbow Mountain is even better!  You have more of a birds eye view of the vivid colors, and fewer people to jostle with!  And even cooler than Rainbow Mountain, the massive Ausangate loomed behind!

Ausangate is one of the highest peaks of Peru and is considered a sacred mountain by the locals.  It is an absolutely massive mound of rock and ice, and from the summit, the view of it was incredible.  Rainbow Mountain and the surrounding valleys are sparse, snowless, and kinda brutal looking.  Ausangate on the other hand is glaciated, soaring, stunning, and brutal looking in the best possible way!

The Descent:

From the summit, the return hike of just over 2 miles promised to be pretty straightforward.  This is a simple out and back, so I simply had to retrace my steps back to the parking lot.

The guide had set up a meeting time, and I left early enough that I wouldn’t have to hurry back.  Having felt pretty good on the way up, I expected the descent to be easy and go quickly; however, not even halfway down, I started feeling the strongest altitude symptoms of the day.

My headache was getting worse, walking was a struggle, and I was feeling pretty nauseous.  I knew I had to keep moving and the only thing that would help was getting lower, but I had to take multiple breaks on the easy 2 mile or so descent, and what I thought would be a triumphant walk back became a slog.

After an unpleasant walk, I eventually arrived back at the van.  Fortunately I had left earlier than I thought I needed to, because despite that, I was the last person back!  Almost immediately after arriving, we took off and began the long drive back to Cusco.  After the lunch stop a few thousand feet lower I felt much better, and now I can look back at it happily as my first experience of extreme altitude!

Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10

While the views here are truly 10/10, there’s a lot that really isn’t what you would hope for on this hike.  For one, it’s extremely busy.  While this is for good reason, it’s kind of a bummer when you reach the viewpoint and there’s a line of 20 people.  It’s also really built up.  I get why there are paid bathrooms and vendors along the trail, but it’s not what I look for in a hike.  This is a worthwhile day trip from Cusco, and getting above 5000 meters alone is awesome, but the hike itself isn’t quite a 10/10!

Pros:

• Unique geology
• World class views
• 5000 meters

Cons:

• Very busy
• Too much infrastructure
• Extreme elevation
• Long drive from Cusco

Alternative Hikes:

Inti Punku

7 Lakes of Ausangate

Humantay Lake 

Pallay Poncho 

When To Hike Rainbow Mountain:

The Peruvian dry season lasts from May to September, with the best months being June through August.  While this is technically winter in the southern hemisphere, Peru is near enough to the equator that temperatures don’t change much, so precipitation is the much bigger factor to consider.

While anytime in the dry season would be fine, I personally think the best time to visit this area, and Cusco in particular, is June.  June hosts many of the area’s largest festivals, and the city truly feels alive all month!  The legendary Inti Raymi, an Inca festival honoring the sun god Inti, is still practiced every June 24th, and many other religious holidays and festivals are also held in this month.  Cusco truly comes alive!

Links For Further Reading:

Rainbow Mountain

Rainbow Mountain Peru: Complete Visitor’s Guide

The History Behind the Rainbow Mountain in Peru (Vinicunca)

Rainbow Mountain Tours