For anyone who has lived in Cusco over the last 6-12 months you have seen an explosion of interest in the Vinicunca Rainbow Mountains located near the Ausangate Mountain. It has gone from being basically unknown by tourists to the most popular day trip currently offered by tour companies in the area.

I’ve wanted to go for months and finally found the perfect opportunity… travelling with a group organized by the South American Explorers (SAE) Club. The entire trip cost us only S/. 100.00 + S/. 10.00 for the park entrance. This is a very cheap alternative to the normal price charged by local tour companies. In fact, about 4 months ago my work colleague Ninoska did the whole trip for about S/. 60.00 by using public transportation and by simply asking locals where to go. Now I see organized trips for 4x the price.

Our trip was meant to begin at 6:30am in from of the SAE clubhouse but we got a bit of a late start. About 25 people were on the trip and we took two 15-seater vans to get to the starting point. The drive to the beginning of the hike took about 3.5 hours. It was very scenic and beautiful, and also quite death-defying at times. Part of the trip involved winding down the sides of mountains on relatively narrow dirt roads. I loved it, but there were some people who weren’t feeling the pre-hike rollercoaster.

We were the last group to arrive which turned out to be a blessing as we spent the majority of the hike by ourselves. We really only met the other hikers while they were coming back down the mountain. There were many people visiting the mountains, and I can only imagine things will continue to change rapidly moving forward for the local people and environment.

The hike began at maybe 4,700 meters above sea level / 15,420 ft. (unconfirmed) and you could feel it. While the hike itself was not too difficult, the altitude turned it into a nice little challenge. The hike started out very pretty… it was a lovely day and the company was fun. We hiked up for a bit before things flattened out and we came to a fork in the valley. Turning right we passed what looked like a high altitude Peruvian ghost town nestled in a valley between two peaks of mountains… very pretty.

Continuing forward we began to climb again and the first hints of the rainbow phenomenon could be seen. Just as impressive were the snow covered mountains in the distance, and the overall panoramic was spectacular.

Up and up we went, and more and more the effects of the altitude could be felt. One person in our group began vomiting, had to break, and was forced to return to the starting point without making it to the top. Fortunately, everyone else made it at their own pace.

Our final destination was a perfectly placed coned peak right in the middle of the valley located above 5,000 meters above sea level / 16,404 ft. (also unconfirmed our exact altitude). This positioning allowed for 360º views of the entire area, and I must say that it was probably the best view of any day hike I have ever one in my life. The rainbow coloring of the mountains alone would have been enough to make the trip worth it, but combine that with glaciers, the snow-capped monster that is Ausangate, plus being able to see up and down the valley resulted in a truly wonderful sight.

It was also super cold! We spent as much time at the top as we could tolerate, snapping photos along the way. We found a wall to sit behind to rest and eat some food before making the hike back down the mountain/valley to the busses awaiting us below. We were the last group to hike back down that day, and as we did it started to hail… dip-n-dot style. As it did the mountain and valley went from colorful and rainbow-like to white and grey, which was an equally beautiful sight.

We got back to the bus cold, wet and tired and celebrated with the whole group. I, as I normally do, fell asleep immediately and woke up when we were back in Cusco. We arrived at about 8:30pm, finishing up what was for me one of the best day hiking trips I have done to date.

I would definitely go back, but for now… I await the next adventure…