When planning your trip to Peru, make sure you have one day to visit the famous seven-color rainbow mountains you may see all over social media. It is worth it!
It’s a full-day tour from Cusco, generally starting around 4:00-5:00 AM. If you get a private tour, you have more flexibility for the departure time. We left around 5:00 AM.
Getting There
The drive to Palcoyo is very scenic, with views of snow-capped peaks of the Andes, rural scenes of farmers and herders tending to their herds, and llamas and alpacas grazing on the land. On the way, we made a quick stop to see an old Inca bridge that still stands next to a modern bridge. We also stopped to watch a herd of alpaca and lama grazing grass, which made our day!
After about one hour, we stopped in Cusipata for breakfast at La Montana de Colores restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised by the choices, and breakfast was wonderful and just what we needed for a cold morning. We returned for lunch later, and they had a buffet lunch with Peruvian staple dishes, which was delicious.
The next stop was the Red River. The color of the river is due to the erosion of different mineral deposits in the mountains, like red sandstone. And when the mineral-rich sandy rocks get washed off with rain it turns the water into red or pink and it is a unique sight throughout the valley. The Red River went viral on social media, recently drawing more tourists to the area.
There are two different rainbow mountains close to Cusco, and finding information on the differences to choose the right one for us, was hard. After hours of research, we opted to go to Palcoyo. Palcoyo is a relatively new tourist attraction. The mountains were covered with snow for many years, and the colorful mountains were only revealed in recent years when the snow melted. And while tourism is still developing, the local community has organized basic infrastructure to welcome visitors and is still building more structures. A small access fee is included with the tour fees.
The other, better-known rainbow mountain is called Vinicunca. They are both located in the Cusco region and are a little over a couple of hours’ drive from Cusco.
Here are the pros and cons to help you make a choice:
Access
Palcoyo is easily accessible as you can go in closer to the mountains with a car and the hike only takes 45-60 mins to the summit.
Vinicunca, on the other hand, can only be accessed by hiking or on horseback for part of the trip.
Elevation
Vinicunca is more elevated at an altitude of 17.1K ft (5,200 m) above sea level, and the high altitude makes it challenging to hike.
Palcoyo goes up up to16.4 K ft (5000m) at the summit.
Hike
Palcoyo is less physically demanding, and the hike to the highest peak can take anywhere from 45 mins to 1 hour.
Vinicunca is a more challenging two-hour hike uphill. At a slower pace, it could be closer to three hours. But because the mountain is more elevated and the hike is uphill, it can be more challenging.
Distance from Cusco
They are both about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Cusco. Still, because Vinicunca is a very popular location, people want to start their tour early, around 2:30 -3:00 AM, to beat the crowd, which defied the purpose of being on vacation.
Palcoyo has a much more reasonable recommended start time of around 7: 00 AM, and you will most probably have the place to yourself the whole time and can take your time taking pictures and admiring the scenery. Also, as a bonus, Palcoyo had three rainbow mountains versus Vinicunca, which only has one, and they both have a red valley.
Now back to Palcoyo. The beginning of the trail is a dirt path, and there is a cobblestone path along one side of the mountain to the last viewpoint. It is primarily flat with a gradual ascent. If you want to continue to the summit, where you will find the stone forest, you will have to hike up a switchback trail for about 20 more minutes. That part was a bit hard, but I made it to the summit, huffing, and puffing!
From Palcoyo, you can see the Ausangate, one of the highest peaks in Peru, with an elevation of 20K+ ft (over 6K meters). The weather was good when we went. December is technically the rainy season, and although it rained in the morning, the rain stopped as we reached the mountains. The weather can be unpredictable, so make sure to wear layers. At the highest elevations, the temperature drops dramatically, and you will need gloves, a hat or earmuffs, and warm layers. Although we didn’t use them, we recommend hiking boots as the path can sometimes be slippery.
There are a couple of restrooms at the start of the hike. They are the only bathroom at the site, so make sure you use them. They are clean and comfortable, and there is a small fee to access them. Make sure you bring some toilet paper with you just in case.
After a 40-minute walk, we reached the viewpoint, from where we could see the three colored mountains, the red valleys, and the stone forest. We spent as much time as we needed to explore and take videos and pictures as we took a private tour, which we recommend (about $120 per person, including breakfast, lunch, and entrance fee).
Once at the lookout point, you can hike another 20-30 mins more to the summit, where you can visit the stone forest, which looks like a Game of Thrones set. I felt the altitude up there and couldn’t stay more than 20 mins as getting oxygen was getting very hard, and I was starting to feel dizzy. My husband, who, unlike me, didn’t grow up at a high altitude, surprisingly did better than me.
The Rainbow Mountains are composed of stratified layers of sandstone that contain large amounts of iron and other minerals, which give the mountains the pigments for the various colored stripes. They are just a marvel to behold!
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