You will be picked up from your accommodation around 5:00 a.m. and we will start making our way to Arco (on the road to Puno), continuing on to Pitumarca and a number of small villages, until we reach the community of Hanchipata-Quesuno (approx. 3-hour drive total), where we will begin our hike.

The whole trek lasts approximately 5-6 hours, beginning at 4250m and ascending to Vinicunca-Rainbow Mountain-Cerro Colorado at 5020m for roughly 3-3.5 hours of that time. We will follow a lovely stream on the ascent whilst being surrounded by the stunning mountainous landscape and local wildlife including different camelids. You will also gain a better idea of how local communities have adapted to live in this impressive mountain range. As you get closer to Rainbow Mountain, you will begin to see the first signs of the colored minerals that formed the painted hills, and your guide will have explained how Rainbow Mountain was formed along the way. Once we reach Rainbow Mountain, we will spend about an hour relaxing, taking photos and taking in the stunning views including the Ausangate glacier. Afterwards, we’ll hike back to the starting point of the trek and return to Cusco, arriving at approximately 05:00 p.m..

Useful Information

• Daily Departures and hotel pick-up
• Advance bookings are highly recommended
• Duration: 16 hours

This tour involves at least 5-6 hours of high-altitude trekking, so you should be reasonably fit!

• Starting altitude: 4,256m/14,189 ft
• Highest altitude: 5,020m/16,466 ft
• Length of hike: 15km/9.3 miles
• Elevation gain: 685m/2,250 ft

Despite the gradual climb and wide valley walk, this is a challenging day of hiking due to the elevation. We recommend spending at least 3 days in Cusco or somewhere with a similar elevation, to give you enough time to acclimatize.

Keep in mind that Rainbow Mountain’s colors are only bright on sunny days.

We require at least 2 people to confirm before we can run this tour, but there are usually two people as it is a very popular tour.