Hiking Rainbow Mountain in Peru: what to expect!

Rainbow Mountain, otherwise known as Vinicunca, is 5,036 metres or 16,522 feet high, and although the hike isn’t that long it is quite the challenge!

Rainbow Mountain gets its name from its colourful stripes, which are caused by different mineral deposits – for example yellow is sulphur, red is iron, dark grey is silver, and green is copper. You may well have heard mixed reviews about Rainbow Mountain, in that it isn’t as colourful in real life and that the colours are kind of dull. Whilst it’s true that the colours of Rainbow Mountain aren’t as bright as some of the oversaturated photos you see, it is still absolutely stunning. The people complaining also kind of miss the point too – it’s not just Rainbow Mountain that is worth seeing but the varied landscapes around it too, from the black, glacier-covered mountains to the mossy hillsides. The views from the top are also equally as good as the Rainbow Mountain itself, if not better.

Hiking Rainbow Mountain was my favourite experience from my visit to Peru (along with Machu Picchu of course) and I would recommend it as long as you are reasonably fit.

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How to prepare for Rainbow Mountain

Getting to Rainbow Mountain from Cusco

Rainbow Mountain is around a three-hour drive from Cusco. For that reason alone I’d recommend that you go with a tour guide, unless you’re renting a car of course. There aren’t any public transport options.

If you are going on a tour, bear in mind that a lot of these start REALLY early in the morning – think 3:30am. We set off a bit later – 5:30am – as we’d had quite the journey to get back to Cusco the night before.

There are a few different approaches to Rainbow Mountain, by the way – we made our approach from the west of Vinicunca.

Price

It costs 30 Sols (£7/ $9) to ‘enter’ Rainbow Mountain which you’ll need to pay at one of the kiosks on the way. As we were with a guide he sorted out the payment for us though.

Do take Peruvian Sols in cash by the way. You’ll need these for any toilet stops, as well as any drinks or snacks. Remember that if you’re taking tablets for altitude sickness, a side-effect is needing to pee more often and you don’t want to get caught short!

Weather

The weather can change dramatically, sometimes even in a matter of minutes. When we got out of the bus it was bitterly cold. Ten minutes into the hike though the sun came out and I had to strip down to a T-shirt, and then, when we were at the viewpoint, it began to hail! I had bought a poncho at the start of the hike and I was SO glad I did.

Altitude

From our starting point, the hike itself wasn’t actually that long in length – it was the altitude that was the real challenge. Rainbow Mountain is 5,036 metres / 16,522 feet high, which is the height of the Everest Base camp (give or take a few hundred metres) and so the air is very thin and your body is much less able to absorb oxygen from the air. I mean it when I say this hike is tough. It’s so important to take it really easy and slowly otherwise you could get a huge headache or even pass out. Take water and also put on sunblock too.

The terrain for the most part is actually flat and smooth, as you start the hike when you’re already at quite a high elevation. The last third does get steeper though and then for the final section there are steps.
Here’s how my hike went!

This is the view of the mountain range along the trek to Rainbow Mountain. It's September and the valley floor is yellow and there's some mud down there. There's also a rugged mountain range and clouds above.

Stage 1: The initial ascent

We started off in the car park where there was a toilet block and a pop-up shop (which wasn’t there on our return so I would recommend bringing gloves/ a poncho with you rather than relying on getting them here). We then walked through a short line of wooden houses to get to the start of the trail.

Throughout the hike you may well pass by groups of horses, or see indigenous people leading horses along the trail. If you’re really struggling with the hike you can pay a fee to get a ride. To my surprise I did see quite a few people on horseback, going both up and down.

A weary hiker sits on a horse, led by a local man at the Rainbow Mountain in Peru.

The first part is deceptive as it is flat and it is tempting to stride off. I did this but swiftly got knocked down a peg or two when the altitude kicked in and my heart began pounding.

Our guide made sure that we took plenty of deep breaths and gave us essential oils to put on our temples and under our noses. I’m not sure it actually helped or has any scientific backing but it did clear my nasal passages and it smelled lovely too. Our guide had lots of different essential oils including lemongrass, eucalyptus and patchouli and it was fun to try them all.

I was absolutely blown away by the scenery – in the valley below we saw llamas grazing, and above was a striking black mountain range covered in glaciers. I have always wanted to get close to a glacier so this was a dream come true. (Okay fine, they were still quite far away but they felt close at least!)

Glaciers on top of a mountain range near Rainbow Mountain in Peru. The lower ground is a golden brown and there are clouds overhead.

Stage 2: The going gets tough

As we got higher the altitude really started to kick in. I found myself stumbling a few times and I started seeing snowflake shaped bursts of light in my vision, which was a bit disconcerting! Some of our party were starting to get headaches too, which is another common symptom of being at high altitude. We now needed to take more frequent breaks to get our breath back. (I tried some coca sweets that I had bought in Lima but they didn’t do much good to be honest, other than having a pleasant minty taste).

It was at this point that we started to see many more people on horseback going both up and down the mountain. We could also now see some of the colourful rock striations emerging – we walked past a hill that was a gorgeous red and yellow (as you can see below).

We could also now see people at the viewpoint, although they looked tiny in the distance.

This is is a red and yellow mountain in the middle of a mountain range near Rainbow Mountain in Peru. Below in the distance is a man and horse.

The terrain was by now very steep and a little uneven so by the time we got to the steps we were really struggling. In the end all I could do was just look down at my feet instead of looking at where we were supposed to go, which kind of helped.

Rainbow Mountain in Peru, which is made up of colourful strips of red, grey, yellow and grey. There are a group of people looking at the mountain and there's a hawk flying overhead.

Stage 3: Oh no how am I going to get up there

At last we reached the area with the steps. Although this area was really steep, the railings made it much easier to haul myself up.

Once at the top, we could now see Rainbow Mountain and all its gorgeous colours in all their glory. It was such a feast for the eyes, and yet there was still more to discover. As well as the amazing golden landscapes of the valley on the other side, we were also now so high that there were hawks flying round us – they were so close!

Valley below Rainbow Mountain. There are clouds in the sky and it looks like it might be raining in the background. The valley floor is a reddish, yellow ochre colour.

There is an extra 20-minute uphill walk that you can do above the viewpoint to get an even better view, however as we started to walk up we quickly realised not only was it very steep and rocky but it was SO windy. I thought I was going to get blown off the mountain. We managed a few paces before giving up.

We were honestly so lucky – just as we were finishing up taking photos, the heavens opened and it began to hail. In the space of about 15 minutes the Rainbow Mountain became White Mountain, and was virtually unrecognisable!

The hail was beginning to get very heavy and it was starting to sting a bit so we decided to head back.

A view of Rainbow Mountain in Peru after a hailstorm. The sky is very grey and the mountain range is white from the hail.

A small rock stack on a mossy hillside near Rainbow Mountain in Peru. There's a dusting of hail on the ground.

Stage 4: The descent from the Rainbow Mountain viewpoint

Compared with the last one-and-a-half to two hours the walk back was an absolute piece of cake. It was much nicer to be able to walk without getting heart palpitations.

Following the hail, everything was now totally white. If we had arrived just ten minutes later than we did I would have been so mad as there would have been no colours to see! Near the carpark though the hail hadn’t been as fierce and had only lightly dusted the mossy hillside, giving everything a very fresh green look.

From there it was back to the bus and back to Cusco. Although it had been tiring it had been so worth it. Would I do it again? Definitely – although maybe on horseback next time…!

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