Vinicunca, also known as Rainbow Mountain or Montaña de Siete Colores, is a stunning geological marvel of the Peruvian Andes located at a whopping 5,200 meters above sea level, and is gaining some serious popularity within the Cusco tourism industry. Located about a 4 hour drive from Cusco, it’s advertised as something that can be done in a day, but I’m here to advise you otherwise! Here are 5 reasons to hike Rainbow Mountain with Ayni Peru on a 2 day/1 night trek in order to get the best experience possible!
1. You’ll basically have the mountain to yourself
Knowing that Rainbow Mountain is an extremely popular trek from Cusco, I assumed that we’d run into lots of other travelers along the way. We arrived at the base to start trekking around 10am, and besides local people selling water, snacks and ponchos, there wasn’t another traveler in sight. There were loads of tour vans, but no people.
Throughout the three hour hike to get to camp, we didn’t see any other travelers. It was confusing, but totally welcomed. It wasn’t until about 1pm when we got to our campsite for the night that we started to see other trekkers – LOTS OF THEM. I mean they were pouring down the mountain for the next hour.
Our guide, Simeon, explained to us that the majority of trekkers opt for the one day trip which consists of waking up at 2am to take a 4-5 hour bus to the base, hiking 6 hours up (our camp was about 3 hours out from the summit), hiking 5-6 hours down, and then a 4-5 bus trip back to Cusco. That’s almost a full 24 hour day. I don’t know about you, but that sounds miserable. As the last few trekkers made their way back to the bottom, we enjoyed a delicious hot lunch and were once again the only people in sight, aside from a few locals tending to their llamas.
The next morning we started our trek around 6:30am and you guessed it – were the only people around. About three hours later, our group of 4 made it to the top of Rainbow Mountain and enjoyed about 30 minutes of views from the summit with almost no one else around but a single other trekker named Chris, and a local boy selling some homemade popcorn.
By the time we started to head down, hundreds and hundreds of travelers were making their way up the mountain. I still can’t believe that on our two day hike we essentially had a private viewing of this incredible place and that’s all kudos to Ayni Peru and the killer timing of the itinerary they offer. DISCLAIMER: Simeon did mention that there are usually at least a few other campers so we must have just been really lucky to have been the only ones around. Don’t expect to be completely alone like we were, but it’s possible!
2. You won’t be a miserable, exhausted hiker like the day trippers
As mentioned above, those who opt for the single day trek to Rainbow Mountain are looking at about a 23 hour round-trip experience. Also keep in mind that this hike is at a very high altitude which makes trekking quite a bit more challenging. Remember the other trekker I mentioned above named Chris? Well, while my group was taking jumping pictures and enjoying the moment beyond description, exhausted hiker Chris looked like he was going to collapse. The poor kid could barely hold a conversation never mind take a fun jumping picture with us.
I then recalled all of the miserable faces we saw coming down from Rainbow Mountain the day before and it all made sense. Can you blame them? That is a really long day at a really challenging altitude. We even saw one woman hiking in white pants and tennis shoes. Many companies out of Cusco don’t properly prepare trekkers for this hike, and it was evident during our trip.
Meanwhile, Ayni Peru sent our guide to our hotel the night before to brief us on our hike and we felt so prepared. After the 2 day 1 night trek, we were of course tired, but not completely exhausted like most other people we saw! I would strongly advise against a day trip to Rainbow Mountain as I don’t think you get the whole experience and I also don’t think you will enjoy the experience as much because you’ll be too exhausted!
3. You’ll get to see locals herding thousands of animals
Around 5pm on day one, we were relaxing in our tents before dinner, when suddenly the pure silence we had experienced for the majority of the afternoon turned into what sounded like a stampede. We crawled out of our tents to see thousands of llamas, alpacas and sheep making their way down from Rainbow Mountain to their resting point for the night.
Sheep dogs and locals were running around herding up the animals and I’ll tell you I have never seen anything like it! Sheep were walking right next to our tents – it was like a mass exodus. It was such a cool thing to see, and I never would have experienced this if I didn’t opt for the overnight trek with Ayni Peru.
4. You’ll have a passionate guide that cares about your well-being and your overall experience
Our guide Simeon was such a warm, thoughtful, and passionate person, and you could tell from the start how genuine he was. He basically became our buddy from the start of the trek and made our amazing experience even that much more enjoyable. He was really funny and had us cracking up the whole time with his jokes. He is from a village outside of Cusco and was so happy to share his culture and his knowledge with us.
You could tell his real passion was for nature and wildlife, and he had a knack for spotting it! He pointed out so many different animals along the way that we would have never noticed otherwise. He is also incredibly kind and really cares about his trekkers’ well-being. When we would be going too fast, he’d tell us to slow down because the altitude was going to catch up with us and he was right! He offered up his walking sticks to me and another girl on the trek and even offered to carry some items from my backpack to lighten my load. When I was experiencing a little headache from the altitude he had the right recommendations and made me feel so comfortable throughout the trip.
5. You’ll be eating gourmet meals while camping
I can’t even begin to tell you how impressed I was with the meals we were served on this trek. After all, we were camping – how good can you expect the food to be? Well when you trek with Ayni Peru, you can expect your food to be near gourmet.
I’m talking chicken cordon bleu, kalamata wild rice, fresh steamed veggies, quinoa, vegetable omelettes…and even a cake. In addition, they were always offering hot chocolate, coffee, or tea and some sort of snack. I can promise you that you will NOT go hungry on this trip. The cooks were amazing and were cheffing this up in a small tent on a tiny gas stove. Talk about skills!
6. You’ll be supporting a company that gives back to Andean communities
“Ayni” in Quechua (a language used by the descendants of the Incas) refers to either the concept of reciprocity or mutualism among people of the Andean mountain communities. Ayni Peru is committed to supporting remote Andean communities and creates homestay partnerships with local families.
Not only are they creating a business partnership that keeps money in the pockets of local families, but they also offer a unique opportunity for travelers to meet local people an experience authentic Peru. The Rainbow Mountain trek in particular doesn’t have as much interaction with the local people, but part of the proceeds from your trek go back to Andean communities which is pretty cool.
For more information regarding the Rainbow Mountain 2D/1N trek with Ayni Peru, please visit their website. I received a complimentary trek with Ayni Peru in exchange for my opinions, but all opinions are my own. I recommend them on the highest level and will trek with them forever going forward in the future based on the incredible value that they offer.
Have you ever been to Rainbow Mountain? If not, is it on your list?
Wander On,
Wanderluluu xx
