Vinicunca - Rainbow Mountain
Very early in the morning, we will pick you up at 3:30 a.m. from your hotel located in the city of Cusco. Our shared transport will take us in a journey of 3.5 hours driving through an undiscovered land of wild desert panoramas, snowcapped peaks, herds of alpaca.
When we reach the trailhead for this hike, we are going to have a hot breakfast upon arrival, and the hike will begin from Chillihuani at 4.200 meter above sea level /13,900 ft elevation. From here, it will be a circa 4-hour uphill hike to reach the famous Rainbow Mountain in Peru.
Along the way, you will enjoy beautiful landscape of the Andes, glacial peaks, red valley, rocky hills, and traditional llamas and alpacas grazing along this place. As we reach the summit of the mountain, we will be able to spot some Andean wildlife. Vicuñas are considered as the Andean camel, and this is the only place in Cusco where you will see them in the wild. Vicuñas are the same family as llamas and alpacas, though are much smaller and they have the most expensive wool in the world.
Upon we arrive at the top of what we come to see the Rainbow Mountain, we will have time enough to take photos and relax even being in high altitudes admiring majesty views. We will have the opportunity to see the Ausangate Mountain right in front of us, the tallest mountain of Cusco (just under 21,000 ft), and it is part of the Vilcanota Range.
While we are looking around this fantastic spot, our tour guide will share interesting information about the composition of these incredible mountains formed millions of years ago, and how they got this lovely colorful effect.
After taking a few amazing pictures and soaking in the views (perhaps we will even see a few condors around by) we will begin our descent with a 2-hour downhill hike. Then, we are going to meet up our transport that will take us to a local restaurant in order we can enjoy a delicious hot lunch.
Finally, we will back to Cusco, arriving around 5:00 p.m., where we will drop you off at your hotel.
