Hiking Rainbow Mountain
Deep in the South American Andes is Rainbow Mountain — a remarkable mix of desert landscapes, herds of alpaca, and majestic stripes of rust-red, ochre, vermillion, and turquoise. Known by locals as Vinicunca, the iconic striped mountain looks over a patchwork of barren valleys and rustic alpaca farms. It also sits at a staggering height of 17,060 feet (5,200 meters) above sea level, just slightly below the altitude of Everest Base Camp in Nepal.
The striped summit isn’t the tallest in the region, however. Beyond Vinicunca lies the red jagged peaks of Ausangate at a whopping 20,945 feet (6,384 meters) above sea level. Considered by many to be the true master of the Cusco Andes, the colossal glacier features a rugged terrain so otherworldly that it resembles the surface of Mars. Its huge, creaking ice fields appear to drop straight down out of the clouds.
Trekking to the top of Rainbow Mountain is now firmly established as one of the top adventure experiences in Peru. The summit is located in the small town of Pitumarca — about a 3 hour drive south from the ancient Incan capital of Cusco. With the hike to and from Vinicunca taking between 3-4 hours, we opted to make the trek at the crack of dawn in order to catch awe-inspiring views of the sun rising over icy ridges and lush valleys.
Our morning tour began in Cusco long before sunrise. We hopped into a van with our fellow hikers and drove towards the mountains in darkness. About halfway there, we stopped to have a Peruvian style breakfast. A nutritious breakfast was imperative for surviving the big hike ahead. We hit the road again and tried to nap a little longer, but our excitement was too high to rest. We looked out the windows for the rest of the drive, eagerly waiting for the first glimpse of distant mountain peaks.
Upon reaching the car park, we set off from a trailhead that sits on the south slope of the mountain. The trek up Rainbow Mountain is a gradual ascent and starts by taking you through a wide, flat valley bottom filled with grazing alpaca herds and old Peruvian farmsteads fenced in by rough-stone walls. We skirt around a big, red ridge to the west and begin to see the rocks change colors. Distinctive touches of orange cascades through darker crags of stone overhead, while thick grass and moss bring a touch of greenery to the foreground.
As we make our way through the valley, we look out at everyone who joins us on the mountaintop this morning. Alpacas are walked between the farmsteads while locals run materials back and forth. Acclimated to the extremely high altitude, young locals are actually able to run up and down the mountain. The older women walk slowly, with their bare feet sticking out of their sandals despite the chilling temperatures.
Our guides tell us to spin around and take in the grand amphitheater of the Andean highlands. Far off, we spot the snow-capped peak of Ausangate and a horizon dotted with distant mountains clambering over one another.
About two-thirds of the way up, a pounding headache made me stop to catch my breath. Dizzy and shivering, I’m barely able to see in front of me. My lungs fight to fill up on the cold air. It was clear hiking at extreme altitudes for hours without the warmth of the sun had begun to take a physical toll on me. Still, I was determined to reach the peak of the mountain despite not being a hiker. I take a local up on their offer to lead me on horseback to the base of the summit.
The path soon bends westwards, where it widens and steepens in the stretch leading up to the final ascent. The last push to the top of Rainbow Mountain is a short zigzag that cuts straight out of the south slope. While this sounds easy, here is where the altitude really makes its presence felt. And this is as far as the horse will take me, so I hop off and onto my sore legs. With frozen fingers, I struggle to pull out the correct fare from my backpack. I thank the local for the ride and slowly climb the final stretch as the sun begins to rise, hanging low on the horizon.
I blink my eyes several times in disbelief as I reach the lookout point which directly faces the famous ridge of Vinicunca itself. The grueling trek’s reward — what most people come to Rainbow Mountain for — is a beautiful panorama of the summit. The mountain’s magnificent hues glisten against a pale blue sky, with the mineralogical strata going from daffodil yellow to coppery green to scarlet and orange. Behind the gradients of green, yellow, and brown sits the lesser-hiked Red Valley of Ausangate.
After the struggles of the upward hike, I decided to take the horse back down the mountain to give my lungs some rest and enjoy the view. I watched kids lead alpacas decorated with pom-poms, packs of eager tourists trekking with their walking sticks, and locals dressed in warm, colorful ponchos shouting hello at each other as they passed by one another. The lofty landscapes that the demanding hike up Rainbow Mountain rewards you with make the journey, not just the destination, well-worth it.
