Rainbow Mountain Tours from Cusco
Ahead of the Crowds A 300 am pickup puts you on the Vinicunca trail by about 640 am and at the top around 910 am, before most groups arrive.
Vinicunca or Palccoyo A medium hike of 1.5 to 2 hours each way to the famous ridge, or an easy 45 to 60 minutes each way past 3 striped mountains.
Oxygen and Poles Carried Every tour brings oxygen, a first-aid kit and trekking poles, and a licensed English-speaking guide sets a pace that works at altitude.
What Our Travelers Say About Us
Exploor was the best choice we made for our Peru trip. They planned every part of the trip exceptionally well right from the planning to scheduling and sharing of information.
They had a great team who were prompt, friendly and thorough. A big shoutout to Rosmy from the planning team and Maik and Grimaldo who were our guides. They went over and above for each leg of the trip. Great vehicles, good restaurant selection for meals, well-explained tours made the whole experience very memorable and comfortable. An added bonus was the great photo taking which our guides were experts in 🙂 10/10 recommended!
Exploor made it possible to be completely hands off and thoroughly enjoy the is trip. I am beyond pleased with their services and would highly recommend! They were also very accommodating to flight delays and such.
The admin team: Walter, Karen, Rosmy held down the plans! The tour guides: Kari and Andrea …10/10! I feel like I completed a college course on the history of Peru! The drivers made us feel 100% safe and were also very accommodating. Well done team!!
No two travelers are the same, and your Rainbow Mountain trip shouldn’t be either. With our tailor-made tours, you can adjust every detail to match your style, pace and interests.
- 100% tailor-made itinerary
- Handpicked hotels & restaurants
- 24/7 support
Vinicunca and the Red ValleyClimb to the famous striped ridge early in the morning. On private tours you return through the Red Valley, a slope of deep red earth beside the mountain.
Palccoyo, the Easier AlternativeA gentler trail of 45 to 60 minutes each way past 3 striped mountains, far fewer visitors than Vinicunca and, when the community allows it, an alpaca walking with you.
High Andean LandscapesWide valleys where herders graze llamas and alpacas, and on clear days the glaciers of Ausangate, at 20,945 ft (6,384 m) the highest mountain in the Cusco region.
Guided Hiking at AltitudeYour guide sets a slow, steady pace, carries oxygen and a first-aid kit, and can arrange a horse from the local community at the Vinicunca trailhead if you need one.
Choose Vinicunca if you are fit, already acclimatized and want the classic view of the ridge everyone photographs. It is the higher and harder hike, with a steep final section, and it is also the busier mountain, which is why we start at 3:00 am. From USD 139.
Choose Palccoyo if you are traveling with children or older relatives, have only just arrived in Cusco, or want a quieter day. You see 3 striped mountains instead of one, the walk is about half as long, and there are far fewer people. From USD 149.
When to go. The dry season, roughly May to October, gives the best chance of clear skies and visible colors. In the rainy months snow can cover the stripes, and on some days the trip is not possible at all, so keep a spare day in Cusco if you can.
As part of a longer trip. Rainbow Mountain is included in our 3-day Cusco highlights tour, from USD 829, and in longer itineraries such as Best of Peru in 6 days, from USD 1,899, and the 9-day Peru adventure, from USD 2,719. For other single-day excursions, such as Humantay Lake or the Sacred Valley, see our Cusco day trips.
Until around 2013 Vinicunca was largely covered by ice. As it melted, the bands of colored sediment appeared: reds from iron-rich clays, yellows from sandstones rich in sulfur minerals and greens from clays rich in iron and magnesium. Snow still returns in the rainy season, which is why the colors are most reliable between May and October.