the other rainbow mountain

Rainbow Mountain. Vinicunca. Montaña de Siete Colores. Montaña de Colores. High on the lists of backpackers stopping in Cusco and the agencies know it. Walk anywhere close to Plaza de Armas and you’ll have pictures of “Rainbow Mountain” (heavily saturated mind you) shoved in your face and pointed towards their agency storefront.

While everyone calls it “Rainbow Mountain” it is actually a portion of Ausangate Mountain in the Peruvian Andes and its colors are due to weathering and mineralogy. While of course it’s been there for ages, it’s only within the past few years it was discovered for tourism. It is known for its Instagram worthy pictures, tough climb (located at 5200m/17060ft), and well, a ton and a half of people.

What if I told you there is an alternative “Rainbow Mountain” without the tough climb AND without the crowds.

It’s a hardcore fact that travelers LOVE to talk about their previous and/or upcoming travels. Almost any traveler loves to talk about where they’ve been and things they’ve found. And for the most part, other travelers are eager to listen to find out new information. That is exactly how I found out about Kana Travel and the “alternative Rainbow Mountain.” One minute I’m chatting with my friend in the hostel room about whether we should hike THE rainbow mountain, and the next, a girl from France is showing us pictures of the alternative rainbow mountain.

Rainbow Mountain has gained hugeeee Instagram popularity in recent years. Hundreds of people every day are hiking for hours at altitude for that one shot for the ‘Gram. But due to the hype of THE rainbow mountain, most people don’t realize that the Cusco area is actually home to multiple colorful landscapes.

palcoyo – the alternative rainbow mountain

Palcoyo is not exactly down the road from Cusco’s city center. In fact, it is about a three and a half hour drive away (on bumpy roads). But while the traditional rainbow mountain has you leaving at 3am, this trek normally departs at 7am (well you know, South American time, so 7:30am). The travel may be lengthy and bumpy, but you’ll be constantly grazing out the window at the jaw-dropping mountain views and alllll the cut llamas.

Before you arrive at the alternative rainbow mountain, you stop briefly in Checacupe after about two hours for a quick break to get snacks and/or go to the bathroom. (Heads up ladies, somehow it was the cleanest bathroom I’ve been to in South America (including the best toilet paper). Idk if that is weird to bring up but it may have been the best S/. 1 ever spent!) Checacupe is home to three bridges – 1 Inca suspension bridge, 1 stone colonial bridge and 1 republican bridge with an iron frame.

You’re then on your way to the beautiful colorful mountains! Once you’re off the main road, you’ll begin winding through the small villages in the Vincanota Valley. While this alternative rainbow mountain is not yet on the tourist map, there is still a small ticket booth (S/. 10 a person, but should be covered by your tour) before you arrive inside the “park.” Excited to see these rainbow mountains, we jumped out of the van all giddy only to be greeted by mountains looking like this:

Womp womp. On the drive there we were trying not to jinx the great sunny weather outside (it was rainy season after all), BUT we neglected the fact that it poured the night before…  which, duh, of course, means it snowed in the mountains. Trying to not be too disappointed in the less than seven color mountain, we continued on to view the next rainbow mountains.

Lucky for us, the sun continued to shine and by the time we arrived at the next viewing spot, the snow had mostly melted the snow and rainbow mountains were showing off their colors!

Along with the seven people on our tour and our guide, we had a local girl walk along with us to make sure we did not go off the trail. It is not advertised, but on the conventional trek, you are hiking through an alpine environment, and due to the hundreds of tourists hiking every day, it is being destroyed. While there is a trail, rain/snow often creates huge sections of mud which means people are walking off the trail, widening the path, and destroying the environment. Already it is impressive how proactive the Palcoyo community is in preserving this land.

It is tough to say this is a trek, since besides some short uphill climbs (in altitude), there is nothing too long or strenuous involved. I’m not sure how far we walked (maybe three miles round trip), however we had about TWO HOURS to take photos of the rainbow mountains and red valley (so maybe this is more of a photo opportunity with some walking along with it?). It’s well known for the conventional trek that once you get to the top, you only have about ten minutes to snap some pics andddd you’ll have a million people in your photos. If the pictures and that statement doesn’t convince you to do this alternative rainbow mountain, I’m not sure what will.

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things to know before ya go to the alternative rainbow mountain:

getting there:

a tour is the easiest way to get here (and may be the only way)

cost:

we were quoted S/. 120 + S/. 10 ($39) for entrance, however due to it being the rainy season, we got it for a combined S/. 90 ($27)

what to bring:

• clothing layers (it was warm at the beginning, then it got cold, then it snowed at the top, then moved to a comfortable temperature… so yes, layers!)
• water
• hat/gloves
• sunnies
• sunscreen
• snacks (for the drive/at the top – lunch is not until 3pm or later)
• coca leaves/candies

when to go:

the dry season (May-September) is the safest bet so the mountains aren’t covered in snow or fogged over (I visited in January and got lucky for the most part the snow cleared up!)

While this hike is not as strenuous as the conventional Rainbow Mountain trek, you can’t forget about altitude – 5200m!! (Everest Base Camp is only slightly higher at 5389m)! So make sure to acclimatize in Cusco, especially if you’re coming from a low elevation.

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more pictures because it was just that beautiful!