Rainbow Mountain, Peru

Where we begin...

When I was planning my trip to Peru in 2018 I had my heart set on hiking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu and it wasn't until doing further research into other hikes I could include in my itinerary that I came across Rainbow Mountain. Also known as Vinicunca, this magical landscape affords its name to the 14 different types of minerals that transform the mountainside into a rainbow of colours. With the peak of the hike sitting at a cool 5200m above sea level, I knew that this was going to be a challenge for an Aussie gal where our average elevation above sea level is a mere 330m.

To get to the base of the trail, we hopped on a (very) early morning bus to travel a few hours outside of Cusco and then commenced our climb. After a warming breakfast, we set out into the cool, crisp air to begin our ascent. The surrounding mountain ranges were cloaked in low hanging clouds, giving the whole journey a mystical atmosphere.

Red Valley

Many people who traverse the landscape to reach the peak of Rainbow Mountain will end up going back down the same path they just hiked to get to the trail base. What travellers don't often know is that there is another (more spectacular in my opinion) path back down to the base of the trail - through Red Valley.

After breathlessly reaching the top of Rainbow Mountain (the last 100m were rough - if you know, you know) and spending some time to take in the sights, out little hiking group followed our guide along a pathway that would take us to Red Valley. At this point in time, it was snowing so heavily that I could barely see two people in front of me let alone the rest of the landscape that had been swallowed by a snowy haze. I recall the path starting to descend and the blind faith I had in our tour guide that we weren't going to be a missing persons headline back home.

To my complete awe, as we continued to descend the snow and fog cleared up to reveal one of the most magical and surreal landscapes I have ever encountered. It was like we had been transported to another planet; rich red earth, vibrant green moss, snow dusted mountains. What a dream!

Finding friends

As we continued trekking through this magical landscape, we found some furry friends to guide our way and they needed a whole spot in this blog post dedicated just to them.

If you ever find yourself travelling to Peru, I cannot recommend enough that you do the Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley hike. The experience is incredible and the photos do not nearly give this landscape justice for how magical it is. You do need to organise your hike with a tour company (which was especially important when you have weather like we had) - I travelled with G Adventures who are amazing.