Peru · RAINBOW MOUNTAIN TOURS
Vinicunca tops out at 5,036 metres and the walk in starts around 4,300, so this is not a day-two outing. The 15 below compare the early starts, the ATV shortcuts and the quieter Palccoyo alternative, with prices and how much climbing each leaves you to do.
Ride an ATV to Peru’s Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain, with Cusco pickup, meals, bilingual guides, mountain views, and practical altitude advice.
“Gary is a very professional guide and the arrangement is perfect!”
Review of Cusco’s Rainbow Mountain tour, with breakfast, lunch, bilingual guides, high-altitude hiking, costs, tips, and safety advice.
“Breakfast and lunch were included, and we got to the mountain before there were too many crowds. The guide helped negotiate a good price for those of us that wanted to use a horse.”
Review of Cusco’s private Rainbow Mountain tour, with early pickup, meals, guide support, Red Valley option, price, hike, and practical tips.
“This was a very exciting and well planed out trip! I would highly recommend using their service for rainbow mountain. Thank you so much”
Review of Cusco’s Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley trek, with high-altitude tips, itinerary details, costs, meals, guides, and honest drawbacks.
“Escursione? Sostanzialmente è stato un servizio di transfer. Nessuna spiegazione dalla guida che non ci ha seguiti durante il tragitto. Inoltre, si è persa un turista causando un ora di ritardo a tutto il gruppo. Infine, non è stato dato il tempo per visitare la red valley.”
Ride an ATV to Rainbow Mountain from Cusco, beat the crowds, enjoy local meals, and see Ausangate views on this long high-altitude day trip.
“The trip was very enjoyable, Angie kept us informed all the time of the schedule and she took some lovely photos for us aswell .I would definitely recommend.”
Review of the Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley tour from Cusco, with meals, hotel transport, a local guide, and practical hiking advice.
“Our guide, Jose, our meals and the staff who helped prep everything — our entire experience was AMAZING. This was the best time we had during our trip. It could not have been better.”
Review of Cusco’s Rainbow Mountain trek, with altitude tips, itinerary details, costs, meals, guides, and advice on who should book.
“Es war ein guter Ausflug, allerdings habe ich die Beschreibung missverstanden, ich dachten wandert ca.3 h hin un 2 h zurück, es waren aber nur 3h insgesamt zum Wandern. Außerdem hat mir die Information gefehlt, dass man zum red valley auch noch gehen kann für 30 Soles zusätzlich. Hätte gerne mehr Zeit gehabt am Vinicunca und Red Valley. Ansonsten hat aber alles gepasst.”
Explore Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain from Cusco with an early start, small group, alpaca walk, meals, local guide, and fewer crowds.
“We had a fantastic time exploring Palcoyo, thanks to our experienced guide, Jesús Carrion. The tour started promptly, and Jesús took great care of us throughout the day. Although the walk to Palcoyo, also known as the alternative Rainbow Mountain, was relatively easy and moderate, the high altitude of 4900m caused my husband to feel short of breath. Jesús made a concerted effort to ensure his well-being while also keeping an eye on the rest of the group. Compared to Vinicunca, Palcoyo was noticeably less crowded, and it offered breathtaking views of three rainbow mountains, the red valley, and the stone forest. Unfortunately, we had to skip the stone forest…”
Review of Cusco’s Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley tour, with altitude tips, itinerary details, guide feedback, meals, price, and booking advice.
“The views and hikes were amazing, however the company was horrible. Our guide consistently told us to hike ahead, and he would catch up to us later... to which he would catch up and actually just pass us and continue hiking ahead, leaving us behind. When we did have a chance to ask him questions about the area, he rarely had an answer.”
Review the 13-hour Rainbow Mountain tour from Cusco, including altitude, hiking effort, meals, transport, group size, value, and practical tips.
“Excellent preparation and well delivered tour. As expected very popular and can get tricky physically for some at 5200m above sea level. Breathtaking views - probably the best after Machu Picchu.”
Rainbow Mountain tour from Cusco with breakfast, lunch, hotel transfers, a small group, and a demanding hike to 5,036 meters.
“Chino was the best guide! We had a group of 5 and he was so encouraging and kind. While the initial part of the journey would be totally unremarkable at a lower altitude, we really appreciated the frequent stops and Chino checking in with how we were feeling. He also gave great advice for taking deep breaths and had other tricks to help us deal with the altitude. And once we made it to the top, he was endlessly patient with waiting for the clouds to pass through. And he was the best photographer EVER! I remember seeing many, many tour companies offering this hike, and I am so glad…”
Review of Cusco’s Vinicunca Mountain tour, with sunrise pickup, breakfast, lunch, guide, altitude advice, costs, and booking tips.
“Great experience we liked Jefferson our tour guide!! But we had no idea how long of a walk up a steep mountain it was; no joke!!!! Many people had headaches 17,100 feet high is serious. Prepárate bien y trae bloqueador y pastillas para dolor de cabeza y una grande botella de agua o dos botellas.”
Review of Cusco’s Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain tour, with a 16-hour trek, meals, transport, altitude advice, costs, and practical tips.
“This was an incredible experience! The hike is challenging, but totally doable, you just have to take your time - our guide was extremely patient with us, and allowed each person in the group to move at their own pace. She even walked my wife down to the basecamp when she was not feeling well, and then made her way back up to meet us as we were making our descent. Totally worth the trip!”
Review of the private Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain tour from Cusco, with high-altitude views, local lunch, transport, costs, and practical tips.
“This mountain area is spectacular. It perhaps should be known as Rainbow Mountain 2 as it is not the one of instagram fame but I believe this experience far surpasses that one from what I’ve heard. This is a an amazing area with terraced mountains, free Alpaca roaming and painted mountains. It surpasses my expectation. I would recommend this trip to anyone if nature is what you’re after and not a tourist nightmare;) Be aware that It is remote and gravel road for a large part of it. A shout out to Jenny our guide and Luis our driver. They were both charming, easygoing and excellent.”
Seven days from Cusco to Machu Picchu, Humantay Lake and Vinicunca, with hotels, trains, guides and high-altitude hikes included.
“We had an amazing trip all of our guides were friendly, knowledgeable and attentive.”
Pick a ruin, a trailhead or a table.
