However, if you’re in Cusco on limited time and the region has seen a lot of rain - or rain is predicted - it’s probably best not to waste a day driving six hours to disappointment. Of course, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, and there is no way that you can have complete control of the weather on any hike in South America (we’ve experienced four seasons in a day on day hikes up in Huaraz, in northern Peru). The main reason? The mountain, unsurprisingly, just doesn’t look as good when everything (and everyone) is grey, wet, and miserable. We were blessed with pretty perfect weather for our visit in Peru’s rainy season (which runs from November - April), but speaking to others at our hostel in Cusco and on our route through South America confirmed that it can be a bloody miserable and muddy experience - and almost a complete waste of time - to do this walk in the rain and cloud. Read Later | Our Favourite Things to do in CuscoĮven though rainbows usually appear after the rain has fallen, wet weather is really not your friend when it comes to experiencing Rainbow Mountain at its finest. Unless you have your own wheels, it really is not worth trying to do Rainbow Mountain independently as the transport connections required are too few and too unreliable for it to make any sense (trust us here, we always try to find independent options first for hikes, day trips, and in this case). are less common but will provide you with the best opportunity to skip the enormous crowds later in the day.
RAINBOW MOUNTAIN PERU FULL
| Drive for 1.5 hours and have a lunch stopĪs you can see, it’s a long and full day with the majority of time spent driving to / from the mountain (although this is through some lovely Peruvian countryside scenes). | Walk along trail to the mirador / viewpoint (1.5 - 2 hours) | Drive for 1.5 hours to Rainbow Mountain car park Unfortunately however, the early morning bus ride remains!Īlthough some tours may leave earlier or later, the standard day trip to Rainbow Mountain will involve the following: However, with a rudimentary new road now carved into the hillside (specifically for tour buses - no other traffic would have visited before), the actual ‘hike’ portion is now a much much shorter round-trip distance of about 7 km. Previously, the standard tour to reach Rainbow Mountain involved a long early morning bus ride from Cusco and then 15 kms round-trip trek.
RAINBOW MOUNTAIN PERU HOW TO
So if you want to know what exactly a Rainbow Mountain day trip from Cusco involves (and whether it’s actually worth it), learn why the mountain has become so crowded, save a lot of money, and understand how to prepare for the insane Vinicunca altitude - plus appreciate some of the new realities of day tours to Rainbow Mountain in 2020 - this is the only post you need to read. That said however, for a number of reasons we were reluctant to visit, deciding only at the last minute that we owed it to you, our readers, to provide an honest review of the experience, and what to expect. This site - which is also known as Vinicunca, Winikunka, Montaña de Siete Colores, and Montaña de Colores - has blown up in popularity in the last few years and is arguably now well on its way to becoming the second most visited attraction in the Peru after Machu Picchu.
You will have seen countless pictures of Rainbow Mountain on Instagram and, if you’re already in Cusco, its unmistakable seams of red, yellow, and orange will now be a common sight all over the city’s hostels and tour agencies.