This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to book a stay or purchase an item I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Rainbow Mountain is a new tourist hotspot in an area completely overrun with tourist hotspots. Why has it only become popular in recent years? Because it was only discovered recently! That blows my mind. Only around 10 years ago (sometime in the early 2010’s) the colours of Rainbow Mountain were discovered due to the reduction of snow around the area – a result of global warming.
However concerning the phenomenon of global warming is, Rainbow Mountain is one small positive to come from the changes we are seeing in this world – we have this new beautiful place to enjoy – so PLEASE DON’T RUIN IT!
For an idea of how to plan your itinerary for this region of Peru please see my post here on Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Or you can see below for details on visiting this rainbow wonderland.
Top Tips for Visiting Rainbow Mountain:
Check the weather forecast before your trip The weather is very changeable and the mountain could be covered in snow! Most (if not all) tours will let you amend your tour day if you need to up to 2 days in advance. If you have the opportunity to you should build some flexibility into your trip for this.
Leave nothing behind! Although this should be a given everywhere you go -the carelessness of tourists was really obvious for me here as you need to travel so far into the mountains to reach Rainbow Mountain and despite the area having been completely covered in snow only 10 years ago we picked up a bag full of plastic rubbish on our way up to the mountain. Rubbish really doesn’t seem to be a huge problem at the tourist sites of Peru because places like Machu Picchu are so well-maintained and patrolled but Rainbow Mountain seemed to attract the kind of people that don’t seem to care about the natural environment if its not easy for them. I know you are half asleep and feeling the altitude sickness on this hike but common courtesy is still important. Also taking a bit of plastic back with you is not going to weigh you down.
Getting there and away:
I suggest taking a day trip to Rainbow Mountain – there are many tour companies who do this route and although it does involve a very early morning start there is no need to stay overnight in the area unless you want to camp and do some further hiking around the mountains.
We went with Rainbow Mountain Travels which was a great choice as they are the tour that reaches the mountain earliest – unfortunately this also means the earliest tour start at 3am (But its a 2 hour drive until your breakfast stop so you can sleep a little more in the van). As we were the fastest walkers in our group this meant that we were among 4 people who reached the mountain first and had plenty of time to enjoy its serenity (and take pics!) before the rest of the group and the other tour groups showed up.
Getting around:
Once you get there – you will need to walk. It’s not a long hike but take it easy as you are very high altitude here. You can also take a mule along the route if need be but they are very slow and will not get you all the way. You will still need to do the last little climb yourself. There is an initial platform for photos and then you can continue climbing right to the top.
Some tours will advertise a 30 min detour or extra trek to the red valley afterwards. The red valley is well worth seeing! However we just climbed straight up the side of the mountain next to Rainbow Mountain for killer views of the Red valley and enjoyed it ourselves (Our guide was nowhere to be seen – probably helping the stragglers) so I’m not sure where the 30 min trek or the extra fee came in to the equation.
Food:
Plenty of breakfast and lunch are provided by your tour so you don’t need to carry any food with you. However, I do recommend carrying some coca candy or something that helps with altitude sickness as Rainbow Mountain is very high up at 5, 200m above sea level. Also you definitely need LOTS of water. There is a snack shop at the start of the trail if you want to support the locals.
What to bring:
- Water in a reusable bottle so you don’t leave anything behind
- Lipbalm with sunblock
- Coca candy (totally legal and won’t give you a high but these can help with altitude sickness).
- A rain-jacket and warm layers that can be removed as you will get very warm when hiking.
- Very comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots
- Camera and Go Pro
I know the site has soo many pop-ups BUT I highly recommend buy everything you need for travel from Temu the prices are soo cheap and most of the stuff is really good quality (or at least as good a quality as you would purchase from another more expensive site).
What to expect:
Expect to be amazed that the photos you have seen are exactly what Rainbow Mountain is like! No clever editing here. Its so beautiful and unlike anything else you will have ever seen. Make sure you head to the very top for some extra views and to hike up to the view over the Red Valley also as its just as beautiful in my opinion.
Erika xx
THE ONLY ERIKA IN THE VILLAGE 