Excursion to Rainbow Mountain (Palccoyo)

Join a magical hike in the colourful mountain landscape outside Cusco and experience the breath-taking Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain with its many beautiful colours. An experience you will never forget!

Just outside of Cusco is a mountain range in all the colours of the rainbow, also known as the “Rainbow Mountains”. The mountains received this name due to their many colours, which are due to the various minerals in the area.

From Cusco, tours are arranged to 2 different sites in the Rainbow Mountains. The most popular spot is Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain, but due to its popularity, this place has so many visitors that it may slightly dampen the experience. It is also a tough hike to the lookout point.
Therefore, we have chosen to visit Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain on this tour, which is just as beautiful and impressive as Vinicunca, but has much fewer visitors and even offers a whole three colourful rainbow mountains. It is a relatively short and easy walk to the lookout point at Palccoyo.

You are picked up at your hotel early in the morning, after which you drive for about 3 hours until you reach the small town of Checacupe. Here, you see the colonial era temple Templo de la Virgen Immaculada de Checacupe, as well as the Roman-inspired colonial era bridge Checacupe, which is built above an old Inca complex. Just next to the colonial era bridge, there is still an old Inca suspension bridge, and the two very different bridges standing side by side is certainly a sight all to themselves.

After your stop in Checacupe, you drive on towards the Rainbow Mountains, where your hike begins. Here, you hike with a local, English-speaking guide for about 45 minutes until you reach the impressive Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain at an altitude of approx. 4,900 metres. At the top, you are rewarded with a gorgeous view of the majestic landscape and these unique mountains clad in red, blue, green, white and violet hues.

On the way, you hike through magnificent and unique landscapes with many fascinating rainbow-coloured mountains and an impressive mountain forest with an incredible view of the area. From the mountain forest, if the weather is clear, you can even glimpse some of the Andes Mountains’ snow-capped peaks in the distance, making a picturesque contrast to the multi-coloured mountains.

During the trip, you make a stop for lunch, and you can enjoy your included lunch box.

Remember to bring a day pack with water, snacks, sunscreen, rain poncho and perhaps hiking poles, as this is a hike. We also recommend that you wear hiking boots and warm clothes (preferably in layers), as well as sunglasses and a sun hat.

Level of difficulty: Easy to moderate

Distance: approx. 1 km, approx. 110 vertical metres

Duration: approx. 11 hours (about 1.5 hours of hiking)

Note that this trek takes you up to an altitude of nearly 5,000 metres, so it is important that you drink plenty of water and walk at a calm pace up to the lookout point. If you show symptoms of altitude sickness such as headache and nausea, immediately contact your guide and take a break, and perhaps go down to a lower altitude again.