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 will be picked up from your hotel early in the morning and then, after about an hour-and-a-half’s drive, it’s time to stop and eat the breakfast (included) at a restaurant on the way. The drive will then continue to the rainbow mountains, where your hike starts. Here, you will walk 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 beautiful views of the magnificent landscape and the unique mountain in shades of red, blue, green, white and violet.

On the way, you will walk through the magnificent and unique landscape with its fascinating rainbow-coloured mountains and an impressive rocky forest with stunning views of the area. On clear days, you can even make out some of the snow-capped peaks of the Andes in the distance, and which provide a picturesque contrast to the multicoloured mountains.

After stopping at the colourful mountains, you’ll be taken to a restaurant where you can enjoy lunch, which is also included.

Remember to bring a daypack with water, snacks, sunscreen, rain cape and possibly trekking poles, as this is a hike. Therefore, we also recommend that you wear hiking shoes 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.