Visiting Rainbow Mountain is currently one of the hiking highlights of the Cusco area. But whether you’re planning to do it by yourself or with a tour, before you see those unique colors and desolate landscapes, there’s some things you need to know to make the most out of that hike.
Here our list of five things you need to be prepared for anything on the Rainbow Mountain trek. And don’t forget to read our article about Hiking Rainbow Mountain on Your Own!
1# ALTITUDE YOUR WORST ENEMY
Considering that the start of the trail will be at 4’400m and the end at 5’200m, this means that for all the trek you’ll be walking at altitudes at which you’re body has possibly never been before. You can get attitude sickness (nausea, headache, stomachache etc…) and even though you might have spent the last days acclimatising at the 3’500m of Cusco, you might still be out of breath every couple of steps. A good way to fight this is to eat/chew any of the sweet snacks made of coca leaves (or the leaves themselves) that give you a boost of energy!
High up in the Andes!
2# TEMPERATURE CHANGES A LOT
You’ll probably gonna start your trek early in the morning and at that time the temperature will surely no more than 5°C (even less sometimes!) but as you’ll walk on, the temperature will slowly rise and even get to a crazy warm 20-25°C. Due to this make sure to hike up with multiple layers that can be easily taken away, bring sun-glasses and definitely don’t make the mistake of leaving sunscreen at home!
In this photo we’re wearing 3 layers!
3# GOOD WEATHER IS CRUCIAL
It doesn’t matter whether you opt for going by yourself or with a tour, always make sure to check what’s the whether gonna be like the day planned for the hike. If the forecast is not sun, postpone the hike (many tour companies do that on daily basis) cause being caught in the cold and fog at 5’200m is not a pleasant thing!
Not a cloud at the beginning of the trek!
4# THE EARLIER, THE BETTER
If you prefer to enjoy landscapes without masses of tourist taking out their selfies sticks, screaming and being loud then timing is crucial. Most tour companies start the hike from the base of the mountain (read our article about Hiking Rainbow Mountain on Your Own) at 7am but a couple of more expensive companies such as Rainbow Mountain Trekking start a little earlier to avoid crows. The being said, if you opt for a tour then getting there early, even if you pay a little more, is definitely worth every penny. When we hiked there on our own, we started the hike at 6am and until the top we didn’t encounter a single soul!
At 8.30am is when the first tourist masses started to arrive!
5# DRIVING THERE IS A LONG JOURNEY
Hiking Rainbow Mountain might not be your average hike in terms of accessibility. The base of the mountain is located at a long 3.5h journey by car from Cusco, therefore starting the hike early means a very very easy wake up. Consider that tour companies usually pick up people between 3am and 3.30am but when we went there by ourselves we left Cusco at 2.30am! In any case, make sure to have enough sleep for such a long journey; at the least, you’re gonna be out for nearly 12 hours!
We arrived at the parking lot of Rainbow Mountain just before sunrise at 5.45am
Hopefully this will get you ready in no time to do this amazing trek! Don’t forget to let us know how it goes in the comment!
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