Rainbow Mountain Day Trip from Cusco with Early Access

A Rainbow Mountain day trip from Cusco is a long day, and this one is built around an early start so that you reach the trail among the first groups. A guide collects you at your accommodation in the dark, and a drive of about two hours brings you to Cusipata, where breakfast is waiting and you can stock up on water and snacks for the walk.

Another hour on the road leaves you at the trailhead, 4,850 metres above sea level. From there a 3.5-kilometre path alternates flat stretches with uphill ones. Along the way alpacas, llamas and vicuñas graze beside the route, and at the top, 5,010 metres up, you have free time to rest and, if the weather is kind, to look out over the coloured slopes.

• Hotel pickup from the historic centre, depending on the option you choose
• Bilingual guide, transport, breakfast and buffet lunch, with vegetarian choices
• First-aid kit, an optional walking stick and an emergency oxygen bottle

After the descent you return to Cusipata for a local buffet lunch and then ride back to Cusco, arriving at the Plaza de Armas in the late afternoon. You can book it shared or private. Entrance tickets, horse rental and the optional Red Valley visit are paid separately, in cash. The tour is not suited to people with heart or respiratory problems, to pregnant women or to those with limited mobility or a low level of fitness.