Vinincunca or Palcoyo

Rainbow Mountains of Peru, Vinincunca and Palcoyo, have grown in popularity since discovered for tourism in 2015. Social media was a big tool for this big success in this particular destination. Thousands of people have already flocked to witness the array of colors first-hand, and almost every travel company in Cusco offers one-day trips. However, what most people don’t know is that there are various Rainbow Mountains located in Valle Rojo, or Red Valley, and trips to a second Rainbow Mountain, Palcoyo, have begun to take place.

Now that you know you have two Rainbow Mountain options, you might be wondering which one is right for you. Well, lots of factors should be considered before making a decision such as your hiking preferences, physical ability, and goals. See the following one and take you best decision:

• Both hikes are above 16 000 feet above sea level in the Andes mountains of Peru so please visit those places after 2 or 3 days acclimatize in Cusco so it means after Machu Picchu tour as your body needs to be ready for this challenging adventure.
• Both destination have unpredictable weather, due the highest locations, so do not expect to have colorful shiny picture like those you find on Instagram.
• Vinincunca, Rainbow Mountain, it is located 03 hours driving far from Cusco and 2 hours hiking to summit of the destination where you can take pictures, he high is pretty intense with the last 30 mins in a quite steep slope until you get the top.
• Palcoyo, Rainbow Mountain, it is located 03 hours 30 min driving far from Cusco and just 30 mins walking to destination in a gentle Peruvian path so this can be done for most of the people who has been acclimatize to high Altitude, Children, teenager, old adults.
• Vinincunca, Rainbow Mountain, as the second most popular Destination in Peru will be crowded with thousands of people around 11:00 am so suggested is to depart for this destination early around 03 to 04 am.
• Palcoyo, Rainbow Mountain, is less crowded than Vinincunca so you can enjoy more the beauty of the place, average depart from Cusco is around 06:30 am after breakfast

No shame if you take a Horse offered by the local communities in Vinincunca, the goal of the day will be to get the summit and find the best picture so Horse it is worth it too.

Now that you know your options, I hope you are better able to make an informed decision about the Rainbow Mountain that is right for you. See you at the top!