We will pick you up in Cusco at 4:30AM from whichever hotel you are staying at within Cusco. It is about a 3½ hour drive in our private me amazing views of the Andes. When we reach the trailhead for this hike, we will stop and enjoy a lovely breakfast freshly prepared by our trekking chef. After breakfast and packing some snacks to munch on en route, we will begin the hike from Chillca at 3700m. From here it will be a 4 hour uphill hike to reach the famous Rainbow Mountains. Along the way you will enjoy amazing views of the Andes, glacial peaks, red mountains, rocky hills, and llamas and alpacas grazing along the valley. As you reach the summit of the mountain you will be able to spot some Andean wildlife. Vicuñas are considered to be the Andean camel and this is the only place in Cusco where you will see them in the wild. Vicuñas are in the same family as llamas, though are much smaller and they have the most expensive wool in the world.
Once we arrive at the top of Rainbow Mountain, you will have enough time to take in the views and the majesty of this area. All of the mountains that surround this area are red and there are amazing views of the valleys and Ausangate Glacier Peak right in front of you. Ausangate is the tallest mountain of the Cusco region (6300 meter) and is part of the Cordillera Vilcanota Range. While taking in these magnificent views our staff will bring you some hot drinks while sharing information with you about the composition of these incredible mountains and how they became striated in the rainbows of colors you are seeing. After taking a few amazing pictures and soaking in the views (perhaps we will even see a few condors floating on the air currents) we will begin our descent with a 2 hour downhill hike. We will then meet up with our trekking chef and enjoy a delicious, freshly prepared hot lunch. After lunch you can visit some of the local family’s homes where you can see the lifestyle of these people who still practice the ancient traditions of the Inkas. Here they speak Quechua, practice their earth-based religion, and the agriculture – honoring the mountain spirits and sun to insure that their crops and herds fourish – as well as weaving the textiles that you will find in the museums all around Peru. Finally after our interactions with the locals, we will start our return trip back to Chillca village to catch our private van back to Cusco, arriving around 7PM, where we will drop you off at your hotel.