{"id":3766,"date":"2026-05-29T16:25:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T23:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/?p=3766"},"modified":"2026-05-29T16:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T23:25:08","slug":"aventura-en-peru-in-the-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/?p=3766","title":{"rendered":"Aventura en Peru\u00a0– In The Heights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Honestly the next couple of days of our trip were entirely in service of getting to and hiking up to see Rainbow Mountain. I feel it necessary to include excessive details, but you do not need to feel it necessary to read them. The Rainbow Mountain hike is on April 23 if you\u2019re looking to jump ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 22 – Getting there \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short version of this day is that we took our tourist van back to Arequipa, hopped a one-hour turbulent flight to Cusco, ate dinner, went to bed. Because, of course, tomorrow we get up at 4:15 (again!) to head out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today is the last day of my favourite driver of the trip, who\u2019s name I forget. George, maybe? I\u2019ll call him George. Because we were retracing our steps, we didn\u2019t make many stops heading back to Arequipa, except at the same little pitstop cafe with the market. I felt MUCH better this time around, although I still ordered a Coca\/Muna tea because it’s just so good. I also had more tolerance for browsing the market and so Jeff and I picked up a couple of nice alpaca shawls, although we would discover a \u201ccashmere\u201d tag on Jeff\u2019s once we got home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most excitement on the trip back was when a vicu\u00f1a darted out in front of the van. George SLAMMED on the brakes, we all slammed into the seats in front of us, and the vicu\u00f1a wandered off unharmed. After a round of applause for George, we asked what would have happened if he\u2019d actually hit it? Turns out, we were in a national park at that moment, and so he would have had to call the police to come and investigate, and he would probably have ended up being assessed as “at fault” and getting fined. We did ask the obvious next question and yes, outside the national park, you can run them over all you like for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 23 Rainbow Mountain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4:15 BEEP BEEP BEEP and it\u2019s another alarm clock wake-up. A restless half-night sleep is not the way to start your 5000 m high Rainbow Mountain hike, but I took comfort in the fact that we had a 4 hour bus ride when I presumed we could get a bit more sleep. Well, that didn\u2019t pan out at all on account of the insane roads. Here was where the speed bump navigating really came into play (zoom up to a speed bump as fast as possible, slam on the brakes, bounce over, and repeat). Where there were no speed bumps, there were cattle guards and potholes. We got a break at 6:30 am when we stopped for a buffet breakfast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After breakfast we were back on the road for another couple of hours, this time zigzagging our way 1500 m up the mountainside over roads that rivalled the County for their state of disrepair.\u00a0But still we managed some great views along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Still seeing herds of Alpaca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tour buses winding up the mountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Looking back into the valley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some quick background on Rainbow Mountain (known as Vinicunca in Peru) before we embark on the hike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The round trip hike I\u2019m told is about 6-7 km. It starts at an elevation of 4700 m and finishes at either 4970 m or 5012 m (about 17,000 ft) depending on which viewing level you want to stop at. The elevation is not to be taken lightly. We have been at around 3600 m for 3 days now and at times as high as 5000 m and even so it\u2019s easy to get winded or dizzy fairly quickly. For reference, Everest base camp sits at 5300 m. The sun is also not to be taken lightly, and even though it was very overcast, we lathered on the sunscreen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before starting on the hike, our guide, Lois ((?)), gave us all a bit of fluoride water, which you rub in your hands and then inhale (it\u2019s beautiful!). This is tactic number 4 for dealing with the altitude after 1) acclimatising, 2) drinking coca tea, and 3) taking drugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the hike itself\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I read a few reviews in advance of the hike, and reviewers have alleged that without the elevation it is an \u201ceasy hike\u201d and is a \u201cflat sandy path until the final ascent\u201d. These are lies, and I swear to god I am going to track these people down and punch them in the mouth. The hike was actually very hilly, undulating several times until we neared the end at which point it turned into a 3-way switchback across a pretty steep mountain face (important to note: this part is not the final ascent). This lower part of the hike at elevation was gruelling, taking a medium difficulty hike and turning it into an extremely difficult hike with a very real possibility of getting elevation sickness. There were horses and mopeds to carry people up who didn\u2019t think they could make it, and a medical tent at the trailhead. We walked so slowly that my Apple Watch kept asking if I was \u201cpausing\u201d my walk. Why don\u2019t you just suck it, Apple Watch. Let\u2019s see you hike this thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Starting out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Heart pond<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The hike, looking back<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The hike, looking ahead<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once you reach the top of the switchback, you are rewarded with an unexpectedly stunning closeup view of Vinicunca. It\u2019s behind you at first and so some of us (me) needed to be told to turn around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside for the Snack Friends: Think the Duomo from our patio in Florence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this lookout, we were at 4970 m and there is an optional additional peak that you can scale, this part more like a Grouse Grind staircase. It was very foggy with minimal chance of actually seeing anything but I\u2019m not hiking my way to 30 m shy of 5000 and not continuing on! Funny, this section was more physically gruelling but didn\u2019t seem to affect me as much elevation-wise. Ten minutes up and we were officially at an altitude of 5012 m! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Side of Rainbow Mountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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First level, snacks for sale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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First level, there is actually a mountain behind us<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rainbow Mountain!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another angle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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5012 m!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Proof of height.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Vinicunca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The mountain is striated with bands of colours, like (you guessed it) a rainbow. The colours come from the following mineral deposits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n