Rainbow Mountain FAQs

Booking your trek to Rainbow Mountain is easy and doesn’t take long at all. You can either come into our office when you arrive in Cusco to make a booking or do it online before you come.

If you book on the internet, you’ll need to follow these steps.

• Step 1: Get in Touch:
  First, you need to give us a call or send an email to let us know you want to book the trip, and then we’ll tell you what to do next.
• Step 2: Fill Out the Passenger Details Form:
  We’ll send you a Word document via email called a passenger details form. Ensure you fill it out with your exact details as they appear on your passport.
• Step 3: Pay for the Trek:
  When we get all your details back, we’ll let you know the various methods of paying for the trek. Make sure you send us an email with a photo, scan, or screenshot of your payment.
• Step 4: Confirm Your Reservation:
  Once we get confirmation of your deposit, you’ll receive a booking confirmation from us in the form of a PDF. Please double-check your details are correct and let us know if there are any mistakes.
• Step 5: Briefing Session:
  You're ready to go! The only thing left to do is to receive an orientation one day before the date of your trip. Here, you will be informed about the logistics of the trip and the guide will answer any questions you may have.

We need you to pay in advance so that we can organize and pay for your transportation, your meals, the guide, and your Rainbow Mountain entrance. This amount is non-refundable as we pay for everything as soon as we get your reservation.

Yes, although most people don’t need to for the Rainbow Mountain trek as it’s a one-day trip. If you would like, you can rent walking poles from Salkantay Trekking.

Yes. If you feel you’re getting too tired or finding the trek extremely difficult, there are horsemen on the trail. You can rent a horse to take you to the top of the mountain so you don’t miss out on the spectacular view and experience.

The one-day Rainbow Mountain trek is relatively challenging due to the uphill climb toward the end and the high altitude. You’ll be heading up to around 5,200 masl.

For this reason, we suggest you do a bit of preparation back home before you come and follow some other tips.

• At home, do plenty of cardiovascular exercise, including lots of hikes over varied terrain.
• Make sure you eat a well-balanced diet to keep your body in top condition.
• Ensure you stay in Cusco for at least 2–3 days before your trek departs. When you don’t do this, you run a higher risk of getting altitude sickness, which would likely mean the end of your hike.
• You also need to make sure you use worn-in hiking boots. New ones can give you blisters and cause a lot of pain.

Yes. We recommend you take your own refillable bottle and that it’s already filled with water. However, you are able to refill your bottle at breakfast or lunchtime at the restaurant.

On the Rainbow Mountain trek, we’ll take you to a restaurant for both breakfast and lunch. We understand that you need to be well-nourished to hike, especially at such a high altitude, so we guarantee that you have a wide array of options available for you to pick and choose from to get the most balanced meal possible.

You’ll find a buffet-type setup with many dishes to choose from. They’re local plates that also give you a great opportunity to try some different Peruvian dishes.

Do you suffer from allergies or have specific dietary requirements you need to follow? Don’t worry. As long as you let us know the day before (or when booking), we’ll ensure you have plenty of options to choose from so you can eat as well-balanced as everyone else.

We also recommend you take snacks to nibble on when you get hungry or need an energy boost. You’ll find that near the top of the mountain there are also local people selling small snacks and water. As you can see, you certainly won’t go hungry on the Rainbow Mountain trek.

Yes. Everything you book is already paid for, but you might want to buy some extra water or snacks along the way. It’s also a good idea to have extra cash just in case of emergencies. We recommend S/200.

You don’t need a permit as such, only buy one ticket. If you do the hike with Salkantay Trekking, we’ll buy this for you so you don’t need to worry about anything.

Yes. You can do the Rainbow Mountain trek with kids, but we recommend that they’re at least 8 years old. The distance isn’t really that long, but the high altitude makes it much more difficult. With smaller children, it’s highly likely you’d end up carrying them a lot of the way.

There’s no specific amount we recommend you tip, but it’s always highly appreciated. Your guide and the rest of the team do an amazing job at keeping you safe and making sure you enjoy every part of your day out. The amount you decide to tip is at your discretion.

The maximum number of people in our Rainbow Mountain trekking groups is 10. However, we can also do the tour with 2 people. This tends to depend on whether it’s high or low season.

As this is only a day trip, you don’t need to take too many things with you. You want your backpack to be as lightweight as possible as you’ll be carrying it the whole way. We recommend the following items:

• Rain jacket/poncho
• Fleece
• Sunhat/beanie
• Water bottle
• Sunscreen
• Personal medication
• Toilet paper
• Cash
• Passport
• Camera

For the Rainbow Mountain trek, you only need to take a small backpack. You want it to be lightweight and comfortable. You can see you don’t need to take many items with you. A 20L backpack is sufficient. If you do decide to take anything larger, keep in mind that you’re going to be carrying it the entire way.

Most definitely! Rainbow Mountain, or Vinicunca, is one of the most unique places on our planet. The natural color formation can only be seen here in Peru and in China. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most who visit.

The trip is only a day, so it won’t take up much time on your itinerary and we organize everything for you. The hike is relatively challenging, but it’s well worth it.

Yes. A lot of the hike is quite easy as it’s along a relatively flat path. However, toward the end, there’s a steep incline and this is very tough, especially at the high altitude. The overall difficulty level is moderate, as most of the trek isn’t that hard.

On the Rainbow Mountain, Peru, trek, you’ll walk 7 km over around 2–3 hours.

There are varying costs for the trek to Rainbow Mountain available. But, if you decide to hike with Salkantay Trekking, you’ll pay $100 per person. This includes your ticket, guide, transport, and two meals.

On the Rainbow Mountain trek, you’ll find there are toilet facilities in the restaurants. APart from that, you’ll find the occasional very rustic bathroom. They likely won’t have toilet paper, so you need to ensure you take some with you.

This depends on what you want from your trek. From June to August, the Rainbow Mountain route is very busy as this is the highest season of the year tourism-wise. You’re going to see large crowds and might get held up on parts of the trail. However, the weather is great at this time of year as it’s in the middle of the dry season. You can expect great views and lots of sun.

From November to April, it’s the rainy season. You’re going to see far less people on the route, which might appeal to you, but be prepared for showers. You’ll need to wear hiking boots with a great grip to avoid slipping and take waterproof gear.

May and October are the start and end of the high season. You won’t see quite as many people on the route and it’s not very likely to rain. These are our top two months to visit to avoid large crowds and get the best weather.

If you start to feel sick while on the Rainbow Mountain trek, you’ll be delighted to know that all our guides have received extensive training in the event someone falls ill. The law forbids us from giving you any medication, but we do our best to make you feel better in other ways.

At the restaurants and on the route, we provide coca tea, which is fantastic at combating altitude sickness symptoms. The guides also carry oxygen bottles with them in the event you need one. If you feel too tired to walk, you can hire an extra horse.

Yes, you can join us by yourself. However, we can only guarantee your spot when we already have a booking for the day you wish to travel. If you want to hike on a day when there’s no group already organized, you won’t be able to go by yourself, unfortunately.

The weather in Cusco is very unpredictable, and it’s the same at Rainbow Mountain. For this reason, it’s very difficult to say exactly how the weather will be at the site.

However, there are wet and dry seasons that can give you a better indicator of when to expect rain. The dry season is from May to October and the wet season from November to April. June and July are the coldest months and you’ll start to feel very chilly when standing at the top of the mountain for a while.