Everyone knows that travelling isn’t always easy and finding the best option on how to get to the destination you want to discover can be difficult. Add to that the language barrier and things might just get worse.
Fortunately, getting to Rainbow Mountain is no hard task and we’ll go into detail to help you choose the best option!
There are a couple of ways of getting to Rainbow Mountain but the most recommended are through a Full Day Trek or a Quick Trek which we will go into detail. If you first need to get to Cusco, read further down.
This is the most popular option when it comes to trekking up to Rainbow Mountain Peru – particularly if done with an operator.
An early start from Cusco is advised, driving for roughly 3 hours to Pitumarca. Then it is suggested to travel to Qesoyuno for the start of the trek. It takes roughly 3 hours to get to the top and 3 hours back down.
Most operators will have you back in Cusco Plaza by 19:00pm – this is a good guideline for solo travellers also.
To get to Rainbow Mountain, you first need to get to Cusco, the gateway to the colorful hills. There are 2 ways to go from Lima to Cusco: bus or flying. Bus is the preferred choice for travellers due to all the scenery and destinations that you’ll be able to visit along the way, while flying is the best option for those short on time.
This is our number 1 recommendation for getting to Cusco from Lima.
Altitude Sickness is an issue that effects many people in Cusco, stopping them from being able to climb Rainbow Mountain Peru. Peru Hop’s hop on hop off system is the perfect way for travellers to gradually adjust to altitude while travelling through Peru.
As Vinicunca is at an altitude of 5,200m, it is essential travellers are adjusted before trekking.
The next best option is for travellers to catch a local bus from Lima to Cusco.
These journeys are often direct, so can be very long, sometimes up to 26 hours. Several local companies use shortcuts on roads that go through the Andes to reduce this time. However, These roads can be very, very dangerous and buses sometimes even get hijacked so be extremely careful when choosing a company.
We would only ever recommend flying from Lima to Cusco if you are incredibly short on time.
Not only do you miss seeing all of the other amazing destinations in Peru, but you are also putting yourself at high risk of Altitude Sickness.
Going from sea level to 3,400m in such a short space of time does not allow your body to adjust – this affects the majority of travellers who decide to fly direct so we strongly advise against it.
© Rainbow Mountain Peru 2023
