Rainbow Mountain

Our day starts at about 2:30am as we awoke to gather our belongings and board our 3am shuttle. It was brutal and draining straight off the bat, but in the end, it was definitely worth it. The drive was approximately 4 hours long with a break for breaky in between. We started the walk at about 7:30am, and despite being incredible short and only a moderate incline, it was painful. We were at 5000m altitude (my new record!), and every breath felt like you were breathing through a straw. The maybe 2km walk took nearly an hour as we trudged along. As we walked, the conditions did not look good for viewing the rainbow Mountain (2nd picture), but we persisted to ensure the long journey was worth it. To make things more interesting, it began to snow slightly as we approached the top, creating an interesting and unexpected detail to our walk. It also added another colour to the mountain as it began to coat the ground. As we got to the top, I was shocked to see not only the beauty of the colourful rainbow Mountain, but the valley itself was quite impressive. As we caught our breath and admired the view, it slowly began to improve, and we could see more and more of the valley and see more vivid colours of the mountain. We felt this was our opportunity, and we pushed on to the main viewpoint up a much steeper but shorter path. As we reached the top, the weather cleared completely, and we saw the valley in all its glory. It was incredible. On the nearside, we had the snow covered Mountain that we had just sumitted, as you panned along the horizon we observed the huge green valley, home to many llamas, before continuing your viewing to witness the red valley. The red valley was closed during our trip, but the bright red mountain that stood out within the backdrop of the mountain ranges was something to behold in itself. As you continued to look, the rainbow Mountain came into view with its bright 4 or 5 colours striping the landscape as you cross its precipice and look back onto the path you have just completed. As it was later in the morning, many more people were beginning their journey up the mountain. That being said, it still reflected a green and vibrant landscape with snow-covered patches lining the way. It was an incredible sight and not something I'll forget for a while. We were gutted that we couldn't do the red valley, but due to issues with the local tribes, access was not allowed. Just another reason to come back. We stuck around for some time, got a coffee to warm ourselves up, as the cold, snowy winds were creating quite a chill. We got some photos, patted some cool alpacas, and admired the beauty of the valley and its famous mountains. Eventually, people began to flood onto the site, and we began our journey down. It was at this point that we became very glad to have completed the 3am wake-up. Getting down wasn't too bad, but the snowy grass had quickly turned into mud, and with much heavier traffic on the way up, it was chaos. People taking horses and atvs up chewed through the main path, and others were trying to find alternative routes and slipping in the wet conditions. The top would have been incredibly busy by the time the others arrived, and I'm glad to have avoided it. When we got to the bottom, we waited for the rest of the group and boarded the bus to head back to Cusco. We stopped for a buffet lunch, which our bodies needed after a gruelling yet short walk, and it was surprisingly good. I even tried Alpaca for the first time, and it was really good. We chilled here for a bit, but most of us were ready to get back to our rooms to have a warm shower and a lay down. Doing our best to nap on the cramped buses, we eventually arrived back in cusco. I was horrible stressed that the water wouldn't work again, but luckily, it was, and we could have a shower and a proper nap. When we awoke, we barely had the energy to find some food, so we settled for maccas, easy and quick. Once we ate, we found the energy for a quick stroll to see the city at night before going home and going to bed for good. We were due yet another early morning.Weiterlesen