Rainbow Mountain - Instagram Heaven

Following a couple of days rest after the Inka Trail and Machu Picchu, I met up with Val and Chloe who I met in Cotopaxi/Lima and together we decided to visit the famous Rainbow Mountain. Famous, because over the last few years it has shot to fame on Instagram due to its various colours that makes the mountain look like a rainbow - with some fantasy.

Anyway, the bad news was that it meant an early start. We got picked up at 4.30am for a 2.5-3h drive to the mountain. Luckily, we had some breakfast in between to get some energy, as the mountain was located at around 5000m above sea level. While the walk from the bus to the viewpoint was not long (maybe 1h), the last section was steep. And at 5000m steep means you breathe like a horse that ran 24h straight.

Our guide had an extra oxygen tank with him, but luckily none in our group needed one.
However, we saw the odd person on the way breathing heavily into one.

Anyway, once we arrived at the viewpoint, we marvelled at the different-coloured sentiments that formed over thousands or millions of years and which gave the mountain its now famous name - its real name is Vinicunca, by the way.

We took our time to soak in the views and then proceeded to get some nice shots, as the weather was on our side, luckily. Before we left, I bought some Alpaca Chicharrones (fried Alpaca meat basically) and it might have been the best meat I had eaten in a while. It was incredibly delicious and such a perfect purchase. Happy Martin.

One thing I need to mention, though, is that the Rainbow Mountain has become incredibly touristy. There were for sure 200+ people there when we visited, locals offered to carry some tourists on horses close to the viewpoint and queues were forming for the 'perfect' photo. It does take away some of the 'beauty' of the place, but there are still loads of spots around with amazing views without many tourists.

Those spots were where we spent most of our time after reaching the viewpoint. Thus, we found some peace to admire the beauty of the mountain. And the colours really do come out - we were worried that a lot of what we saw on Instagram was heavily edited (they are to some extent), but the colours do indeed make the mountain look beautiful. Maybe not quite like a rainbow, though.

So yes, I think it is worth the 3h drive to admire nature's 'painting', but after a good lunch and 3h drive back, we were nonetheless tired. For dinner, we decided to go for old-school Raclette at a French restaurant, as it was also our last evening in Cusco together. But not to worry, I would see Val and Chloe again later on this trip.Читать далее