Exceptional Experience: Somewhere Over the Rainbow Mountains

Sharing our travel experiences accomplishes two things. We get to take you along on our adventures, and this blog serves as a kind of diary for us to chronicle what happened before the details become confused or forgotten altogether.

Case in point. In our last post we promised to tell you all about our epic journey to Machu Picchu. But afterwards when we looked back at the itinerary, we realized we had skipped a day trip that happened beforehand.

Oops. So let’s first recount our memorable (for not all the right reasons) excursion to the Rainbow Mountains of Palcoyo.

When researching interesting activities for our Peru trip, Edd stumbled upon a Rainbow Mountain originally known as Vinicunca. Discovered just over a decade ago when warmer temperatures melted the snow covering it, the mountain’s brightly colored ribbons of different hues have quickly elevated this site to must-see status for adventure travelers.

The issue for these two septuagenarians was an arduous, 2-hour hike at high altitude to reach the lookout. No way, José.

Then he came across a day trip to not one but three rainbow mountains, described as “perfect for all ages and fitness levels, with only one hour of gentle walking and minimal elevation gain.” That’s more like it!

We are not usually awake before dawn, so getting picked up at 4:15 a.m. was not the ideal way to start our 13-hour excursion.

What a revelation to be standing in the dark at that godforsaken hour and watching a parade of vans constantly streaming past filled with visitors going who knows where. The tourism industry in Cusco clearly operates at a level we never imagined.

Being at the final pickup point relegated us to the dreaded last row of the vehicle. The good news was Edd could sit in the middle and stretch out his long legs. If you have ever ridden in the back of a tour van, you already know the ride isn’t smooth.

We learned over the course of many hours that, except for the main highway, Peru’s road system is in serious disrepair with countless bumps, speed breakers, and potholes. Also, in rural areas unpaved roads are common.

Along the way it was fascinating to observe the terrain throughout the countryside. Our guide pointed out that these terracing formations happened naturally over eons of time. It makes you wonder if the Incas created the structures they are known for based on the existing landscape.

Once we finally arrived at base camp and started hiking upwards to see the mountains, it became immediately clear that 1) the climb was much steeper than advertised, and 2) at an elevation of 16,000 feet above sea level, breathing was really difficult for us.

With frequent stops we made it to the viewpoint of the first rainbow mountain and posed for photos with a couple of friends. Cynthia announced she wasn’t comfortable going any farther and would wait there if Edd wanted to continue. He decided to go for it (no surprise to those who know him).

As he slowly continued to climb the scenery was jaw-dropping.

After reaching the other two rainbow mountains at the second viewpoint, Edd celebrated his hard-earned accomplishment. The reward was that these were much more colorful than the first one.

Another was being able to see Ausangate glacial mountain, the highest peak in the Cusco region of the Peruvian Andes at an elevation of 20,945 feet.

There was a third viewpoint at the top of the Stone Forest (see the hikers in the lower right corner). Our guide said to Edd, “I don’t think you should try to go any farther.” He replied, “Trust me, I don’t want to go any farther.”

So back down the trail we went to board the van, stop for lunch, and return to Cusco over those same jarring roads.

Was the effort worth it for us? Honestly, not really. The day started too early and was too long, the ascent was difficult, and the mountains were not as spectacular as the color-saturated promotional photos.

After each trip we evaluate the pros and cons with the goal of making future travel experiences more enjoyable. In this case, we decided that good roads or bad, we have no desire to spend long periods of time in a tourism van. And, despite our above-average level of fitness, going forward we will be more mindful of the inescapable fact that we are in our 70s.

So now on to Machu Picchu, where (spoiler alert) our endurance was once again put to the test. 😉