Ausangate trek and Rainbow Mountain

Stop in the town of Urcos. This is the capital of the Vilcanota Cordillera province. Our route takes us up to the Pilluyo pass, from where we can already appreciate the “Apu Ausangate”, guardian of the city of Cusco and all the villages in the region. We reach Ocongate and continue on to Tinqui (3900m). We meet our team of muleteers (“arrieros”). Start of our adventure. Camp opposite Ausangate (6378m) in the village of Upis (4380m). Possibility of bathing in hot springs.

ope bordering the moraine lake at the foot of the glacier. In this rocky chaos, we can observe viscaches playing between the stones or basking in the sun. The climb continues up to the first pass (4730m). Battered by the winds, the relief of this pass takes on the appearance of sand dunes overlooking both sides of the valley. We descend to a series of lakes until we reach Pucacoccha, where we stop for the night.

From here we have an extraordinary view of the Ausangate, which lies at our backs. We return to the valley for lunch before crossing a second pass (4980m). Before us lies the Vinicunca valley. Everywhere here, the slopes take on shades of red and ochre, due to the strong presence of iron oxide in the rock of the massif. We make our way peacefully back down to camp further down the valley. If you're feeling brave, you can head up to the Vinicunca pass for a sunset photo opportunity.

Here, the clay strata produce a magnificent rainbow at the top of the mountain, giving it an unreal appearance as the colors, ranging from off-white to crimson, blend together in a skilful process (rainbow). We cross over to the other side of the mountain and follow a line of ridges overlooking large valleys with equally colorful slopes, where, if we're lucky, we'll catch a glimpse of many vicuñas. Lunch awaits us at Anta Grande. After lunch, we continue for a few more kilometers to reach our camp at Punku Wiri.

ku Wiri, where our vehicle is waiting to take us back to Cusco.