The trek up Rainbow Mountain

We had left in the early hours of the morning to meet the bus that was taking us to the base of the mountain.

From Cusco, the drive will take around 3-4 hours.

Once we reached base we set off almost immediately for the trek up and it was straight away that we realised the difficulty of our breathing, it was considerably laboured.

For the first 20 minutes or so I attempted to walk normally but I was gassed out and had to stop as it literally felt as though I had to catch my breath from somewhere. Anywhere! This is where I first needed/wanted the oxygen canister. My thoughts were, “Great only another 3 hours of this then”. I eventually regrouped and decided I had to really pace myself. Never underestimate pigeon steps.

By about halfway up, there were many people struggling, it's not so much the terrain or gradient on this mountain as it isn’t that steep or difficult, until you start reaching the summit. No, instead it's simply the lack of oxygen, the good news is, the Sherpas or locals have a shuttle service with their horses, (I do not know how often these horses go up and down the mountain in a day but they looked well nourished and looked after, in reality, who knows.) I preferred to struggle and walk the rest of the way regardless.

It's amazing what you can achieve when you put one foot in front of the other.

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The last word on Rainbow Mountain is to not forget about red mountain, whilst the crowds flock to see the beautiful colours and rightly so, there is another hidden gem an extra 30 minutes or so walk to Red Mountain or an hour round trip. If you have walked the whole way up Rainbow Mountain then you're likely to be exhausted but while you are here you may as well dig a little deeper and do the final trek, until you head back that is.

Difficulty level of Rainbow Mountain

This mountain was definitely the most challenging one I've ever hiked, so I have to rate its difficulty level as a perfect 10 out of 10. However, as I plan to tackle more mountains in the future, I will reserve the right to adjust my rating accordingly.

Final Thoughts on Hiking Vinicunca

The hike is very challenging but not impossible. For the people that carry a little extra weight from the gym, this in some ways will help, stronger legs and lower back will definitely assist any hike but as mentioned above the bigger your muscles the more oxygen is needed. More oxygen in a place where oxygen is less available is a concoction for struggle. However, it's through the struggle that we learn about ourselves, I would urge everyone to have a go as you never know what you might find at the end of the rainbow.

For more information on Rainbow Mountain check out the official site at rainbowmountainperu.com.

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