Explore the Ausangate trek – Rainbow Mountain. This combination is one of the best hikes in Southern Cusco.
The geological formations of the Ausangate Rainbow Mountain will blow your mind away while the Ausangate trek will give you the best hiking experience along the 10th highest mountain of the Americas.
Trek Details:
- Hike Distance: 36.3 miles / 58.5 kms
- Ausangate trek difficulty: Strenuous
- Duration: 5 days/4 nights
- Elevation Gain: 1737m/5700ft.
- Weather: See below
- Seasons: All year round
- Hike Trail Map: See below
- Cusco Drive Time to Starting Point: 3 hours
- Town Nearest Hike: Tinki, Pacchanta.
- Highlights: Paramo, Puna, Glacier lakes, Urubamba mountain range views, scenic trail, grassland area, local villages. Wildlife includes Prairie horses and dogs, Vizcachas and Andean foxes. Birds include Condors, torrent tyranulett, black-chested buzzard eagle, Chiguanco Thrush, hummingbirds.
- Activities: Hiking trail, nature and Andean community visits.
What’s Included
- Professional, bilingual Tour Guide
- Collection from hotel
- Return transportation to Cusco
- *4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 afternoon snacks (hot drinks, biscuits and popcorn) and 3 dinners.
- Dining tent with tables and chairs
- Cook
- 2-people tents
- Sleeping mattresses
- Horseman and mules (they carry cooking and camping equipment and up to 08 kilos of tourist’s belongings)
- Extra oxygen
- First Aid kit
- *Vegetarian/special diet options available
Prices: from $645 USD Per person based on group size.
ITINERARY:
Starting time:
5:00am
Travel:
By bus for 4 hours to the village of Tinki, followed by hiking afterwards.
Difficulty level:
Hard. The high altitude at which this trek takes place at makes it a bit harder than other treks.
Highlights of the Day:
On this day we meet our horsemen and other staff members. From Cusco, we will start our bus ride to Tinki, a place filled with a significant number of native professional mountain climbers. We will walk along the plains surrounding the Ausangate rainbow mountain. Our destination for the day will be Pacchanta, a local community of Llama and Alpaca herders.
Meals:
Breakfast on the way to Tinki (not included), lunch on the trek and dinner at the campsite in Pacchanta.
Accommodation:
Camping in tents at a campsite at Pacchanta. The temperature at night is usually around 1°C/34°F.
Other information:
It is a challenging but an amazing experience to hike around the massive Ausangate mountain 6384m/20944ft. Be sure to bring sunscreen as the UV exposure is higher at this altitude.
Starting time:
5:00 am
Travel:
Trekking all day.
Difficulty level:
Strenuous.
Highlights of the Day:
On this day we continue the climb from Pacchanta to Qampa pass 5000m/16400ft. The trail is rocky and arduous, but the views of the lakes and glaciers will make our hike inspiring and motivational. Upon arriving at our destination in Qampa, we will have some free time to get soaked in the local hot springs, which is quite a treat after our exhausting hike.
Meals:
Breakfast at the campsite in Pacchanta, lunch on the trek and dinner at Qampa campsite in the evening.
Accommodation:
Camping in tents at Qampa 4500m/14763ft. The temperature at night is usually around 1°C/34°F.
Other information:
After we arrive at our destination in Qampa, we have a chance to indulge in the local hot springs. The views surrounding this campsite are breathtaking. Be sure to pack a good towel for this trek.
Starting time:
5:00 am
Travel:
Trekking all day.
Difficulty level:
Strenuous.
Highlights of the Day:
The Ausangate trek is part of the Urubamba mountain range. Along this trek, there are many mountain passes that we have to overcome. Today we will walk toward the Palomani pass 5200m/17056ft, which is the highest point of the trek. The feeling of reaching our highest point is both overwhelming and inspiring. From Paloman pass we will start the slow walk downhill towards our campsite at Pukaqocha. Along the way, the intense turquoise color of these glacier lakes will delight our eyes providing us with a unique photo opportunity.
Meals:
Breakfast at our campsite in Qampa, lunch along the way to Palomani pass and and dinner at our evening campsite in Puqaqocha.
Accommodation:
Camping in tents at a campsite at Puqaqocha.
Other information:
This is the hardest day of our expedition. On this day we will reach the highest altitude of the Ausangatetrek. The views are breathtaking and every step we take is worth it.
Starting time:
5:00 am
Travel:
Trekking for half the day.
Difficulty level:
Strenuous
Highlights of the Day:
Early in the morning , after breakfast we depart from Puqaqocha and climb again to Yauricunca pass 5122m/16800ft. The tough ascent to the mountain pass will be rewarded with the astonishing views of the Ausangate and Rainbow mountains. From here we will make our way to Vinicunca. Late in the afternoon we will arrive in Vinicunca (the rainbow mountains), here we will enjoy the contrast of the sunset and the picturesque mountains formed by thousands of years of accumulation of sandstone sediments.
Meals:
Breakfast at our campsite in Puqaqocha in the morning, lunch along the trek to Yauricunca pass and dinner at the campsite in the evening at Vinicunca..
Accommodation:
Camping in tents at Vinicunca.
Other information:
Our plan is to get to Vinicunca for the sunset. The contrast of colors during the sunset and sunrise is different. The sunlight changes the tone of the colors of the mountain during these two different times of the day.
Starting time:
5:00 am
Travel:
Trekking and bus to Cusco.
Difficulty level:
Moderate.
Highlights of the Day:
After we enjoy the morning views of Vinicunca and the uniqueness of its picturesque mountains, we will make our way down to the place where we will meet our transportation. The bus ride to Cusco will take approximately 4 hours.
Meals:
Breakfast at Vinicunca, lunch along the way to Cusco. Dinner is not included for this day of the tour.
Other Information:
You will be back in Cusco to your own accommodation for this evening. We will be arriving back at Cusco for approximately 6:00pm
- Prices
- What you need to take
- Optional items to take
- Optional services not included
- Other important information
The Ausangate-Rainbow MountainTrek goes from April through November. We DON’T do this trek in January,February, March, and December.
Our tours are based on the number of people in a group.
Priced per person:
- Two trekkers: $755
- Three trekkers: $730
- Four trekkers: $680
- Five or more trekkers: $645
Student Discount:$25 off per person
Student discounts applies to students holding a valid Green ISIC card. Children under 16 qualify for student discount. Please send all to info evolutiontreksperu@gmail.com
IMPORTANT: One of the reasons that our price may be higher than that of other agencies is that we ALWAYS book the maximum number of porters possible (according to Peru’s labor regulations) so that our porters are not overloaded. Beware of this when booking they might be cheaper because of this!
2 people (minimum group size) should have a maximum of 5 porters and 16 people (max group size) should have 22 porters.
** Tips for porters, cooks or guides are optional and are NOT included in price. However our advice is that you tip our staff based on their performance, service and knowledge. Our guidelines for tipping our staff is: porters 100 Soles. Assistant cook 150 Soles. Main Chef 300 Soles. Assistant Tour guides can be tipped collectively by the members of the group. Main guides are tipped on a one on one basis.
- Original passport and Student card
- Insurance card is esential
- Sleeping bag (not included)
- Walking boots
- Waterproof jacket/rain poncho
- Warm jacket
- Hat and gloves
- T-shirts
- Hand sanitizer
- Comfortable trousers
- Sun hat
- Sun protection cream
- Insect Repellent
- Water
- Water purification tablets (Micropur recommended)
- Toiletries
- Personal medication
- Camera and films
- Torch with spare batteries
- Shorts
- Walking stick
- Plasters and bandages
- Sandals
- Extra money
- Bathing suit for hot springs
- Hire of sleeping bag (5 seasons) – $40
- Walking stick (single) – $10
- Inflatable mattress – $35
- Single tent supplement – $35
- Extra horse on the trek $40 a day
***NOTE: Total weight includes sleeping bag and pads (Sleeping bags and pads weight approx. 3kg)
MEALS:
- Breakfast starts at 5:30 AM on most days.
- Please follow the directions of your tour leader regarding meal times and be there on time to avoid eating cold foods or left overs.
- Please let us know if you have a particular dietary request or if you are vegetarian or vegan.
- We cannot provide Kosher alternatives.
MEDICAL INFORMATION:
- We recommend that all our customers purchase full coverage travel health insurance plan before coming to Peru. Most airfare engines offer this service at the time of purchasing their flight tickets.
- Yellow fever, malaria or other kinds of inoculation (vaccination) are NOT needed for when you visit Cusco’s Andean region.
- Please let us know of any changes in your health conditions within the first 24 hours of your arrival to Cusco. We want to know your progress to acclimating to high altitude and your adaptation to the local food.
WATER:
- We will supply you with boiled filtered water.
- We do this every day in the mornings before we start hiking and after our lunch breaks.
- Bring a refillable water container or camelback for when you are hiking.
- We strongly advise you to drink at least 2 litres of water a day. Do not attempt to drink water from the streams, rivers or faucets along the trails.
- Do not bring plastic bottled water to our excursions.
- Use only drinkable water to brush your teeth.
TREKKING BOOTS:
- We strongly encourage you to wear trekking boots on our treks.
- Please make sure to wear boots that you have already broken in prior to the trek.
- We discourage people from wearing brand new trekking boots. You are more prone to get blisters from wearing brand new boots.
DRUGS, SMOKING AND ALCOHOL
- Smoking is not allowed while on the trek. We want you to have an overall healthy experience while in the mountains.
- We discourage people from heavy alcohol consumption while on the hikes.
- Any type of mind altering substances are discouraged and illegal while on the hikes.