Ausangate Rainbow Mountain Trek 2 Days

Highlight of the Day: Stunning Ausangate Mountain

Hiking distance: 12 km / 7.45 miles
Minimum altitude: 4,300 masl / 14,107 fasl
Maximum altitude: 5,010 masl / 16,437fasl
Hiking time: 7 – 8 hours

DAY 2, Surinwqocha – Rainbow Mountain – Red Valley – Llacto – Cusco 

Highlight of the Day: Spectacular Ausangate Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley

This day we will wake up very early in order to visit the Rainbow Mountain before the crowds. Our hiking team will wake you up at 4:00 am and enjoy the nutritious Andean breakfast, which will boost you with energy to discover some of the most fascinating tourist destinations in Peru.

We will ascend for one hour and a half through the scenic path until we get to the viewpoint of the Rainbow Mountain, 5,036 m (16,522 ft). You will take the time to explore and enjoy the stunning view of this iconic mountain, the surrounding landscapes, and the best you will enjoy this panoramic view before the large groups of the day tour arrive. Feel that you are here, and life gives you the chance to enjoy this incredible journey and meet wonderful people.

After listening to the explanation of your guide, we will hike for 30 minutes towards the spectacular Red Valley. This place looks like you are walking on another planet that is not visited by many tourists; you will be amazed by the amazing view of the Red Valley and other red mountains surrounding it; this place offers immense tranquillity. Feel free to walk and explore the area around the viewpoint; you also have the option to climb higher and have a 360° panoramic view.

Finally, we will make our way down to the Llacto community; this takes two hours walking down. You will have a chance to observe some llamas and alpacas raised by locals. After a delicious lunch we will say goodbye to our trekking team and board the bus to drive back to Cusco.

Hiking distance: 8 km / 4.97 miles
Minimum altitude: 4,300 masl / 14,107 fasl
Maximum altitude: 5,036 masl / 16,522 fasl
Hiking time: 5 – 6 hours

We are transparent and provide the specific details of what is included and excluded in our Ausangate Rainbow Mountain Trek. We know this is very important so that you know what exactly to bring and you don’t miss anything. We provide this information to ensure that you have an incredible experience during your Ausangate trek.

We include during the 2-Day Ausangate Rainbow Mountain Trek

• Pre-Departure briefing : Once you book the tour with us, you will get a notification about the pre-departure briefing, where you will meet with your trekking guide and the tour group in our office the night before your Ausangate trek departure. During this briefing, you will receive important details of the trek. After this time, you will receive your duffle bag for your extra luggage, which will be carried by the horses while you are hiking
• Professional Adventure Guide : All our tour guides have a great reputation in customer service, our tour guide have graduated with tourism career from National University San Antonio Abad of Cusco, they have also studied English in a private language institute. Through to their patience, responsibility, knowledge, passion for trekking and proud to have been born in the land of the Incas, we ensure our guides provide an excellent experience for you when you explore the amazing Ausangate.
• Entrance Fees to Ausangate park: Once we receive your details and the deposit for your tour, we purchase all the necessary tickets for your trek it will be for a specific date and will be in your name.
• Accommodations:  We include accommodations 1 night along the Ausangate trek,  with a suitable camping equipment to make sure your trek is an experience of the life time. Our tents are Mountain gear or Doite pro Aconcagua for 4 people, which will be shared only for 2 people to ensure you comfort and enough place for your luggage. The same way we include Inflatable mattress. There will also be a spacious dining tent for you to enjoy each meal along this tour.
• Horses : We include horses to transport all the duffle bags and equipment during this tour also will be a horse man. We know safety is first is for that we include an emergency horse in case someone feels tired or get altitude sickness.
• Personal Duffle bag: We included a personal duffle bag for your 2 days Ausangate Rainbow Mountain trek. You will get this duffle bag in our office during your pre-departure briefing the night before of your trek. This bag will be carried by horses during the trek. You will find it in your tent every afternoon you arrive to the campsite. It can be filled with your personal items, sleeping bag and mattress but the maximum allowable weight is 7kg/17lb. The duffle bag must be returned to our office no later than one day after your trek.
• Toilet Tents : During our trek to Ausangate we bring our own portable toilet tent because we know how important is to protect our environment and we are trained to don’t leave no traces along the route.
• Medical First Aid Kit : All tour guides are very well trained in First aid. They received training courses every 6 months how to assist to someone who is in an emergency situation. Also, they are trained how to supply a balloon oxygen in the case if someone requires it.
• Meals : We know food is such an important part of any vacation and getting the right fuel on an active holiday is crucial… We include 1 breakfast, 2 lunch and 1 dinner. And of course, we cater to all dietary restrictions Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten free and others just let us know. Our chefs are well-trained to prepare the best food ever you’ve had with local and organic ingredients.
• Water : Vidal Expeditions will provide you water from the first lunch to the last breakfast. This water will be filtered, boiled and cooled by our Chef. You must bring your own water container, bottle or camelback that can hold water for hiking for a few hours. We recommend a capacity of 2 liters.
• Private Transport: We included all the transportations during your tour, we will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco and take you to the beginning of the trail, the bus returning from Ausangate to Cusco will drop off you at your hotel.

We NOT include

• Sleeping bag : Every trekker along the Ausangate trek needs a proper sleeping bag which has to be for -10°C / 14° F. We recommend you bring your own, but if you don’t want to bring your own or you don’t have one, you can rent a sleeping bag from us.
• Walking Sticks :  Hiking with trekking poles has its benefits, protect your knees while you are hiking downhill, especially on the remote area which are many up and downhill, trekking poles help you during the ascent, increased stability, if you don’t have a pair of trekking poles you can rent them from our office.
• First Breakfast : We do not provide breakfast on the day of your departure. However, most hotel offers breakfast during your stay there. In case your hotel does not provide breakfast, we will stop at a restaurant near to Ocongate where you will be available to purchase a breakfast.
• Travel Insurance : We recommend to buy a travel insurance before to leave your country in case something happen along your visit to Peru.
• Tips for our team : Tips are not included. Tipping the team is usual on any excursion to Ausangate, although we pay good salaries to our entire team, tips are welcome as a token of your appreciation for the team hard work.

What you should pack for Ausangate Rainbow Mountain Trek

your personal items. This must include your sleeping bag and air matt (if you bring/rent one). From us these two items weigh 3 kg.

• 1-2 wicking t-shirts
• 1-2 hiking pants
• 2 sets of undergarments.
• 1 Fleece
• 1 Warm, down jacket: gets very cold at night
• 1 Rain jacket and pants
• 1 sun hat
• 1 wool hat
• Bathers / swimsuit for the hot spring
• Small towel
• Headlamp: essential
• Waterproof gloves
• Comfortable shoes for camp or flip flops
• Walking boots
• Waterproof jacket/rain poncho

Battery Charger: There is no place to plug in while trekking!

Large plastic bags: to help organize and keep clean from dirty.

Sleeping bag: Recommend down bags for -10C at least

INSIDE YOUR DAY BACKPACK:

Daypack can be any size for hiking, but we always say the smaller, the better. If it is larger try to bring it as lighter as possible.

Water: we supply clean water at each meal. You are responsible for your first morning of water only as we won’t have time to filter water until your first lunch.

• Sun hat
• Rain gear
• Fleece
• Camera
• Music (iPhone)
• Hand sanitizer
• Toilet paper and small plastic bag for waste
• Extra Money for Souvenirs, Drinks & Tips
• Earplugs
• Snacks (chocolate, energy bars, fruits, etc.)

TOILETRIES:

• Sunscreen
• Face moisturizer
• Bug spray
• Hand sanitizer
• Wet wipes
• Toothbrush and paste
• Toilet paper
• Personal medication
• First aid kit: band aids, moleskin, etc.

Important information about 2-Day Ausangate Rainbow Mountain Trek

On the Ausangate trek tour, don’t forget water! Drinking lots of water will help with the elevation. We advise bringing at least 2 liters per person on the hike with you. Also, you will have chance to buy water at the beginning of the trek.

We skip the crowds! Everybody else goes Ausangate Rainbow Mountain trek tour at the same time. That means they’re all want to take the best camping spots on this route.  Since we leave from Cusco at 05:00 am.  You will get to the view point and the camp site before the crowd, and enjoy this fantastic landscape.

Our guide always brings oxygen tank which are important as you get over 4620 meters/15,255feet above sea level! Not all travel agencies offer this, so this is definitely something to look out for when choosing the best Ausangate tour operator.

The best time to visit the Ausangate is going to be in the from April to October before the rainy season begins

The hike on this tour is very demanding. And the constantly changing weather conditions, combined with high altitude, can be a challenge for experienced hikers. But if done right it’s manageable even for those who don’t hike much.

We recommend

Make sure that you have been a few days in Cusco to acclimatize to the elevation before you set off on your hike to Ausangate Tour. This is by far the best insurance for a smooth and enjoyable trip.

Go to sleep early and try to avoid drinking or partying the night before, because We will pick you up at 05:00 am and the physically challenging trek will be much more bearable without a hangover.

If you have altitude sickness symptoms, descend as quickly as you can. It’s nothing to mess around with.

Try to go all the way to the viewpoint. You get a 360° view not just the Ausangate and Rainbow Mountain but of the nearby glacier and a gorgeous valley in the other direction. We think most people didn’t realize what they were missing by not going all the way up.

In case you are going to Machu Picchu the day before your trip to the Ausangate, tell your travel company to book your return train ticket early.

Higher elevation also means colder, nearly freezing temperatures, so be prepared. Whether you decide to take a one-day tour, make sure to wear very warm clothes. Also bring coca leaves to fight off altitude sickness and carry the minimum gear possible to ease the hike.

• From $240.00 per person (Group service)
• Private Service: $380.00   per person (max. 6 people)

Online Payment

To book any tour/trek through with Ausangate Tours, we do require a 50% deposit per person. PayPal does charge us a fee of 6% which we ask the client to cover. This taxes is just for deposits, the remaining, you will pay in cash(briefing day) without taxes.