Rainbow Mountain is a colorful mountainside in the Andes of Peru. In short, the colors you see were formed by sedimentary mineral layers in the mountain that have been exposed by erosion. The Rainbow Mountain trailhead is located a 3-hour drive from Cusco, where day trips have recently grown quite popular.
Peru’s Rainbow Mountain, also known as Vinicunca, has quickly risen to become a major touristic attraction for the country after being discovered for tourism only two years ago. What was simply a tranquil mountain in the Andes, is now inundated with hundreds (thousands?) of tourists who all ascend in droves from Cusco to get their Instagramable shot of the colorful mountain. We joined the masses on a quest to reach Rainbow Mountain and the experience was NOT pretty like the pictures.
