I was reasonably hesitant about hiking to Rainbow Mountain. The second most advertised ‘tour’ in Cusco was a day hike to Rainbow Mountain – cue overly saturated photos on posters everywhere throughout the city. Was it just a tourist trap?
After contemplating whether to do another hike in Peru after our hike from Choquequirao to Machu Picchu (which was an epic feat and journey for us) and after a week of well-deserved rest, we dusted our hiking boots once again and set off for the Ausangate mountains.
A couple of resources: The Hiking Life’s trip report, Travel2Walk and Stingy Nomads.
I’m embarrassed to say we didn’t complete the entire circuit. I learnt from this hike that the mental struggle is real and you really need to be in the right frame of mind to complete any multi-day hike.
By that stage of our trip, I think I was still tired after our Choquequirao to Machu Picchu hike. The altitude was also getting to me – small 400/500m ascents felt a lot harder to do! I was getting disheartened by Day 2 – is it going to get harder from here?
Towards the end of Day 1, we were going to set up camp: until we met a local villager who offered us to stay at his spare hut for 10 soles.
It came to a point in the hike when I was physically and mentally fatigued. Each breath was a chore and each step felt heavier than the last. Whilst I was determined to complete the circuit, Nathan too admitted that it was difficult – and we could just find our way to Rainbow Mountain and call it a day for the hike.
As much as I hate to give up, I felt like it was the right thing to do. We ascended along the unknown pass towards Rainbow Mountain. While the trail around Ausangate was reasonably obvious, we detoured off-trail in a beeline towards Rainbow Mountain.
We were fortunate enough to meet this beautiful stray dog who encouraged us on our last day of hiking towards Rainbow Mountain. He kept us company as we ascended and descended up the final pass, with Rainbow Mountain in sight now.
Nathan and PK 