Vinicunca (Rainbow Mountain)

Vinicunca, better known as the Rainbow Mountain or Montaña de Siete Colores, is a ridge in the Andes of southern Peru whose slopes are painted in parallel bands of colour. At about 5,036 metres, the crest is higher than any summit in the Alps, and from the viewpoint the stripes run diagonally down the mountainside like ribbons laid on the earth: dusky pink, white, brick red, green, brown and mustard yellow, with the snow-covered massif of Ausangate rising behind. The colours are richest when the ground is dry and the sky is clear; under cloud or fresh snow they fade into one another.

Each band is a different kind of rock. The pink comes from red clays, muds and sands, the white from quartz-rich sandstone and marl, the deep red from claystones loaded with iron, the green from phyllites rich in iron and magnesium, the brown from a coarse conglomerate containing magnesium, and the mustard yellow from sulphur-bearing calcareous sandstones. Because the layers lie side by side across the slope, the whole sequence can be read in a single glance.

For a long time the mountain was hardly known outside the surrounding villages, partly because its colours were hidden beneath ice and snow. Only in the 2010s, as the ice and snow retreated and photographs spread, did the stripes become widely known, and within a few years Vinicunca turned into one of Peru's most visited natural sights. That fame brought pressure: a mining concession granted in 2018 was renounced by the company within weeks, a moratorium on mining followed, and in 2019 the area was placed within the Ausangate Regional Conservation Area.

Getting there

Vinicunca lies in the Cusco Region between the districts of Pitumarca and Cusipata, about 45 km from Sicuani. The nearest airport is Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) in Cusco, roughly 78 km away in a straight line. From Cusco it is around two hours by road, followed by a walk of about 5 km to the viewpoint; an alternative approach via Pitumarca takes longer by road but leaves a shorter, steeper walk of an hour or so, and a third route climbs from Cusipata along a bridle path. Most visitors come on a day trip from Cusco; the altitude is considerable, so time in Cusco to acclimatise helps. Rain falls heavily from December to February.