Visit The Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain In Peru In The Fall

Peru is rightfully famous for its iconic Inca city, Machu Picchu, but the country has many more attractions just waiting to be explored. One is Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain, the candy-colored mountain known in Spanish as the Montaña de Siete Colores. While China has similar mountains, this rainbow-striped mountain in Peru is a worthy visit.

Visit the Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain – Montaña de Siete Colores in Peru

Looking at images of the Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain, it looks like a colorful, abstract painting. However, with all those colors, it is real, indeed. Moreover, the colorful peak draws visitors from around the world who want to check out the colors. Meanwhile, the mountain forms part of the South American Andes mountain range, with a peak soaring to 17,060 feet above sea level.

According to Peru Grand Travel, the colorful stripes are formed by exposed sedimentary rock layers. Moreover, as ice covering Vinicunca gradually melted in the past, the mountain continued to erode. Along the way, many differing mineral layers were exposed to create layers of color.

This led to different mineral layers being exposed in a rainbow of colors. The red shade in Rainbow Mountain is oxidized iron, while the white stripes are composed of calcium carbonate and the yellow comes from the presence of iron sulfide. Moreover, the brown shade reveals that the rocks are rich in magnesium, the purple comes from the presence of goethite, or oxidized limonite and the turquoise color was created due to the presence of chlorite.

However, it should be noted that the rainbow color is genuine, but travelers should note that some photos have been “photoshopped” to brighten the colors even more.

How to access the Rainbow Mountain

Travelers can visit the site by driving three hours from Cusco by car or tour bus, heading to the Vinicunca trailhead at Qesoyuno. Meanwhile, for those with plenty of energy, the most spectacular viewing point is accessible after a challenging six-mile round-trip hike. Moreover, visitors are recommended to head out before dawn for the best experience.

The best views can be enjoyed on a bright, clear day, while the colors can be captured at their most vibrant at the golden hours of dawn or dusk. Furthermore, it is recommended to visit between March and November, when the sky is a clear blue and with warmer weather.

More about the Montaña de Siete Colores in Peru

In the past, lithium miners targeted the Rainbow Mountain, but all mining activity at Vinicunca was halted in 2018. The following year, the amazing site was declared a Regional Conservation Area to keep its amazing colors intact.

Visit Peru this year to experience the Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain, or Montaña de Siete Colores and return with some amazing images shared on Instagram.