Overview
Get lost in spectacular Peru’s Ausangate and Rainbow Mountains. 3 Days: A remote and mostly empty path laden with snow-covered peaks and glaciers Enjoy the savagery of llamas and alpacas. Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain, also known as the Red Valley, is a sacred mountain of spiritual retreat and rejuvenation. Discover the charm of Vinicunca and Apu Ausangate, two of Peru’s most visited destinations.
Ausangate Trek 3 Days – Trip Overview
- Name of the trek: Ausangate Trek and Rainbow Mountain
- Trek Duration: 3 days, 2 nights
- Accommodation: 2 nights camping facilities
- Type of Trek: Trekking, Hiking, and Camping Adventure
- Altitude: Max. elevation 17,056 ft., min. elevation 14,432 ft.
- Group Size: (min 2–max 8/average 4)
- Level of Difficulty: Moderate and Challenging
- Departure Day: Any day with two people
- Acclimatisation: At least 2 or 3 days of acclimatisation are recommended in Cusco prior to the trip.
Ausangate to Rainbow Mountain – highlight
- Enjoy the most stunning and remote treks in Peru.
- Trekking and adventure journeys “off the beaten path”
- Hike along the large and small multi-colour lagoons.
- Explore the Rainbow Mountains of Peru.
- Enjoy the wonderful landscape with glaciers, alpine lakes, and rugged mountains.
- Get in touch with indigenous people in the rustic rural villages of the highlands.
- See some quite unique fauna, such as Chinchillas, Condors, “the largest Andean bird Vicunas, the only non-domesticated animal of the llama family,” and many more.
Itinerary
We begin our Ausangate and Rainbow Mountain trip 3 days early with a pick-up from your hotel at 4 a.m. and head towards Pacchanta in our private van. We will take the road to Puerto Madonado. We will arrive at the small town of Tinke, from where our private van will take us to Pacchanta, where a rich breakfast will be waiting for us. From here, we will see Ausangate Mountain on the main north face. We will then get ready to start our hike, seeing very beautiful landscapes. From here, we will have views of Ausangate Peak (6,384 m).
We will continue the walk of Ausangate Vinicunca and begin the ascent to the first Arapa Pass (4,800 m). We will continue with a descent until we reach the Yanacocha Lagoon, Huchuy Pucacoha Lagoon, which is 45 minutes from the camp. From this point, we can see fabulous views of all the snowy peaks in the area. We camp and have dinner right in front of Ausangate and Hatun Pucacocha Lagoons. Here we will see the stars and hear the animals scream.
- Hiking Time: 6–7 hours
- Hiking Distance: 12 km (7.46 miles)
- Highest Point: 4,800 m (15,748 ft).
- Lowest Point: 4,35 m. or 14,272ft.
- Overnight Accommodations: Camping Facilities
- Meals: breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner
We will begin the ascent towards the Apacheta Pass (4,989 m). For this, it is recommended to have a very good breakfast. We will begin the ascent at 7.30 am; the ascent will last 1 hour and 20 minutes. Upon reaching this step, we will see the most beautiful panorama of the Ausangate Snowy. We will walk about 30 minutes at the top, we will take photos, we will breathe the purest air of the Andes, and we will begin to descend towards the Anantapata camp.
Arriving we will install our stores and see the sunset. We will see how the animals (alpacas, llamas, and sheep) arrive at their huts for the night. After a magnificent and adventurous walk, we will have dinner at 6.30 pm and get ready for the rest, and then in the morning leave early for Vinicunca and arrive very early before people arrive.
- Hiking Time: 8–9 hours
- Hiking Distance: 12km (7.46 miles)
- Highest Point: 5,000 m (16,404 ft).
- Lowest Point: 4,600 m (15,092 ft).
- Overnight Accommodations: Camping Facilities
- Meals: breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner
- Level of difficulty: challenging
After our breakfast, we walk past beautiful landscapes, where South American camelids (alpacas, llamas, Andean birds, etc.) inhabit a 1.30-hour walk. Until the place called Vinicunca (5,034 m.), from where we will observe the impression of the Mountain of Colours with the sunrise, it shows its best imposing valley and hills of magical colours that only exist in this place of Peru. Around us, we will observe the mountains that accompany them (Apu Sarinini and Ausangate Mountain). Ausangate is the highest mountain in Cusco, with a height of 6,384 m.
In Inca mythology, this mountain and the nearby lakes, among which Sebinacocha stands out, are where the masculine energy that fertilises the mother earth’s sacred Pachamama is born. After a long run, the waters are lost in the unknown lands of the Amazon to return with the rains and fill the lakes and glaciers every night, turning into the river of stars, or Willkamayu, known in the west as the Milky Way, that resembles our cosmos’s vision. The community of Chillca, constituted by shepherds of llamas and alpacas, is known as the guardian of these Andean places.
After a long photo shoot, we will return to our camp, where our delicious lunch awaits us, and then head towards the town of Cusco, where we will arrive at approximately 5 p.m. End of our services.
- Hiking Time: 3–4 hours
- Hiking Distance: 6 km/3,72 miles
- Highest point: 5,050 m (16,568 ft).
- Lowest Point: 4,500 m./14,764 ft.
- Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Inclusions
Included
- A pre-trek briefing 1 or 2 days before the start of your trek.
- One English-speaking guide.
- Private transport from your hotel to the trailhead
- Private transport from Pacchanta, at the end of your trek, to your hotel in Cusco
- Horses and muleteers carry your 8-kg or 16-pound personal items.
- Emergency horse to escort us during the trek
- 2 nights camping along our trip
- Entrance ticket to Rainbow Mountain
- 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 afternoon snacks, and 2 dinners, all prepared by our cook
- 4-person capacity tents Two people will be assigned per tent.
- Camping equipment, a dining tent with table and chairs, and a kitchen tent manned by a professional cooking staff
- Foam sleeping mattress.
- Water supply (boiled) after every meal
- First Aid Kit and Oxygen Bottle
- Personalised service
- All local taxes
Not Included
- Sleeping bag, (you might rent from us)
- Hiking poles (you might rent from us)
- Gratuities for the crew (muleteers, cook, guide)
- Hotel accommodations in Cusco
- Personal expenses (Internet access along the trail, laundry personal taxis)
- Travel insurance, we strongly recommend you to bring copies with you of travel and health insurance to protect