Peru’s Rainbow mountain hikes

If you’re looking for a place to escape and discover some new adventures then going south could be the answer.  Stef, one of our Outdoor Revival writers has been spending a lot of time down there and loving every minute of it.

Ausangate mountain is part of the Willkanuta mountain range, situated in the Peruvian Andes. It takes it’s name from the Quechua language and means seven color mountain.

This beautiful region is home to one of the last pastoral societies in the world. It’s an alpaca and llama herding community. What’s impressive here is how the rocks have been formed and created the seven color mountains. These eroded sedimentary stones are one of the most attractive destinations in Peru, yet to be discovered by many tourists.

The colors of these magnificent wonders are owed to deposit of minerals such as iron, copper, dolomite, sulfur, lime, lead and hematite.

It takes a five-hour hike to arrive in Machuraccay from where there is another hike to Willkanuta, a majestic location that leaves everybody that sees it speechless.

This area consists of Permian formations, limestone forests, Andes uplift formed by granite and hanging glaciers. The Permian period is the last period of Paleozoic Era.

Formation of the rainbow mountain is approximately 24 million years old. Different layers of sediment rocks were compacted one above the other according to the weight of each layer. It was formed by a collision of tectonic plates and also by different weather storms and severe climate changes.

Hiking through this beautiful landscape of colors seems like an optical illusion, and it’s hard to believe it real.

For adventurous hikers, the weather conditions don’t matter, but you should know that the layers of the mountain are more colorful when the sky is clear. Climbing these hills on a sunny day may be difficult because of the height and direct sun. But, it’s worth all the effort and sacrifice when you see the magical colors stretched over the landscape.

Getting to the rainbow mountains from Cusco is easy to organize thanks to the many tourist agencies who charge around 40$ for a day trip. Booking online is not necessary and not recommended because the prices are five times higher.

This piece of the world is one more example of the perfect rhythm of nature. We should be thankful for having this multi-colored beauty and learn to respect and love our planet because we don’t have a spare one.

Have safe and colorful travels. You can’t miss this one.

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We live in a beautiful world, get out there and enjoy it.

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