Rainbow Mountain in One Day from Cusco

Amazing day! The tour guide was helpful! It was an early day so make sure you sleep plenty beforehand. I had a 4:15am pick up time. Breakfast is included before the hike and after. The restaurant is about 1.5 hrs from rainbow mountain. The hike itself is tough because of the altitude but it’s not very treacherous, be sure to bring diamox (from your doctor) or chew the local coca leaves or drink coca tea as they say it helps with altitude sickness. You can also rent horses for an extra 60 soles for the majority of the one way OR pay a smaller fee any time along the way.

Carlos was an amazing guide! Look no further and request this man. His knowledge, attention and care is the best possible.

If you are experienced in hiking high elevation and or have a high physical fitness level, then I would recommend this tour for you. This is why I gave it a high rating. The tour company was great, the guide was experienced and very nice. Anything that I write wrong about the excursion is in no reflection of the tour company, just the experience. I want to write my review warning of items I wish I had read about, I might not have personally booked the trip then. We had been staying in Cusco for two days before this tour. I personally don't think it was still enough time to get used to even the Cusco elevation. Cusco sits at 11,000 feet, and Rainbow Mountain sits at 17,000+ feet. In Cusco when we would walk around the city, we were still catching our breath by the way. Halfway up the mountain, I started pretty bad elevation sickness in the bus. It was a combination of the elevation, dehydration, lack of food and mild food poisoning from the night before for me. I did my best alleviating all these symptoms, but to no avail. I ended up missing the tour and staying on the bus. Here is my partner's perspective - he hiked the mountain. He is a normal guy, healthy weight and moderate physical fitness level. He said this was single-handedly the hardest physical exertion he has ever done in his entire life. Even compared to the brutal exercise drills of being in sports. He said over half the people that attempt the hike do not make it and turn back. You can rent horses for 200 sol that bring you 80% of the way. The temperature on the mountain goes from hot when your hiking. Then all of a sudden it is below freezing. The extreme climate change is not for the un-preppared hiker. My one issue was the facilities. The people who run the mountain need to do a better job. You have to pay 1 sol each time you want to use the restroom. This was very annoying. Each stall is so tiny, that with all your winter clothes on, a person can barley fit. They provide a tiny bit of toilet paper when you pay them to use the toilet, but we bring our own. No toilet lids. You can't flush the toilets. The attendee dumps water down them when your done, causing it to go down the pipe. The gross part is water, urine and what else splashes the whole area. It is so gross. For how many tourists they get per day even, they really need to do better. It was not acceptable. Do not book this trip unless you are experienced, very very physically fit and able to tolerate a very harsh environment.

Our guide was phenomenal! The mountains were absolutely gorgeous and would highly recommend! Beware of the altitude though it’s ~16,400 ft at the top. Horses are available!

The 7am tour was great! It was much less crowded and we didn’t need to get up so early. Our guides Carlos and Brian were on time picking us up and gave us a great time!

This was an amazing experience! It’s early, but worth it because we were one of the first groups at the top and got to take pictures with few others around. The guides were knowledgeable about the mountain and supportive when the hike became challenging. I’d highly recommend!

The guide was very helpful and encouraging throughout this very challenging hike. The attitude is no joke. Take your time and you can do it. The sights are amazing and well worth the effort.

My husband and I thought this was a fantastic tour. If you are not experienced at hiking at HIGH altitudes, I highly recommend riding a horse. Of note, the horses DO NOT go the entire distance -- in fact the most difficult hike is where they stop. The final distance to the top of the mountain is the most challenging. Take it slow and stay hydrated. The amazing view is worth it!! Highly recommend.

The rainbow mountain view is super cool. Though it's a long ride and tough hike to the mountain, it's still worthwhile checking it out.

Hard hike but amazing experience. Marie was an awesome and patient guide. Richard was an excellent driver. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour!