Day Trip Cusco: 1-Day Trekking Tour to the Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain + Red Valley

City: Cusco, Mountains // Activities: Trekking tour // Total hiking time: Vinicunca: 1.5 - 2 h; Red Valley: 2.5 - 3 h 

 Why you'll love this experience:

 Get to know the most popular rainbow mountain in Peru.

 Hike through the red valley without other tourists around (good level of fitness required).

 Hike next to alpacas and llamas in the red valley.

This tour leads to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Cusco, the beautiful Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain. If you like trekking tours, this is the ideal tour, as you will hike for around 1.5 hours until arriving as one of the first ones at the top. During the Vinicunca trek, you will be able to see red mountain landscapes, llamas, alpacas and also the Ausangate mountain, the highest mountain in Cusco.

On the way back, you will hike through the incredible red valley, another highlight of this day tour, for around 2.5 hours. In comparison to other agencies that only go to the viewpoint, we actually enter the red valley and hike on paths without any people around. We recommend that you are in good shape for this hike and that you are acclimated to the altitude so that you can avoid the altitude sickness.

If you're looking for an alternative that is not that difficult and where you only hike less than 1 hour, you should check out the alternative rainbow mountain trek.

Comparison of our two rainbow mountain tours: 

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Itinerary: 

3:00-3:30 am:   Pick-up from your hotel in Cusco

        5:10 am:   Breakfast in a local restaurant

        6:40 am:   Arrival at parking lot + Briefing 

        9:10 am:   Arrival on the top of the rainbow mountain and a break with tea and local snacks

      10:00 am:   Hiking through the red valley + seeing alpacas

      12:00 pm:   Pickup by car

      12:30 pm:   Lunch in local restaurant 

        4:00 pm:   Arrival at your hotel in Cusco

Note: All times are approximations.

 Included:

• Private transport with hotel pickup and drop-off by professional driver
• Private tour with licensed local guide fluent in English 
• Small group tour with 2-8 people
• Tour through the red valley 
• Breakfast and lunch in a local restaurant (vegetarian and vegan food options available)
• Trekking poles 
• First aid kit and oxygen

 Not Included:

• Entrance to the Rainbow Mountain Vinicunca (S/ 10) + Way to Red Valley (S/ 10) + Red Valley (S/ 10) (Every community charges their own entrance due to community conflicts)
• Pick up from hotels outside of Cusco
• Tips for your guide (S/ 30-50 recommended)

 Schedule:

• 3:00 am - 4:00 pm

 Weather:

• The weather can't be forecasted, forecasts by google or other weather apps are not reliable, as the weather at this altitude in the mountains is unpredictable. There can be sun, clouds, rain, hail, snow, thunderstorms. Thus, please be prepared, follow our recommendations (our experienced guides know what to do in case the weather turns bad or dangerous).

 Recommendations:

• Bring your backpack, a rain cape and layers of clothes so you'll be warm
• If you don't want to hike up you can rent a horse for S/ 80 that will take you up 3/4th of the hike.
• Take gloves, a hat, hiking shoes + an extra pair of socks with you (in case of snow) and if you want to you can bring hiking poles as well
• Bring sunscreen, sunglasses and some extra money 
• Pack some snacks

 Terms of Reservation:

• Minimum 2 people
• If you want to book for 3 people or more please use the discount code "3VIN" during checkout and you'll get $30 off per person.
• Due to high demand during the high season, please book your tour at least 48 hours in advance to guarantee a spot. We accept all reservations until 2:00 pm on the day before the tour (only if you send us the required information asked by us in our confirmation mail until 2:00 pm).
• After the booking has been made, please respond to our automatic email asking about necessary information for the tour, such as pickup spot, food preferences and more.
• If there are not minimum 2 people in total you have the option to:
• postpone the date of the tour
• receive a refund
• pay the difference to the private tour and do the private tour

 Terms of Cancellation:

• If you cancel less than 3 days before the start of your tour, there won’t be any refunds.
• If you cancel between 3-7 days before the start of your tour, we will refund 50%.
• If you cancel more than 7 days before the start of the tour, we will refund 100%.
• Changing the date of your tour costs $20 per traveler and is subject to availability.

 Info: 

• We offer 100% flexibility for private tours.
• We don’t issue refunds in case of delayed flights, inconveniences with train schedules, bad weather or sudden strikes that affect the tour.
• For security reasons, we don't allow drones during group tours, only during private tours.

COVID-19 health & safety measures:

• Face masks required for travelers in public areas and in the car
• Face masks required for guides and drivers in public areas
  
• Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
  
• Social distancing enforced throughout experience
  
• Gear/equipment sanitized between use
  
• Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
  
• Guides required to regularly wash hands
  
• Regular temperature checks for staff