2 Days in Cusco: Alternative Rainbow Mountain Tour & Community Visit + Humantay Lake Tour

City: Cusco, Mountains // Activities: Trekking to Rainbow Mountains & Humantay Lake //

 Why you'll love this experience:

 Passionate and experienced guides that are happy to share incredible stories with you. 

 Hike only for 45 minutes instead of 3 hours to the alternative rainbow mountain. 

 Small (up to 10) instead of a large impersonalized group to keep your experience with your guide special.

 Be one of the first travelers visiting the Humantay Lake that day.

How about two beautiful days that give you the chance to get to know two of Cusco's top tourist destinations? Visit the rainbow mountains and the Humantay lake of Cusco together with your guide and fall in love with the unique nature! No worries, this is not the typical trekking tour to the Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain where you will be with hundreds of other tourists fighting to get the best photo with no people on it. On this alternative trek, you will not only to see just "one" Rainbow Mountain but numerous. More good news? Yes! You can forget all the complaints about the 3-hour hike that you might have read online, as you only hike about 45 minutes to 1 hour to see the Rainbow Mountains during this trek. Even better is that you will most likely not see large groups of tourists meaning you can enjoy the Rainbow Mountains and the red valley almost for yourselves. On the second day, you will get to know one of Peru's most impressive but still undiscovered lakes: the Humantay lake. You will need to hike a bit to reach the crystal-clear lake located at 4200 m above sea level. Within a single hour of trekking, you will get to know incredible places that are totally worth all the effort. These two tours are the hidden stars of Cusco, so better make sure to get to know them while you are in town!

Difficulty of treks: easy-medium

Itinerary*:

*the following itinerary is just exemplary; you're free to choose the order of the tours with off-days in between (f.e. tour 2, day off, tour 1).

DAY 1: ALTERNATIVE RAINBOW MOUNTAIN TOUR

	This Experience	Normal Rainbow Mountain
Mountain	Palccoyo (3 Rainbow Mountains)	Vinicunca (1 large mountain)
Daily Tourists	50-100	800-1000
Hike Duration	45-60 minutes	2-3 hours
Schedule	4:00 am - 5:00 pm	3:00 am - 4:00 pm
Time on top	2 hours	40 minutes
Guide	The best possible	The best possible
Group Size	2-10	2-10
Community Visit	Yes	No
Participants ES/EN (%)	5/95	5/95
Transport with	Small to large van	Small to large van
Known since	2017	2015

 

Our guide will meet you at your hotel in Cusco between 4:00 - 4:30 am (please be ready from 4:00 am onwards) for the Tres Rainbow hike in a private bus. Being on the road for a little more than an hour, we will visit a small village that is famous for its delicious bread. Here, you will try some of it and you'll also have the chance to visit the bathrooms. Shortly afterwards, you will arrive at the restaurant to enjoy an energetic breakfast with an incredible view over the valley.

At around 7:00 am, we will be entering the remote landscape, seeing locals with their animals on the street, children leaving to school and lots of wild alpacas. Once we arrive at the Palccoyo community, we will visit its potato museum (created in collaboration with exploor). Next, we will head up to the parking lot (you can use the bathrooms here) from where you can see the first of the three Rainbow Mountains. After our guide has shared some helpful tips, the hike to the other Rainbow Mountains will begin. Roughly an hour later you have reached the plateau at 4.900 m from where you can see all three rainbow mountains and the beautiful Andean landscapes. With some luck you will even get a sneak peak of the Ausangate mountain (6.375 m / 21,000 ft.), Cusco's highest mountain. Now is the time for a warm coca or muña tea and some artisanal chocolate made by our "abuelita". At this point, you will learn more about the history and about the fascinating nature that surrounds you. Afterwards, you will hike for 20 minutes until reaching the stone forest from where you can take postcard like pictures (this is optional as it's the toughest and steepest part; you can also stay at the plateau and meet up with the others later). 

The descent will take approximately 45 minutes before we arrive at the car (toilet stop) and then head back down to the community. Here, you will have another chance to interact with the community members and their alpacas while learning more about their lifestyle. Following this, we will be on the road for approximately one hour driving to our lunch spot where some delicious Peruvian specialties are waiting for us. Once everyone is satisfied, we will return to Cusco and drop you off at your hotel at approximately 4:30 pm with some unforgettable memories.

DAY 2: HUMANTAY LAKE TOUR

	Others	With us
Arrival	With other groups	Be the first one up there
Guide	Professional	The best possible
Participants ES/EN (%)	70/30	5/95
Transport with	Large van to bus	Small to large van

 

At around 3:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel in Cusco (please be ready from 3:15 am onwards). Then, you will be on the road for around 3.5 hours. During the trip by bus, you can see the beautiful landscapes, typical villages of the Andes, amazing mountains, valleys and crop fields. You will stop in the colonial town of Mollepata for breakfast.

 

Afterwards, you will start the hiking tour from Soraypampa (3800 m), which is aprox. 2 hours away from the lake. On the way to the Humantay lagoon, you will see the snow-capped Salkantay (6375 m), the Humantay mountain (5835 m), inter-Andean valleys surrounded by mountains and the unique flora and fauna of the Andes. Reaching the highest point of 4200 m (Humantay Lagoon), you will have enough time to explore the surroundings and to take some photos. Then, you will descend 1 hour to take the bus and to return to Molletpata, where a delicious lunch awaits you. Afterwards, you will return to Cusco so that you arrive at approximately 4:00 pm. 

 Included:

Alternative Rainbow Mountain tour:

• Private transport with hotel pick-up from all hotels/hostels/AirBnBs close to the Plaza de Armas (see "Pickup / Drop-off" info below) 
• Fluent English/ Spanish speaking local guide during the Tres Rainbows hike
• Visit of local community (donations are welcome)
• Breakfast and lunch 
• Artisanal chocolate snacks made by our "abuelita" (grandma) and a coca/muña tea when arriving at the mountain
• Trekking poles
• First-aid kit and oxygen
• Communication radios

Humantay Lake tour:

• Private transport with hotel pick-up from all hotels close to the Plaza de Armas (see "Pickup / Drop-off" info below) 
• Fluent English/ Spanish speaking local guide(s) 
• Visit of the Humantay lagoon
• Breakfast and lunch
• Artisanal chocolate snacks
• Trekking poles
• First-aid kit and oxygen
• Communication radios

 Not Included:

• Entrance to the Rainbow Mountain area and to the Humantay Lake (S/ 10 each)
• Pick up from hotels outside of Cusco city
• Donations to the community (you're welcome to bring unused clothes or pens, notebooks etc.)
• Tips for your guide

 Schedule:

• Alternative Rainbow Mountain tour: 4:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Humantay Lake tour: 3:30 am - 4:00 pm

 Duration:

• 2-day trips

 Recommendations:

• Bring change in order to pay small expenses, such as for using the restroom
• Bring your backpack, a rain cape and layers of clothes so you'll be warm
• 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 and coca leaves

 Terms of Reservation:

• If you want to book for 3 people or more please use the discount code "3PAH" during checkout and you'll get $10 off per person.
• Minimum 1 day before
• Minimum 2 people
• If you buy the group tour and 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 up to 3 days before the start of the tour, you'll receive a 100% refund.
• If you cancel less than 3 days before the start of the tour, you'll receive a 50% refund.
• If you cancel less than 24 hours before the start of the tour, there won't be any refunds.

 Pickup / Drop-off:

• Pickup from your hotel (only if your hotel is close to the city center of Cusco. In case you stay further away, meet up at the Plaza de Armas - taxi cost approx. 10-15 Soles)
• Drop-off at Plaza de Armas (due to the rush hour that might leave you waiting 1-2 hours in the van in case we'd drop-off every participant)
• Private tours include pickup from- and drop-off at the hotel.

 Info: 

• We are not to be hold liable in case of delayed flights, inconveniences with train schedules or bad weather.

 Information about the Local Guides:

We only select the best guides whose services comply with our quality and security standards.