Vinicunca vs. Palcoyo vs. Pallay Punchu

The Three Rainbow Mountains of Cusco

In short: Vinicunca (5,090m, US$29) is the original and most striking rainbow mountain; Palcoyo (US$40) is the easiest walk; Pallay Punchu (US$49) is the newest and quietest. All three are full-day tours from Cusco.

When travellers say "Rainbow Mountain" they almost always mean Vinicunca, the striped ridge at 5,090m south of Cusco. But the same geology surfaces in two other places in the region, and both are now full day tours of their own. Palcoyo, also in Checacupe, offers three coloured ridges and a stone forest at a gentler altitude and with a much shorter walk. Pallay Punchu, further south in the province of Canas, is the newest of the three: a row of sharp coloured spires above the Langui lagoon that looks less like a painted hill and more like a folded Andean poncho — which is what its Quechua name means. All three are full day tours from Cusco, all three are hiking, and all three include tourist transport, breakfast, buffet lunch, a professional guide and trekking poles.

Vinicunca: The Original Rainbow Mountain

Vinicunca is the mountain that made the region famous, and the one nearly every traveller has seen a photo of before arriving. The tour drives south to Cusipata for breakfast, then continues to the Phulawasipata trailhead at 4,650m, from where the guided walk to the 5,090m viewpoint takes about an hour and a half. The payoff is the striped ridge itself, with the sacred Ausangate glacier at 6,384m filling the horizon behind you — a view the other two mountains can't match. It is also the only one of the three with the optional Red Valley detour and with an ATV option for travellers who would rather not walk the whole way.

Choose Vinicunca if you:

• Want the mountain you've actually seen in photos
• Have acclimatised for two days or more in Cusco
• Would like the Red Valley or the quad alternative
• Want the most affordable of the three tours

Palcoyo: The Easy Alternative

Palcoyo sits in the same district of Checacupe and shows the same mineral colours, but the walk is the shortest of the three — roughly 45 minutes each way on a mostly level path, with the vehicle leaving you close to the viewpoints. Instead of a single ridge you get three coloured mountains in one panorama, plus the curious stone forest of rock needles nearby. It sees far fewer visitors than Vinicunca, which means quieter photos. The trade-off is that the colours are softer and the scene less dramatic than the famous striped ridge, and the tour costs more at US$40, since the drive is longer and the groups smaller.

Choose Palcoyo if you:

• Are travelling with children or older family members
• Are worried about altitude or have little time to acclimatise
• Want the shortest walk of the three
• Prefer a quieter viewpoint over the famous one

Pallay Punchu: The Newcomer

Pallay Punchu, on Apu T'acllo in the province of Canas, is the most recent of the three to open to visitors and still the quietest. Its shape is what sets it apart: rather than smooth stripes, the rock rises in sharp coloured spires that resemble the folds of a woven Andean poncho — the meaning of its name in Quechua. From the ridge you also look down on the Langui lagoon. The drive is the longest of the three and the final climb is short but steep, around an hour. At US$49 it is the most expensive, and it makes most sense as a second rainbow mountain rather than a first.

Choose Pallay Punchu if you:

• Have already visited Vinicunca on a previous trip
• Want photographs nobody else in your group has
• Prefer an unusual rock formation over classic stripes
• Don't mind the longest drive of the three