"Vinicunca" translates to seven-coloured mountain. The colours are due to mineral deposits over the centuries. Hiking the colourful Rainbow Mountain or Vinicunca in Peru is a dream for many people but never take its altitude lightly, be sure you are prepared for travelling to high altitudes or this may completely ruin your vacation. A trek at 5,200 metres is not a joke. To give you an idea, Mt Everest base camp is at 5,389 metres. Some people will begin to feel symptoms of altitude sickness at about 2,400 metres and Rainbow Mountain is more than double that.
On the day of our hike, we had to wake up at 2:00am and leave Cusco at 3:00am. That lack of sleep coupled with hunger made it worse for me as the altitude increased. Alas, I started having bad headaches and nausea after the hike just when we were about to have lunch at 2pm. It was a horrible experience and something you will never understand until you experience it yourself. Although I still consider myself lucky that I was able to make it to the top and back.
This is Martin, a 16-year-old local horseman who did a fair job of looking after me and making sure I was comfortable during the trek.
I knew this was going to be gruelling so my family and I decided to hop on the horses available for rent for the entire way up and down, except on certain areas of the trek that are steep, we needed to get off and walk. It was a long, excruciating 6 kilometre hike to reach the top of the Rainbow Mountains. Even with the help of the caballo (horse), I was still exhausted.
Alapacas grazing along the valley.
Here's a money saving tip if you want to join a day trip to the Rainbow Mountains. Avoid buying your tickets online, instead purchase your tickets in Cusco as soon as you arrive. There are many travel agency offices around Plaza de Armas that charge only a fraction of the cost advertised online.
I made it!
Morena in Cusco is a wonderful place to enjoy a well deserved meal after that long difficult hike we had earlier to Rainbow Mountain. We spent our last meal in Cusco here and so glad we did. Service was outstanding from the moment we walked in. The place is bright and cheery with Peruvian music playing on the background giving a welcoming, pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. They serve exquisite Peruvian-Asian fusion dishes such as "chaufa" (chaofan in Mandarin) which was exploding with flavours and tasted vibrant as it looks. Dishes were well presented and tasted just as spectacular. We all left extremely satisfied and full.
Inka Kola is a hugely popular drink in Peru created by using lemon verbena. It smells and tastes slightly like bubblegum.
Andino
Succulent pieces of pork belly served with Andean corn and native potatoes. Topped with traditional Andean chilli herb and peanut sauce (uchucuta).
Pancetta de Cardo
12-hour slow-cooked pork belly over braised Andean corn (choclo) and cheese in a creamy herb sauce. Served with tacu tacu (pan fried rice and beans) and topped with fresh herbs and huacatay (Peruvian black mint).
12-hour slow-cooked pork belly over braised Andean corn (choclo) and cheese in a creamy herb sauce. Served with tacu tacu (pan fried rice and beans) and topped with fresh herbs and huacatay (Peruvian black mint).
Aeropuerto
A classic Lima dish. It is a Peruvian-style Chinese fried rice or chaufa (chaofan in Mandarin) with chicken breast, pork belly, fresh prawns, noodles and Chinese vegetables.
348-B Calle Plateros, Cusco, Peru
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