How I Missed Seeing Rainbow Mountain – A Review of Inka Explorer Viajes
The Best Way to See Rainbow Mountain
During a late March 2022 trip to Peru, I missed seeing Rainbow Mountain. I was extremely disappointed because I had found the best way to visit Rainbow Mountain. Inka Explorer Viajes, the company that I booked with, had a fleet of ATVs that would take us most of the way to Rainbow Mountain. It would only be when we got to the end of the trail that we would have to get off the ATVs and walk the last kilometer to the famous viewpoint. I was super excited to have ATVs to ride as I was unsure about walking many kilometers at an elevation over 16,000 feet.
Unfortunately, Inka Explorer Viajes was dishonest about the status of Rainbow Mountain. It turned out that the main road to Rainbow Mountain had been closed for around a month, and the secondary road had been closed for almost two weeks. Our tour guide never alerted us that there was even a possibility of the road being closed. Instead, he pretended the road was open and attempted to pull a “bait and switch” where he would take us to the colorful mountain of Palccoyo instead.
How I Missed Seeing Rainbow Mountain - A Review of Inka Explorer Viajes - Table of Contents
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A Review of Inka Explorer Viajes - Rainbow Mountain in a Quad Bike
Before I share my experience, I want to state that Inka Explorer Viajes has had many positive reviews. Obviously, some visitors have had wonderful experiences with this company. That being said, I did not have a good experience, and I see it as my duty to share that poor experience with my readers.
At the time of my tour, I thought it was a possibility that my guide with Inka Explorer Viajes was being honest when he said that he didn’t know about the protest. It wasn’t until I spoke with other local guides that I learned there was no way that he was being honest about the status of the road to Rainbow Mountain. Below is my experience of the “Rainbow Mountain in a Quad Bike” tour with Inka Explorer Viajes.
Communication and Pick-Up
The night before my Rainbow Mountain in a Quad Bike tour, I received a WhatsApp message from a tour guide named Arturo. Arturo was friendly and told me he would be picking me up at 4:10 am instead of the 3:00 am pickup time that was stated on my ticket. He also asked me if I had any questions and reminded me to bring plenty of waterproof and warm clothes as the temperature can get quite cold at 16,000+ feet.
At 4:00 am, I arrived at my hotel lobby and waited for Arturo. Two other guests from my hotel were also waiting for the same tour. Arturo arrived around 4:15 am and led us from the narrow street our hotel was on to the main road where the van was waiting.
There were seven people in the van in total, Arturo, our driver, and five guests. The final two guests were a couple who had just gotten married and were celebrating by taking a trip around the world.
We set off towards Rainbow Mountain, and Arturo explained that we would be driving for around 90 minutes until we reached a restaurant where we would have breakfast.
Breakfast and Lunch
Around 75 minutes after we departed Cusco, we arrived at our restaurant for breakfast. The ride had been quite pleasant, as the roads had been fairly straight and were all paved. When we got out of the van for breakfast, we were taken to a table and then served what I guess was supposed to be our breakfast.
One our plate was one-quarter of a pancake, one-quarter of a thin egg omelet, and a fruit cup consisting of maybe one-fourth of a cup of watermelon, bananas, and blueberries. I didn’t take a picture of it because I thought it was the appetizer for the actual breakfast. It was definitely not the “hearty breakfast” I was expecting.
On the way back to Cusco, we stopped at the same restaurant for lunch. Lunch was served buffet-style and was much better. Some of the options included braised beef, lo-mein style noodles, a saucy chicken dish, rice, and a variety of salads.
The only unfortunate part of our lunch experience is that our group of five had to eat on the patio despite there being plenty of room in the main seating area. It was cold and rainy, and sitting on the patio was not the most comfortable place to eat.
A Village in Protest
After breakfast, we drove for another half-hour before turning onto a very narrow, dirt road. Up until this point, I would have recommended Inka Explorer Viajes despite the poor breakfast. As we progressed down the road, we were stopped by a group of villagers that were protesting.
Arturo explained that the villagers were protesting tour companies driving through their village as they damaged their roads. I was told later by two other tour guides that they were protesting because only one village got to make a profit off the tourists that visit Rainbow Mountain.
Arturo exited the van to talk to the protesters and ensured it would only take a few minutes for him to convince them to let us through.
Dishonesty from Inka Explorer Viajes as Rainbow Mountain was Closed
As Arturo was talking to the local community members, the newly-wed couple told us that they had been alerted that a protest might occur. Inka Explorer Viajes had assured them that the worst-case scenario would be a twenty-minute delay before we were allowed to pass and continue on the Rainbow Mountain. I was surprised to hear this as Arturo had never mentioned the possibility of a protest. Had I known a local community was upset about tourists coming through their community, I would have canceled the tour.
About twenty minutes later, Arturo told us that we were not going to be allowed to pass and we’d have to go to Palccoyo, which is an alternative to Rainbow Mountain. The newly-wed couple was furious, as they had been assured that we would be able to pass the protest. The two women from my hotel and me were also upset as we had not heard that a protest was taking place.
Arturo swore that he had visited Rainbow Mountain the day before and did not know that there was a protest. After further research, I find this hard to believe. I spoke with two local guides who claim that Rainbow Mountain had been closed for weeks and that no tour guides or even private cars have been permitted to pass. These two tour guides said they’d taken Rainbow Mountain off their websites as the conflict was likely to continue for weeks, if not months.
Arturo claimed that the community didn’t want money and were protesting the tour companies driving through their villages and ruining their roads. According to the other tour guides, the protest was all about money as only one village was making a profit off tourists visiting Rainbow Mountain. I hate to accuse Arturo of lying, but everything seems like he knew that the road was closed. When we asked if we could talk to the local community, he didn’t want us to and tried to keep us from discussing anything with them. He was likely afraid we’d ask if he had been allowed to pass the day before.
So why would Inka Explorer Viajes pretend that we could go to Rainbow Mountain? It’s all about money. The package that we booked cost around $100. A similar package to Palccoyo costs about $30. Arturo and Inka Explorer Viajes lied to us because they hoped that we would accept a trip to Palccoyo for the same price.
After quite a bit of arguing, we were given the option of heading to Palccoyo with a 50% refund or going back to Cusco and receiving a full refund. The newly-wed couple wanted to go back to Cusco, and Arturo told them they could get out of the van and take a bus to Cusco. That was probably the low point of the entire trip. I never agreed to go to Cusco or Palccoyo as I had already disputed the trip with Viator and asked for a full refund.
We ended up wasting at least 30 minutes arguing over refunds. Eventually, we decided to go to Palccoyo, which was two hours away.
I was furious on the ride to Palccoyo because Inka Explorer Viajes had known there was a possibility of a protest. Two of the passengers had been warned about this possibility. The other three of us didn’t find out until the road was blocked.
Now we were three hours from Cusco and were stuck traveling with a dishonest guide/company to Palccoyo. Still, I consider myself lucky as I’ve been on hundreds of tours and this trip with Inka Explorer Viajes was only my second bad experience with a tour agency. I decided to make the best of it and try to enjoy Palccoyo as this was my last full day of touring in Peru.
Visiting Palccoyo Instead - An Alternative to Rainbow Mountain
The ride to Palccoyo was rough. It was over 90 minutes of driving up switchbacks on a dirt road. By the time we got to Palccoyo, I was struggling with some serious nausea.
Now Palccoyo was spectacular. As we arrived, we split up and walked the path to the various viewing points. The path at Palccoyo was a fairly easy walk despite being at 16,000+ feet in elevation.
The newly-wed couple had some issues with altitude sickness as they had only been in Cusco for one day before this trip. If you are going to visit Palccoyo, be sure to spend a few days in Cusco, adjusting to the altitude. Palccoyo is at over 16,000 feet in elevation, and altitude sickness is common, especially if your body hasn’t adjusted to the 12,000-foot elevation of Cusco.
Palccoyo is basically a smaller version of Rainbow Mountain. Throughout the hike, there were four viewing areas where visitors could see spectacular views of the multicolored mountain.
The best viewing point is at the end of the trail. This part of the trail was the only difficult part of the hike as it involved climbing a decent incline.
Below is a photo of Palccoyo that has not been enhanced. This scene is what you should expect to see.
The photos below have been enhanced to bring out the colors. Any of the photos online that show bright colors have been enhanced.
I was glad we visited Palccoyo as I thoroughly enjoyed the hike and the company. I became pretty good friends with the two women from my hotel. They were from California and described the Palccoyo part of our trip as a “great time with some epic memories.” One of those epic memories included getting stuck in a severe thunderstorm and running to the van to avoid getting struck by lightning. In my opinion, Palccoyo was awesome. I just wish we would have traveled with a more honest company.
As I stated earlier, I have been on hundreds of tours, and this is the second time I’ve left a negative review. There were definitely things that should have been done differently, and as a travel blogger, I view it as my duty to bring those to the attention of my readers. I highly suggest avoiding this company and going with one of the many honest companies that travel to Rainbow Mountain or Palccoyo.
Rainbow Mountain and Palccoyo Tours and Packages
I booked the Rainbow Mountain in a Quad Bike tour through Viator. Viator was extremely helpful in helping me secure a full refund. Below, are various options for visiting both Rainbow Mountain and Palccoyo. I have checked to make sure that none of these packages are with Inka Explorer Viajes. Please note that an affiliate of Viator I recieve a small commission if you book using one of my links. This commission is at no additional cost to you.
To check the name of the tour agency, scroll down to additional info. At the bottom of this section, it will tell you name the agency leading the tour.
If you are booking a Rainbow Mountain Package, I highly recommend contacting the tour agency to make sure that the roads to Rainbow Mountain are open.
 Shared Rainbow Mountain Tour From Cusco: Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain - $45.00 Live one of the most incredible experiences in the heights of Cusco, conceive the famous rainbow mountain, located at 5200 meters above sea level, and let yourself be dazzled by the magic of its colors, very early in the morning we will start our tour by bus During 3 hours until arriving at the beginning of the trek, in this place we will enjoy a light breakfast due to the height and then we will walk for 2 hours until arriving at this magical mountain. |
 Rainbow Mountain on horseback - $120.00 Rainbow Mountain on horseback is an special option created for people who needs the help of animals to complete the adventure. |
 Private Rainbow Mountain Tour From Cusco – Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain - $420.00 Live one of the most incredible experiences in the heights of Cusco, conceive the famous rainbow mountain, located at 5200 meters above sea level, and let yourself be dazzled by the magic of its colors, very early in the morning we will start our tour by bus During 3 hours until arriving at the beginning of the trek, in this place we will enjoy a light breakfast due to the height and then we will walk for 2 hours until arriving at this magical mountain. |
 Cusco: Full Day Trekking in Palccoyo Mountain with lunch - $68.00 Discover the beautiful landscape of the Rainbow Mountain in this full-day experience. Hike along the South Valley and live this once in a lifetime experience. |
 Rainbow Mountain (Palccoyo) Easier Option - $85.00 The Cordillera Rainbow of Palccoyo is the first sister of the famous mountain of the seven colors "Vinicunca" but with better accessibility. Its more than nine thousand natural hectares have a color similar to the rainbow, which gives it a cheerful and at the same time mystical atmosphere. In addition, in this tour in addition to appreciating this geological beauty we will visit other sites that will make this trip an unforgettable experience. |
 Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain Tour - 1 Day - Huaynas Expeditions - $130.77 The Palccoyo mountain is another colorful rainbow mountain in Cusco – Peru with an altitude of 4980 meters above sea level, the landscape here is magnificent since it awaits a natural coloration, this coloration is given by the presence of sedimentary stones in erosion. |
Video Highlights of My Trip to Palccoyo
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