Vinicunca, Rainbow Mountain

About 60 miles (100 kilometers) southeast of Cusco, among the Andes of Peru, sits a mountain revered in Incan mythology.

Hispanicized as Ausangate, this gorgeous peak rises 20,945 feet (6,384 meters) above sea level. The Incas believed Ausengate was one of a dozen sacred Apu, a god or spirit in the form of a mountain.

Each year, a festival occurs nearby, called Quyllur Rit’i, or the Star Snow Festival. Pilgrims come to pay homage to the divinities. To get there, they might take the renowned “road to Apu Ausangate,” passing pastoral llama herders and grand glaciers.

Many sources claim that summiting Ausangate is rare, attempted just a few times per year. Despite the lack of summiters, swarms of trekkers visit the region.

On the way to the divine mountain, the intrepid traveler will encounter another spectacle.

Though it’s more than 4,000 vertical feet below Ausangate’s lofty heights, visiting Vinicunca might excite one’s senses even more than reaching the big one.

Vinicunca is known by a slew of names. If you know Spanish and compare them to the crag’s imagery, they all make sense.

Montaña de Colores.

Montaña de Siete Colores.

Montaña Arcoíris.

The Mountain of Colors, the Mountain of Seven Colors, or Rainbow Mountain.

The soils at the mountain mix to form a chromatic marvel.

According to local geologists, the variation exists thanks to the unusual proximity of different ground compositions:

pink = red clay, mud, and sand
white = quartzose, sandstone, and marls with an abundance of calcium carbonate
red = iron claystones
green = phyllites
brown = conglomerate with magnesium
yellow = sandstone rich in sulfur

These different layers were deposited horizontally over many millions of years. When the Nazca plate collided with the South American plate, forming the Andes, the ground was raised significantly, but also folded and tilted. This deformation created the vertical color show we witness today.

Despite its relatively remote location, Vinicunca’s popularity amongst tourists has boomed in recent years.

The vibrant colors make it easy to see why, though the timing of this rise in visitation is troubling. A little over a decade ago, a tourist wouldn’t have seen the spectrum: Vinicunca lay beneath glaciers.

The last evidence of ice disappeared around 2013.

Not a great sign for the temperature of the planet.

But, if you’re into seeing llamas and incredible mountain colors, or you’re on your way to see the divine Ausangate, Rainbow Mountain looks like one of the prettiest places on Earth.