Cusco and Rainbow Mountain

Cusco. Lower in altitude than Puno and Lake Titicaca. We could breathe again. This is our last stop in Peru before crossing the border into Chile. Jami and I had a few days to spend here. All we had planned so far was to get to Machu Picchu, but we’ll get to that in the next post. At the center of Cusco was my favorite Plaza de Armas out of all the cities we’ve seen in Peru. The architecture of the buildings were beautiful. Jami and I explored the surrounding streets and had lunch at a local market. We were served so much food at such a low price! We hiked up the hills to see Cristo Blanco, Cusco’s Christ the Redeemer. We also took photos with one of the many alpacas roaming the street!

Jami and I still had some time available in Cusco before our Machu Picchu adventure so we looked at the available tours to see what might be interesting. I had seen photos of Rainbow Mountain in the past. I wasn’t quite sure if it was worth going to. The internet gave me mixed reviews. However, it was just cheap enough that I figured why not. It included a 3am wakeup, guide, round trip transportation, breakfast, and lunch. The only hard part is the actual hike up Rainbow Mountain. It was even higher altitudes than Puno and Lake Titicaca. It was 17,000 feet in elevation (just below where the Everest base camp would be) which we should have already been acclimated to right? This hike was not easy. The lack of oxygen made it difficult. However, the weather was really on our side and it made the surrounding landscape of the hike look amazing! So I guess what I learned was to take a chance. Maybe the weather will hold out and the experience will be great. This was definitely one of my favorites in Peru.