Our trek around Ausangate and to the Rainbow Mountains

Closed roads, cold, sleet, wet tent, snowstorm, sunshine, glaciers, broken tent pole, snow on the tent, lagoons, red mountains, altitude sickness, alpaca poop, Rainbow Mountains, Valle Roja... These are just a few keywords that describe our five-day trek, but let's start from the beginning...

We had planned a six-day hike around Ausangate including the Rainbow Mountains. But plans are meant to be changed.
On Tuesday, October 1st, we left early in the morning by bus to Tinke. To avoid a difficult stage, we managed to get a taxi. But the ride didn't last long, and we ended up in front of a huge pile of earth. The road or bridge was impassable by taxi. So we had no choice but to put on our backpacks and start walking. We tried to find another taxi, but it just wasn't meant to be. So on the first day, we walked 11 km and climbed 580 meters of altitude to Upsi. It doesn't sound like much, but with a heavy backpack (with food for 6 days) and at an altitude of over 4000 meters, it wasn't an easy task. Along the way, we passed houses, alpaca pastures, and plateaus. Of course, the rain had to say hello to us, and so we arrived at the first campsite pretty wet and annoyed. As we climbed higher and the air at over 4000 meters is already quite thin, Carla found it increasingly difficult to breathe due to her cold.

On the second day, we were greeted with sleet and decided to continue our hike but adapt the whole hike to our strength and the weather. So on the second day, we crossed the first pass and enjoyed beautiful views. But after lunch, we were in for a nasty surprise. What started as sleet turned into a heavy snowstorm. We saw a mirador (viewpoint) in front of us, which offered us shelter from above. But because the wind was so strong, the snow came from the side, and we got wet in no time. The snowstorm didn't let up, so we had to trudge through the snow. It wasn't easy to find the way, and we lost a lot of time searching for the path, climbing up and down rocks. But we made it to the second campsite and were rewarded with a beautiful evening atmosphere, from where we could admire the Ausangate glacier.

We have never woken up as quickly as on the third day. When we looked at the tent sky, we saw that our tent had somehow collapsed. So we got out and inspected the problem. We found that the center pole of our tent was broken. Thanks to a spare part from the tent, tape, our pocket knife, and Silvio's skills, we were able to make the tent wind and weatherproof again. Since the sun was shining from the sky today, we decided to climb to the Ausangate Lake. On the way, we met some English people who were biking or rather pushing their mountain bikes (without suspension) for the whole tour. As the sun was shining, the Ausangate Lake welcomed us with a wonderful atmosphere, and we spent a quiet afternoon at the campsite. In the late afternoon, two other couples arrived at the campsite, and we cooked together in the hut, which created a fun atmosphere.

The fourth day was all about snow. During the night, we were surprised by about 7 cm of snow, and our tent bent strongly under this white layer. So we packed up a soaking wet tent and marched over beautiful heights to the campsite near the Rainbow Mountains. On the way, we saw many locals performing a ceremony on a mountain peak. We were so tired that evening that we were already lying in the tent (18:00) and slept before it got dark.

You might think you get used to sleeping at an altitude of about 4600 meters. But on the fourth night, we once again realized that you must not underestimate the altitude. Silvio woke up with a rapid pulse and shortness of breath. Do we have to descend now? Fortunately, everything calmed down again, and we were able to start our last stage at 5 a.m. Ahead of us were several meters of altitude up to 5050 meters. So we crossed the first pass quite early and arrived at the Rainbow Mountains around 9 a.m. Luckily! Because as we descended, more and more tourist groups arrived, and it felt like an anthill. In order to get back to Cusco, we had to hike through Valle Roja. So we paid the 10 soles (about 3 francs) for the umpteenth time in this valley in order to marvel at the red mountains. After countless kilometers, we were glad to get a collectivo so that we could return to civilization. The fact that Carla's backpack was on raw pork didn't shock us anymore, and we were happy to have a wonderful warm hotel room and a well-deserved shower.