Day 107 - Somewhere over the rainbow

We took all of yesterday to rest from our Salkantay trek and now have another hike to look forward to. We will be walking to Montaña de Colores, or the Rainbow Mountains as they've famously come to be known in English.

The Rainbow Mountains are a vibrant multi coloured mountain located in the south-east of Cusco, Peru. The stunning colours are due to the weather and mineralogy. The mountains are only a recent discovery, unveiled by the melting icecaps in 2012, due to global warming.

We contemplated whether this hike was worth doing given its popularity and the environmental impact of over-tourism, but the fear of missing out on one of the more popular sites in Peru made us give in. Since we were short on time to plan the hike ourselves, we opted to go with a tour; it included a pick-and-drop service, breakfast and lunch.

The bus dropped us at the starting point of the hike, from where it is an hour and a half's walk to the Rainbow Mountains. We were provided with walking poles, (which as we later realised aren't a necessity, as the path is quite flat with only a gentle ascent). Our group guide also gave each one of us some eucalyptus oil, to rub between our palms, the aroma is supposed to help with the altitude.

Since this is a more popular hike, there were many beginner hikers in the group, which is why everyone was encouraged to walk at their own pace. The guide instructed us all to meet him in the parking lot in 4 hours' time.

We started the hike from an elevation of 4600m and finished at 5000m. I was already panting when I got out of the bus and thirty minutes into the hike, I began to struggle with my breathing. The altitude had finally caught up with me! I found myself taking regular breaks as I slowly made my way up.

On the way you see many stalls selling drinks and snacks, we stopped to buy some chocolates and more eucalyptus oil to help us but once I spotted the colourful mountains and the cute llamas, all of my tiredness magically disappeared!

After our fair share of pictures at the destination, I was feeling re-energised and the effects of altitude had started to diminish. Almost all the travel blogs we read in preparation for this hike, mentioned to not miss the spectacle that is the Red Valley. It is only a 30 minute walk from the Rainbow Mountains and is a must visit site of the region. You pay an additional fee to enter the area.

The valley is truly breathtaking, not only is it less crowded, the views are even more spectacular than the Rainbow Mountains in my opinion. The crimson coloured valley stretches for miles and you get to see the towering Mount Ausangate (highest mountain in Peru) in the distance.

Day 112 - The feel good playlist

Today we planned to meet up with one of our friends, Sergio, from the Salkantay trek, who is a Lima local. He suggested we meet at Brisas del Titicaca Asociación Cultural which is a restaurant serving traditional Peruvian cuisine alongside a showcase of live performances of folklore dance and music from different regions of Peru. After every performance, they would invite the audience to join in on the dance floor. Families, couples, older and younger people would all congregate on the dance floor after each performance in a jovial celebration. We were too shy to get up and dance but the infectious energy of the atmosphere certainly got us grooving in our seats.

The food they served was delicious and probably one of the best meals we had in our stay in Peru. We asked Sergio to help us order some traditional dishes and he recommended we get the following (pictured below). We got some Tamalitos verdes (ground corn and spinach which is wrapped in corn husk and boiled until firm in texture), Papa a la huancaína (boiled potatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce) and some traditional Peruvian grilled lamb. I am a bit biased when it comes to Pakistani food and would even go as far as to say that few countries do grilled meats as good as they do in Pakistan, but this dish could easily rival any Pakistani barbeque, it was so, so flavourful and literally falling off the bone.

After the show ended we headed back to our Airbnb in Barranco, Lima and enjoyed a beautiful sunset overlooking the sea. Watching the sun dissolve into the blue sea, and reflecting over the tranquillity of nightfall, was a perfect way to end our South American adventure.

Our rucksacks are packed and we will soon be making our way towards South-east Asia to begin the second leg of our trip.