Pallay Punchu Tour from Cusco
$39 Full Day
Overview
30 min
On foot, to the top
5,036 m
Highest point
4:00 AM
Pickup in Cusco
12 hrs
Door to door
Vinicunca is one mountain with two approaches. The classic path leaves a car park on the Cusipata side and climbs for ninety minutes with everyone else. This tour comes at the ridge from the other flank, through the Valle Rojo, the Red Valley. Quad bikes do most of the height and your feet do the last stretch.
The Red Valley is what Vinicunca would look like if it had only one band. The slopes are a single deep rust from top to bottom. The colour is hematite, the same iron oxide that paints the red stripe on the famous face. Here it is not interrupted by the greens and yellows of other minerals, so the whole valley reads as one colour. On a clear afternoon it is, for many people, the better view.
The quads run on a farm track that ends below the pass between the two. From there a path climbs about thirty minutes over the ridge. It drops you at the same viewpoint the hikers reach from the far side, at 5,036 metres. You arrive from behind the crowd rather than through it.
Nothing about the altitude changes. The quads carry you higher and faster than your legs would, which is easier on the knees and harder on the lungs. The viewpoint is as high whichever way you get there.
Easier on the legs. Not easier on the body.
Thirty minutes of walking sounds gentle, and it is, at sea level. At 5,000 metres it is a real effort for everyone, and you get there with less time to adjust than the hikers. Add cold wind on a moving quad, dust in the dry season and mud in the wet. This is still a hard day. Two full days in Cusco first, and three is better.
Tour Highlights
- ✓ The Red Valley on the way in and the striped face at the top. Hikers on the classic path see the second and pay extra to detour to the first.
- ✓ The quads take the track as high as it goes. What is left is a short, steep walk over the ridge to the viewpoint.
- ✓ Automatic quads, a briefing, practice laps and an instructor in the group. Nobody needs to have ridden before.
- ✓ The ride crosses country the buses never reach. Alpacas, stone walls and nobody else on the track.
- ✓ A hot breakfast before the base and a buffet after the ride. Eating properly at altitude is the cheapest thing you can do for your day.
- ✓ The guide carries oxygen and the instructor carries the tools. The kit list is short because the tour provides most of it.
What to Expect
A dark start, a long drive, an hour of noise and dust, a short steep walk, and the view.
Expect the pickup at four and to sleep through the Vilcanota valley. Expect breakfast in a farming village around half past six, and to reach the quads by about eight. Expect the briefing to take twenty minutes and the practice laps to feel easy. The machines are automatic and the track is wide.
Expect the ride to be cold. You are sitting still in moving air at over 4,000 metres before the sun has warmed anything. Gloves are provided. Bring your own layers and a buff for your face. The quad ahead of you throws up dust from May to September and spray from November to March.
Expect the walk to be short and to feel longer. Thirty minutes of steady uphill at 5,000 metres. The Red Valley opens on one side and the striped face waits over the ridge. Expect the viewpoint to be busy by mid morning. Everyone who walked up the other side arrives at the same time. Expect it to be cold and windy there in any month.
Expect the ride back down to be the best part for most people. Expect lunch to be large and the drive home to be silent.
Choosing between them
Quad Bike, on Foot, or Palccoyo
Three ways to see striped rock south of Cusco. Same geology, three very different days. Green marks the better option on that row.
ATV and Red Valley
Rainbow Mountain on foot
Palccoyo
What you see
The Red Valley and the striped face
The famous face
Three ridges and a stone forest
Highest point
5,036 m
5,036 m
About 4,900 m
Walking
30 min up, 30 down
90 min up, an hour down
Less than an hour, gentle
How you get there
Quad bike on a farm track
Bus, then your legs
Bus to the ridge
Crowds at the top
Busy, same viewpoint
Hundreds a day
A few groups
Price
$51
$35
$40
Best for
The ride, and the Red Valley
The walk itself, and the price
Colour without the altitude
In short. Choose the quads if you want the Red Valley as well as the mountain, and would rather ride than walk. Choose the classic hike if the climb is the point, or the price is. Choose Palccoyo if 5,000 metres is the worry, because the quads do not solve that.
Best Time to Go
Green is the season we recommend Red is the wet season, when the track is mud and the ridge is often in cloud
May to September
Best
What to expect
Dry and clear, dust on the track, cold on the ride
Our view
The season. Light on the stripes, hard ground under the tyres, and a buff for your face.
April and October
What to expect
Shoulder. Some cloud, some rain, a softer track
Our view
Reasonable odds. Leave on time and take your photographs before the cloud comes in.
November to March
What to expect
Rain, mud on the track, snow on the ridge
Our view
Limited departures. The quads run slower in mud and snow hides the colours.
i
Two things have to go right
Light on the stripes, dry ground under the tyres.
Like the classic hike, this day depends on light, and the ride adds a second dependency on the ground. Wet months turn the farm track to mud and the ridge to slush. If your dates are flexible, the dry season is worth the effort. Our post on why the mountain is striped explains why low sun and wet rock bring the colours up.
Tour Itinerary
1
Hotel Pickup in Cusco
Pickup is from central hotels, and we leave once the last person is aboard. Sleep. The first two hours are tarmac, down the valley.
The early start is for weather and light. Cloud builds over the ridge from late morning in most months, and the colours need sun.
Altitude 3,400 m
2
Delicious Breakfast Before the Adventure
3
ATV Base Camp — Safety Briefing & Practice Session
4
Mid-Morning — ATV Ride Through the Peruvian Andes
5
Thirty minutes to the viewpoint
6
Vinicunca and the Red Valley
7
Back to the quads and down
8
Buffet lunch
9
Back in Cusco
i
Good to know
On sharing a quad.
A shared machine carries a driver and a passenger and costs less per person. It is the right choice for anyone who is unsure about riding, and the wrong one for two people who both want to drive. Decide at booking, because the machines are allocated before the day.
✓
Inclusions
- ✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off in Cusco (Plaza de Armas area and beyond)
- ✓ Round-trip tourist transport through the Peruvian Andes
- ✓ Individual or shared ATV (your choice at booking)
- ✓ Professional bilingual tour guide and ATV instructor
- ✓ Full safety briefing and practice session
- ✓ Helmet, gloves, oxygen tank, and first aid kit
- ✓ Trekking poles, and water
- ✓ Delicious buffet breakfast
- ✓ Buffet lunch (vegetarian options available)
X
Not Included
- X Snacks, additional drinks, and personal expenses
- X Souvenirs and optional purchases along the route
- X Tips for guide and driver (gratefully received)
Departure Information
Available: Daily departures
Group Size: Up to 9 people
Start Time: 04:00 AM
Pickup: Cusco Hotel Transfer
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need ATV experience for this Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley ATV tour?
No prior experience is required. The safety briefing and practice session at the starting point are designed to get complete beginners comfortable on the vehicles before the route begins. Your ATV instructor will be with the group throughout the ride.
What is the difference between this tour and the standard Rainbow Mountain hike?
Is this tour suitable if I'm worried about altitude sickness?
Are vegetarian options available for breakfast and lunch?
What time does the tour return to Cusco?
Is this a full day tour?
Where does the tour depart from?
Gallery
