Vinicunca

Vinicunca
Vinicunca or Rainbow Mountain
Highest point
Elevation	5,200 m (17,100 ft)
Coordinates	13°52′13″S 71°18′11″W / 13.870227°S 71.302951°W / -13.870227; -71.302951
Geography
Vinicunca Peru
Parent range	Andes

Vinicunca, or Winikunka, also called Montaña de Siete Colores (literally: Mountain of seven colors), Montaña de Colores (Mountain of colors) or Montaña Arcoíris (Rainbow Mountain), is a mountain in the Andes of Peru with an altitude of 5,200 metres (17,100 ft) above sea level.^[1][2] It is located on the road to the Ausangate mountain, in the Cusco region, between Cusipata District, province of Quispicanchi, and Pitumarca District, province of Canchis.^[3]

Tourist access requires a two-hour drive from Cusco and a walk of about 5 kilometers (3.1 mi), or a three-and-a-half-hour drive through Pitumarca and a one-half-kilometre (0.31 mi) steep walk (1–1.5 hours) to the hill. As of 2019, no robust methods of transportation to Vinicunca have been developed to accommodate travelers, as it requires passage through a valley.^[4]

In mid-2010, mass tourism came, attracted by the mountain's series of stripes of various colors^[5] due to its mineralogical composition on the slopes and summits.^[6] The mountain used to be covered by glacier caps, but these melted.