Vinicunca, or Winikunka, also called Montaña de Siete Colores, Montaña de Colores or Rainbow Mountain, is a mountain in the Andes of Peru with an altitude of above sea level. It is located on the road to the Ausangate mountain, in the

Cusco region Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu suyu ), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de D ...

, between

Cusipata District The Cusipata District is one of the twelve districts in the Quispicanchi Province in Peru. Created by Law No. 9164 on September 5, 1940, its capital is the town of Cusipata. Geography The most important river of the district is the Willkanuta ...

, province of Quispicanchi, and Pitumarca District, province of Canchis. Tourist access requires a two-hour drive from

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

and a walk of about , or a three-and-a-half-hour drive through Pitumarca and a 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. In mid-2010, mass tourism came, attracted by the mountain's series of stripes of various colors due to its mineralogical composition on the slopes and summits. The mountain used to be covered by glacier caps, but these have melted due to climate change approximately 10,000 years ago.

Location

Vinicunca is located to the southeast of the city of

and can be reached from Cusco via two routes: Cusipata or Pitumarca. One route is through the Peruvian Sierra del Sur (PE-3s) in the direction of the town of Checacupe, and further to the town of Pitumarca, which is around two hours from the city of Cusco. From Pitumarca, travelers may go by foot, car or motorbike along a trail passing through several rural communities such as Ocefina, Japura and Hanchipacha, and reach the community of Pampa Chiri, where a 1.5-kilometer walk along the Vinincunca pass leads to the natural formation with stripes of colors that give the name Rainbow Mountain. An alternative route is via Cusipata; from there, travellers may walk for 3 km along the Chillihuani route along a bridle path to the Rainbow Mountain. The altitude of the mountain is around 5200 meters or over 17,000 feet, so time for acclimatizing to the high altitude may be necessary during the trek up to the summit.

Weather

Travelers to Peru and locals generally agree that the best time of the year to visit the colorful site is in August, since it is dry season and provides a very beautiful view, maximizing the vivid colors of the mountains. Nevertheless, the famous colors always look beautiful. Travelers are advised to try to avoid days following significant rainfall (in December, January and February), more so after snow has fallen. As to fauna, travelers may see a wide variety of alpacas and other camelids in certain short seasons.

Mineralogical composition

According to the Cultural Landscape Office of the Decentralization of the City of Cusco, the seven colors of the mountain are due to its mineralogical composition: the pink color is due to red clay, fangolitas (mud) and arilitas (sand); the whitish colouring is due to

quartzose Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

, sandstone and

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

s, rich in calcium carbonate; the red is due to claystones ( iron) and clays belonging to the Upper Tertiary period; the green is due to phyllites and clays rich in ferro magnesian; the earthy brown is a product of fanglomerate composed of rock with magnesium belonging to the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

period; and the mustard yellow color comes from the calcareous sandstones rich in sulphurous minerals.

Mountain concession for mining

An approval process for mining began on March 30, 2015, in Lima, when the mining exploration company Minquest Perú SAC, owned by the Canadian Camino Minerals Corporation, submitted a petition to mine

Red Beds Red beds (or redbeds) are sedimentary rocks, typically consisting of sandstone, siltstone, and shale, that are predominantly red in color due to the presence of ferric oxides. Frequently, these red-colored sedimentary strata locally contain ...

to the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute (''Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico'',

INGEMMET The ''Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico'' (INGEMMET) is a Peruvian scientific and management agency part of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. It is devoted to the study of the mineral resources, geology of Peru and the regulation of mine ...

). The petition included the territory of the districts of Cusipata and Pitumarca with an area of 400 hectares, covering the whole of the mountain, and overlapping the peasant communities of Chillihuani and Pampachiri. INGEMMET issued a warning that parts of this territory, including Vinicunca, should have been protected within the "Ausangate Regional Conservation Area". In 2009, the Regional Government of Cusco had proposed the creation of this protected area to Peru's National Service of Protected Natural Areas (''Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas'', SERNANP). However, SERNANP responded that the Ausangate Regional Conservation Area had never been officially created, since the proposal had not met the necessary requirements. Therefore, on March 16, 2018, with Presidential Resolution No. 042-2018-INGEMMET / PCD / PM INGEMMET, the title of metallic mining concession was granted. On May 21, 2018, following public protests, the company informed the Regional Government of Cusco of its renunciation of the concession; however, the Regional Government indicated that it was the Ministry of Energy and Mines that must assume the administrative actions to recover possession of these lands. The National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) expressed its deep concern over the management of Vinicunca, one of the most important components of Peru's new appeal to tourism. In November 2018, Peru's President Martín Vizcarra issued a decree enforcing a 12-month moratorium on all mining activity in the area. The Regional Government stated its expectation that within that time frame, the Ministry of Energy and Mines would permanently register the region as a protected conservation area. In 2019, as a result of joint work between the Ministry of the Environment and the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (Sernanp), Ausangate was finally established as one of three new Regional Conservation Areas. Government representatives made the announcement during the COP25 event in Madrid. According to Cusco’s manager for natural resources, the measure to protect the area does not guarantee that mining projects hoping to extract lithium will be banned. However, Cusco’s governor, Jean Paul Benavente, said that permits for these projects should be declined in order to comply with the measure.

Gallery

File:Rainbow Mountain Peru.jpg, Colored stripes File:Red valley.jpg, The red valley File:Alpacas in the mountains.jpg, Alpacas in the mountains File:Montaña Arco iris.jpg, Panoramic view of the mountain File:Ausangate as seen from Vinicunca.jpg, Ausangate as seen from Vinicunca

References

{{reflist Montaña de colores Cusc
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External links

Geology of the colors
Mountains of Cusco Region Mountains of Peru Tourist attractions in Cusco Region Five-thousanders of the Andes Geology of Peru