How To Get From Cusco To Palccoyo: The Alternative Rainbow Mountain (Travel Guide)

Last updated on December 2nd, 2022 at 11:32 am

We will tell you how to get from Cusco to Palccoyo Mountain. The distance from Cusco to Palccoyo Mountain is 130 kilometers.

If you want to go on your own from Cusco to Palccoyo Mountain will be hard but not impossible. Keep reading below our Palccoyo Mountain travel guide!

The travel time from Cusco to Palccoyo Mountain by car plus train is around 3 hours and 30 minutes. You can get a day tour from Cusco as we recommend you to avoid the hassle.

The cheapest way from Cusco to Palccoyo Mountain is by bus to Combapata and take a taxi to Palccoyo Mountain which can be around $25 USD per person if you go with at least two people.

Read here how to get from Cusco airport to city center, how to get from Cusco to Machu Picchu, Cusco to Sacred Valley and Humantay Lake travel guide

Read here how to get from Lima airport to Barranco, Lima airport to city center and Miraflores, Lima airport to Huacachina, Huacachina to Cusco and Lima airport to San Isidro

Read Peru sim card for tourist, vegetarian food in Peru and Peruvian food

WHERE TO STAY IN CUSCO

The accommodation price can take you around $10–15 USD if you stay in a cheap room. For mid-budget accommodation starts at $30-50 USD and for more than $80 USD you will find luxury accommodation in Cusco.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION IN CUSCO BEFORE YOUR TRIP WITH BOOKING.

Having insurance while you are traveling outside your home country is very important. Make sure that you have one too, to keep you safe in your trips around the world.

Click here to book online Cusco activities and day trips.

Cusco To Palccoyo Mountain

Cusco To Palccoyo Mountain (Cheapest Way)

The cheapest way from Cusco to Palccoyo Mountain is by bus plus taxi. There is no direct bus from Cusco to Palccoyo. You will have to get a bus from Cusco to Combapata and get a taxi to Palccoyo Mountain.

The bus fare from Cusco to Combapata is around 10 PEN which is $2.5 USD one way. Once in Combapata you will have to get a taxi from Combapata to Palccoyo Mountain for around $40 USD return. If you are sharing the ride with a few people can be great as an experience if you go on a budget.

Make sure the taxi is waiting for you. Otherwise can be really hard to find transportation on the way back. To be honest it’s so much hassle since prices are so competitive joining for tours leaving from Cusco.

Best Way By Tour From Cusco to Palccoyo Mountain (Day Tour Cusco to Palccoyo)

You can book a day tour from Cusco to Palccoyo Mountain as we did with Exploor Peru. They will organize everything for you the pickup, breakfast and lunch.

The best part of joining a day tour with Exploor Peru is that we got there the first ones getting there and we enjoyed Palccoyo Mountain for our own for more than one hour until the other tour companies got there.

The wake-up call is around 3 30 am (most of the tours are leaving around 5 am) and you get to Palccoyo Mountain early morning after breakfast around 7 30 am.

We just met people on the way back hiking to the car after we took so many pictures. It took us more than one hour to do the hike. It will take 30-40 minutes hiking from the car park plus the extra time that you want to take for pictures.

Click here to book Palccoyo Mountain day tour with Exploor Peru!

PALCCOYO MOUNTAIN TRAVEL GUIDE (THE ALTERNATIVE RAINBOW MOUNTAIN)

Palccoyo Mountain is popularly called The Alternative Rainbow Mountain in Cusco. It’s a new discovery similar to Vinicunca Mountain the most popular one in Cusco area. The colors are coming from the erosion in the mountain and when the sun hits to the top is so incredible!

The Alternative Rainbow Mountain Hike

The Palccoyo Mountain hike is pretty easy. If you go on a tour you will stop half of the way for breakfast. Once you park the car you will have 30-40 minutes hike depending on your speed. It can be less or more depending the time that you add taking pictures.

You will see locals bringing Alpacas just in case you want to take pictures with them (will ask for a tip). Just starting the hike you will see the first Rainbow Mountain and you will see a total of three in just 30 minutes hiking.

There are three point of views where you will spot the mountains and best views in the hike. You will be able to see fog, beautiful colors and even the sun up.

Can You Fly The Drone In Palccoyo Mountain

Drones aren’t allowed to fly… There is a sign where they mention that drones arent allowed and I thought we couldn’t try. But our guide Mike explained to us that it means not allowed to fly the drone for free. You will have to pay a fee which is around 50 PEN which is around $12 USD.

If you go on a tour always as your guide and follow their advise to avoid problems! We couldn’t fly the drone because of the altitude. The engine got over heated and it wasn’t flying more than 5 meters altitude in our case. Unluckily we can’t show you the views as we wish.

PALCCOYO MOUNTAIN ENTRANCE FEE AND OPENING HOURS

Palccoyo Mountain Entrance fee is 15 PEN per person which is around $4 USD. The opening hours for Palccoyo mountain is starting from 6 am to 2 pm.

BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PALCCOYO MOUNTAIN TOUR

You will have a delicious and complete breakfast with bread, milk, coffee, tea and eggs before heading to Palccoyo Mountain. On the way back you will stop in the same restaurant for lunch and you will find different options like lomo, chicken, fish or even vegetarian dishes.

WHAT TO BRING TO PALCCOYO MOUNTAIN

Food-only snacks if you are joining a tour since they serve breakfast and lunch.

Water you should be able to bring at least one liter of water per person.

Sunblock is important if you don’t want to get burnt.

Raincoat just in case is raining.

Proper shoes for hiking (it’s less than 1-hour hike)

Camera and phone to get ready for pictures and videos.

TRAVELING WITH KIDS TO PALCCOYO MOUNTAIN

It’s not recommended to visit Palccoyo Mountain with kids less than 12 years old because of the altitude. Since the altitude is 4800 meters. But we did bring Han 9 years since he was before in altitude and he didn’t have any problem.

We were for a few days in Cusco before doing all these day trips to make sure we adapted ourselves to the altitude. Make sure if you are bringing kids with a tour so it will be easy just in case they aren’t feeling good. Going back to the car is quite easy!

ACCOMMODATION BUDGET IN CUSCO

The accommodation price can take you around $10–15 USD if you stay in a cheap room. For mid-budget accommodation starts at $30-50 USD and for more than $80 USD you will find luxury accommodation in Peru.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION IN CUSCO BEFORE YOUR TRIP WITH BOOKING.

FOOD BUDGET TRAVEL IN PERU

A total of $5-6 USD can be your daily food budget travel in Cusco. Local food in a local restaurant will start from $2-5 USD. You can get snacks like street foods for $1 USD. You can buy a combination of ceviche and lomo saltado with a drink for only $3 USD.

BEST TIME TO VISIT PALCCOYO

You can go to Palccoyo Mountain any time of the year. The months of December to January and August to September are the best time to visit Palccoyo Mountain if you want to see snow.

The best time of the day for visiting Palccoyo Mountain is early morning. It’s colder but you will find much fewer people around. Palccoyo Mountain isn’t so crowded and the colors are so beautiful.

Click here to know more about the weather in Cusco.

ATMS AND CASH IN CUSCO

The official currency of Peru is called Peruvian Sol (PEN). And $1 USD=3.75 PEN. ATMs and exchange offices are available all throughout the city. And it is also advisable to withdraw as much as you can because fees for transactions tend to be higher for foreign cars. Banco de la Nacion is the only bank which isn’t charging commissions for foreigner cards in Cusco and Peru.

Click here to check the exact change rate.

Bank Fees For Foreigner Cards In Peru

Most of the banks in Peru will charge fees for foreign cards in Peru. We only found Banco de la Nacion that wasn’t charging any fee.

Check the list below with the exact fees for foreigner cards in Peru and how much money are you allowed to withdraw in Peru with every bank.

Bank	Amount Allowed And Fees
Banco De La Nacion	400 PEN Withdraw And No Fees
Interbank	400 PEN Withdraw And 19 PEN Fees
BCP	700 PEN Withdraw And 27 PEN Fees
BBVA	400 PEN Withdraw And 25 PEN Fees
ScotiaBank	400 PEN Withdraw And 20 PEN Fees

Having insurance while you are traveling outside your home country is very important. Make sure that you have one too, to keep you safe in your trips around the world.

Feel free to use our links with discounts for Booking, Agoda, Airbnb and Klook. By using our links, you will help us to continue with the maintenance of the website and it will not cost you anything. Thanks for the love guys. 

Happy Travels!