Illustration.
Cusco · Vinicunca · Valle Rojo
Red Valley Tour from Cusco
Twelve hours from Cusco: breakfast in Cusipata, the climb to Rainbow Mountain, the Red Valley as an optional walk on from the top, then a buffet lunch, with a bilingual guide.
- 4.8 / 5 6742+ Reviews
- 12 hours Duration
- 105 km From Cusco to the Vinicunca trailhead by road
- 1.1 km On foot from Vinicunca to the Red Valley viewpoint
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Day Trip Covers
The drive from Cusco, the walk to Vinicunca, the Red Valley if you choose it, and both meals.
Highlights
- The hike to the top of Vinicunca
- The Red Valley as an optional extra
- Breakfast and a buffet lunch
- Shared or private options
What's Included
- Transport from Cusco and back
- Bilingual guide
- Breakfast and buffet lunch
- Emergency oxygen and a first-aid kit
- A walking stick
Good to know: Entrance fees, water and snacks are paid in cash, in Peruvian soles. · The walk to the top is about 3.5 km; bring a warm jacket, hat, gloves and sunglasses. · The road is unpaved for the last stretch. · Not suitable for pregnant women or people with heart or breathing problems. · Not suitable for: Pregnant women, People with mobility impairments, People with heart problems, People with vertigo, People with respiratory issues, People over 65 years, People over 220 lbs (100 kg), People with low level of fitness · Not Included: Horse (available to rent for 100 Peruvian Sol per person, in cash), Entrance fees to Rainbow Mountain (30 Peruvian Sol per person, in cash), Optional entrance to the Red Valley (30 Peruvian Sol per person, in cash), Tips
How the Day Runs
A pickup before dawn, breakfast on the way, the climb, and back in Cusco by late afternoon.
Pickup before Dawn
The guide collects you in Cusco's historic centre from about 3:30 am. It is about two hours by road to Cusipata, where breakfast is served.
The Climb to Vinicunca
About an hour more to the trailhead, then a walk of about 3.5 km to the top of Rainbow Mountain, at around 5,000 m. A horse can be hired for part of the way, in cash.
The Red Valley, If You Choose It
From the top, the Red Valley viewpoint is an optional walk on. It has its own entrance fee, paid in cash, separate from the Rainbow Mountain ticket.
Lunch and Back to Cusco
Down the same way to the van, a buffet lunch in Cusipata, and back in Cusco between about 4 and 5 pm.
Photo Gallery
Rainbow Mountain and the Red Valley
Photos from the day trip's listing: the striped slopes of Vinicunca, the trail and the red hills.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
Plan the Day
The Valley, the Climb and the Practical Side
The Red Valley against Rainbow Mountain, the walk between them, the ATV days, the altitude, the fees and the season.
Prices are each page's featured tour: GetYourGuide checked November 2026. Listing prices are per person, adult fare, unless the card shows otherwise.
Four Ways to the Red Valley
Two group days with the Red Valley as an option, a day with the Vinicunca fee included, and an ATV day through the valley. Prices from the listings, with the month they were checked.
| Feature | THIS PAGE Group day, Red Valley optional | Group day on Viator | Vinicunca fee included | ATV through the valley |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From $26 per person (checked November 2026) | From $22 per person in current promotion (usually $25) (checked November 2026) | From $39 per person (checked November 2026) | From $65 per person (checked November 2026) |
| Paid on the Day | Vinicunca 30 soles; Red Valley 30 soles if you go; a horse 100 soles | Both entrance fees | Red Valley 30 soles if you go; a horse 70 soles | The 30-sole entrance |
| Time | About 12 hours | About 12 hours | About 12 hours | About 12 hours |
| On Foot | About 3.5 km up to Vinicunca | About two hours up to Vinicunca | About 1 h 45 min up, 1 h down | About 40 minutes from the Red Valley to Vinicunca |
| The Red Valley | Optional, after the top | Optional: tell the guide before the hike | Optional, after the top | Ridden through by ATV |
| Meals | Breakfast and buffet lunch | Breakfast and lunch | Breakfast and buffet lunch | Breakfast and buffet lunch |
| Best For | Most first-timers | A low price, booked on Viator | One less cash payment on the day | Less walking at altitude |
| Check dates | See the group day | See the fee-included day | See the ATV day |
Other Ways to Go
More Red Valley Trips from Cusco
Group days with the Red Valley as an option, days that include it, ATV days through the valley, private days and Palccoyo.
RED VALLEY OPTIONALRainbow Mountain Day with the Red Valley as an Option
Chullos Travel Peru's twelve-hour day from Cusco: hotel pickup at about 4:30 am, two hours by road to Cusipata for a buffet breakfast, then on to the trailhead and a moderate climb of about two hours to Vinicunca, reached at about 10:30 am. The Red Valley is optional: tell the guide before the hike starts. Breakfast, lunch, oxygen, walking sticks and an English- and Spanish-speaking guide are included; both entrance fees are paid on the day.
UP TO 15 GUESTSSmall-Group Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley Day
Day Trips Peru's twelve-hour day for groups of up to 15: hotel pickup between 3 and 3:30 am, breakfast in Cusipata, then from the Fulawasipata trailhead about an hour and three quarters up to the top of Vinicunca and an hour down. Buffet lunch, and back at Avenida El Sol by about 3:30 pm. The Rainbow Mountain entrance (30 soles) and the optional Red Valley entrance (30 soles) are paid in cash; horses are hired from local providers. It suggests two days in Cusco first.
BOTH FEES INCLUDEDRainbow Mountain and Red Valley Hike, Both Entrances Included
PVTravel's day for groups of up to 15 with both entrances included: pickup at about 4:30 am, breakfast near Quiquijana, the trailhead at Phulawasipata, about an hour and a half up to Rainbow Mountain, then a 30-minute walk on to the Red Valley and back to the car park. The guide shows the way to the Red Valley but stays with the Rainbow Mountain group. Both meals, oxygen and radio contact are included.
BY ATVLaya ATV Ride and a 40-Minute Walk to Vinicunca
World Explorer Peru's twelve-hour ATV day: pickup at 4 or 5 am, breakfast in Cusipata, then from the community of Laya a safety briefing, a short practice and a 25-minute ride towards the Red Valley, about 40 minutes on foot to Rainbow Mountain and back the same way, and the ride out. Single or double ATVs, a helmet, oxygen, walking sticks, both meals and a guide are included; the 30-sole entrance and travel insurance are not. Riders need some ATV experience.
PRIVATEPrivate Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley Day from Cusco
Rainbow Mountain Travels' private twelve-hour day: pickup between 3 and 3:30 am, breakfast in Cusipata, then through Pitumarca to the Hanchipata trailhead, about an hour and three quarters up to the top of Vinicunca and a visit to the red hill beside it. The Vinicunca entrance fee, breakfast, a buffet lunch, a bilingual guide, oxygen and a blanket are included; the Red Valley's 30-sole entrance, a horse, poles and bottled water are not. Drop-off at Plaza Regocijo.
PALCCOYO INSTEADPalccoyo Rainbow Mountains Day with the Stone Forest
Tour Machu Picchu Best's eleven-hour day to Palccoyo: pickup between 4 and 5 am, breakfast in Cusipata, then from the Palcoyo community a 30- to 40-minute walk to the striped mountains and an optional 10-minute walk to the Stone Forest. Both meals, a stick, oxygen and a guide are included; the Palccoyo entrance (20 soles) and the optional Checacupe bridge (10 soles) are not.
The Guide
The Valley Beside Rainbow Mountain, and How to Get There
Which trip fits you, what it costs on the listing and in cash on the day, how far the walk is, and when to go.
The Red Valley, Valle Rojo in Spanish, is the iron-red valley beside Vinicunca, the Rainbow Mountain, about 105 km south-east of Cusco by road. Almost nobody goes there on its own: the day trips from Cusco climb to the Vinicunca viewpoint first and offer the Red Valley as a walk on from the top, about 1.1 km to its viewpoint, for a separate fee paid in cash. The ATV days ride through the valley itself and walk the last part. Either way, expect a pickup in the small hours, a twelve-hour day and a walk at about 5,000 m.
The short answer
For most visitors the trip is Inka Altitude’s Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley day trip, sold on GetYourGuide. The guide collects you in Cusco’s historic centre from about 3:30 am, it is two hours to breakfast in Cusipata and an hour more to the trailhead, and the walk to the top of Vinicunca is about 3.5 km. From the top, the Red Valley is your choice. You are back in Cusco between about 4 and 5 pm after a buffet lunch. It costs from $26 in current promotion (usually $36) per person, with 6,742 reviews (checked November 2026). The listing leaves three things to pay in cash, in soles: the Rainbow Mountain entrance (30 soles), the Red Valley entrance if you go (30 soles) and a horse if you want one (100 soles).
Pick your trip
Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley Day Trip with Meals
Inka Altitude's twelve hours: breakfast, the climb, the Red Valley as an option, a buffet lunch. Shared or private.
Check dates →Rainbow Mountain Day with the Red Valley as an Option
Chullos Travel Peru: pickup at about 4:30 am, about two hours up to Vinicunca, the Red Valley if you tell the guide before the hike.
See the group day →Small-Group Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley Day
Day Trips Peru's small group: pickup from 3 am, an hour and three quarters up, the Red Valley as an option.
See the small group →Laya ATV Ride and a 40-Minute Walk to Vinicunca
World Explorer Peru: an ATV from Laya through the Red Valley, then about 40 minutes on foot to Rainbow Mountain.
See the ATV day →Private Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley Day from Cusco
Rainbow Mountain Travels' private day, the Vinicunca entrance included, priced per person for two or three.
See the private day →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026; Viator checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Where the Red Valley is
| Place | What it is | Trip for it |
|---|---|---|
| Vinicunca (Rainbow Mountain) | The striped mountain in the Vilcanota range, on the border of Pitumarca and Cusipata districts, at about 5,000 m | Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley day trip |
| Red Valley viewpoint | The lookout over the red hills, about 1.1 km on from the Vinicunca viewpoint by the path | Hike with both entrances included |
| Red Valley (Valle Rojo) | The valley itself, running south from the viewpoint towards Pitumarca, where the ATV days ride | ATV through the Red Valley |
| Palccoyo | Gentler striped hills near Checacupe, at about 4,900 m, with no Red Valley | Palccoyo with the Stone Forest |
The Red Valley hike covers the walk from the top, and Red Valley vs Rainbow Mountain asks whether you need both, or Palccoyo instead.
What the Red Valley is
Vinicunca is the famous one: a ridge whose slopes run in bands of red, ochre, green and lilac, with the snow peak of Ausangate behind it. PromPeru, Peru’s tourism board, explains that the colours lay hidden under glaciers and snow until the early 1990s, and that they come from layers of marine, lake and river sediment and from oxidation. The Red Valley is the stretch of hills beside it that is almost all red: from its viewpoint you look down a valley of rust-coloured slopes, with far fewer people than on the main viewpoint. No government page describes it separately; on the ground it is a second lookout, reached by walking on from the first.
That matters for booking. A tour sold as “Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley” almost always means the climb to Vinicunca with the Red Valley as an extra you choose on the day. The entrance fee guide lists which days include its fee.
What it costs
| Trip | Listing price | Paid in cash on the day |
|---|---|---|
| Small group of up to 15 (Day Trips Peru) | From $19 in current promotion (usually $36) | Rainbow Mountain 30 soles; Red Valley 30 soles if you go |
| Group day, Red Valley optional (Chullos Travel Peru) | From $22 in current promotion (usually $25) | Both entrances |
| Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley day trip (Inka Altitude) | From $26 in current promotion (usually $36) | Rainbow Mountain 30 soles; Red Valley 30 soles if you go |
| Day with the Vinicunca fee included (Rainbow Mountain Travels) | From $39 in current promotion (usually $49) | Red Valley 30 soles if you go |
| Hike with both entrances included (PVTravel) | From $69 | Nothing for the entrances |
| ATV through the Red Valley (World Explorer Peru) | From $65 in current promotion (usually $75) | The 30-sole entrance |
| Private day, Vinicunca fee included (Rainbow Mountain Travels) | From $107 in current promotion (usually $119) per person for two or three | Red Valley 30 soles if you go |
Listing prices: GetYourGuide checked November 2026; Viator checked November 2026. Per person, adult fare.
Bring soles in cash for the day. Peru’s official tourism inventory lists the Rainbow Mountain ticket on the Pitumarca side at 30 soles for a foreign adult, and PromPeru’s 2026 guide gives the same figure. The listings read in November 2026 put the Red Valley’s own fee at 20 to 30 soles and a horse at 70 to 120 soles.
Going on your own
It can be done, but few visitors do it. From Cusco it is 98 km on the paved highway south to Checacupe and 7 km on to Pitumarca, then a graded dirt road up to the trailhead; PromPeru puts the whole drive at about three hours. Peru’s tourism inventory gives the Pitumarca side’s hours as 6 am to 5 pm. The day tours leave Cusco in the small hours to be on the trail early, and include breakfast, lunch and the return, which is why most people book one. Strikes and road blockades can happen in the Cusco region with little notice, and the UK government advises against trying to pass one.
The altitude
The walk tops out at about 5,000 m, far higher than Cusco’s 3,399 m, and the Red Valley adds a stretch at that height. Health authorities say altitude illness can start from about 2,500 m and advise ascending gradually; several listings ask for two days in Cusco first. A headache, nausea or exhaustion on the trail means stop climbing, and if it gets worse, go down. The altitude guide has the advice from the CDC and the UK’s travel-health service.
When to go
Peru’s tourism inventory recommends the dry season, April to October. More than half of Cusco’s yearly rain falls from December to February, when snow can cover the trail and close it, and the colours are at their sharpest under a clear sky. The dry months are the cold ones: the inventory gives about -5 C at night and 13 C by day at the mountain. See the best time to visit.
Who should pick something else
- You want the least walking at altitude: an ATV day through the Red Valley rides most of the way.
- You want striped hills without a hard climb: Palccoyo is gentler; compare it in Red Valley vs Rainbow Mountain.
- You have just arrived in Cusco: read the altitude guide first and give yourself time.
- You want every fee paid in advance: the entrance fee guide lists the days that include them.
Climb Rainbow Mountain, Then See the Red Valley
Inka Altitude's twelve hours from Cusco: breakfast, the climb to Vinicunca, the Red Valley as an option, and a buffet lunch. Starting from $26 per person in current promotion (usually $36).
See datesMore Trips with Open Dates
More Cusco Day Trips with Open Dates
Mountain days, the Sacred Valley and other trips from Cusco with live availability. Times and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Red Valley Tour: Questions
Price, the entrance fees, the walk from Rainbow Mountain, the altitude, horses, the season and Palccoyo.
Group days that add the Red Valley start from $19 a person; Inka Altitude's day trip costs from $26 (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Chullos Travel Peru's group day costs from $22 on Viator (checked November 2026). ATV days through the valley cost from $59, and a private day with your own guide from $107 a person for two or three. The entrance fees are paid in cash on the day unless the listing includes them.
Listings read in November 2026 put the Red Valley's own fee at 20 to 30 soles, paid in cash, on top of the Rainbow Mountain ticket. No government page lists it. For Rainbow Mountain, Peru's official tourism inventory gives 30 soles for a foreign adult on the Pitumarca side, and PromPeru's 2026 guide gives the same. See the entrance fees.
On most group days it is an option, not part of the plan: you tell the guide, pay the Red Valley's own fee in cash and walk on from the top of Vinicunca. A few days include both entrances, such as PVTravel's hike, and the ATV days ride through the valley itself. Check the listing's included and not-included lists before you book.
The Red Valley viewpoint is about 1.1 km on from the Vinicunca viewpoint, measured along the path on our map. The listings that take you there allow about 30 minutes each way. It is at the same height as the top of the climb, so it is short but not easy. See the Red Valley hike.
About 5,000 m, roughly the height of the Rainbow Mountain viewpoint next to it. Peru's tourism inventory lists Vinicunca at 5,036 m and other government sources give up to 5,200 m; no government page gives a figure for the Red Valley, and the listings put its viewpoint at about 5,000 m. Cusco itself is at 3,399 m. See the altitude guide.
Several, if your plans allow. The UK's travel-health service says altitude illness becomes a risk from about 2,500 m and advises a gradual ascent; the CDC notes that a day trip up high with a return to a lower altitude is much easier on the body than sleeping high. Several listings ask for two days in Cusco first. Headache, nausea or exhaustion on the trail is a reason to stop climbing and go down.
The dry season, April to October, is the time Peru's tourism inventory recommends. In Cusco more than half the year's rain falls from December to February, and in the wet months snow can cover the trail and close it. The dry months bring frost: the mountain swings from about -5 C at night to 13 C by day. See the best time to visit.
You can hire a horse from local community members for part of the climb to Rainbow Mountain, paid in cash; the last stretch is on foot. Listings read in November 2026 put a horse at 70 to 120 soles. The ATV days are the other way to cut the walking.
Palccoyo is the gentler choice; the Red Valley comes only with Vinicunca. Palccoyo, near Checacupe, is a set of striped hills at about 4,900 m that PromPeru puts at about 45 minutes on foot. Vinicunca is a harder climb, and the Red Valley is the walk on from its top. See Red Valley vs Rainbow Mountain.
Still have questions? Email us at info@redvalleytourcusco.com