Ausangate Trail Tours and Tickets

There are plenty of ways to experience the Ausangate Trail. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• 2-Day Trek to Rainbow Mountain from Cusco with Exclusive Mountain Camps

• Ausangate Trek 5 Days

• 2 Day Hike In Rainbow Mountain And Red Valley

• 3 Days Trek in Ausangate And Rainbow Mountain

• 6 day Rainbow Mountain x Ausangate Trek – FlashpackerConnect

It depends, because you can take tours of different lengths to explore the Ausangate Trail. For example, guided day trips to the region’s glacier lakes that follow a small section of the trail start at around US$50. The cost goes up the more days you trek, with 3-day treks starting at US$500 and 5- or 6-day hikes coming closer to US$1100.

It usually takes 5–6 days to hike the Ausangate Trail as a circuit from the town of Tingui (Tinki). However, you can also find tours that are shorter or longer to suit your plans, whether they only cover part of the trail, take a faster approach to the trail, or go on an alternate route instead.

Yes, you don’t have to hike the Ausangate Trail with a tour company, but only very experienced and well-prepared mountaineers and hikers should attempt this. Not only will you have to arrange your own supplies and navigate the mountain trails, but trekking in the Vilcanota Mountains is physically demanding because of the terrain and altitude, so support is often needed.

Yes, you need to prepare for the possibility of altitude sickness when tackling the Ausangate Trail. The trek primarily takes place at altitudes of 13,000–16,000 feet (4,000–5,000 meters), so it’s important that you first adjust to the altitude of Cusco—which is 11,152 feet (3,399 meters)—before you start hiking, and carefully watch for symptoms.

Yes, there are several ways to add a visit to Rainbow Mountain to your trek of the Ausangate Trail. You can book a tour that does the complete trail with a side trip to Rainbow Mountain, or one that doesn’t follow the full circuit and instead ends with Rainbow Mountain. Some 2–3-day Rainbow Mountain tours also use sections of the trail rather than take the direct route that most visitors hike.