Sure, it’s pretty, but there are some seriously ugly problems being faced by Rainbow Mountain
By Chere Di Boscio
Sure, we all know about Machu Picchu. But aside from that famously mystical mountain range, there is another that Peru boasts, and that tourists love: Rainbow Mountain.
It sounds like a place where the clouds are made of cotton candy and beribboned unicorns prance around. But the reality is – it’s a place with plenty of problems.
Towering at over 16,000 feet (5,000 metres) above sea level, this colourful range shimmers in an array of turquoise, ochre, hibiscus and gold stripes.
Formed millions of years ago as multi-coloured layers of sediment were laid down and then pushed up by clashing tectonic plates, it has only recently become a tourist hotspot, relatively speaking. And that could be a good thing. After all, visitors to the mountain – which is also called Vinicunca – have provided a much-needed economic boost to the struggling alpaca herders who are native to the area.
But unfortunately, several problems plague Rainbow Mountain.
An Array Of Issues
Firstly, environmentalists are concerned tourists could now destroy this unique area. Their very presence is threatening local flora and fauna, and even the pristine landscape itself.
Dina Farfan, a Peruvian biologist, has studied threatened wildlife in the area. He notes that one 2.5-mile dirt trail climbed by tourists to reach Rainbow Mountain has already been badly eroded, scarring the scenery.
What’s worse: he states that a wetland once frequented by migrating ducks has now been turned into a parking lot. And a massive one, at that – it’s the size of five football fields. Every day, it’s packed with buses and vans filled with tourists. The ducks have never returned. And don’t even get me started on the rubbish left behind by tourists and their guides.
The locals don’t seem to care about the destruction of their land, so long as they’re earning money. The flood of tourists has offered jobs and money for the local Pampachiri indigenous community. Which is good. Because like many Andean people, they have struggled with high rates of alcoholism, malnutrition and falling prices of alpaca wool.
Today, however, there’s an even greater temptation for the locals than tourist dollars – and a greater threat to the environment, too. Mining.
Mineral Threat
Rainbow Mountain has long been coveted by international mining companies. And in 2015, Camino Minerals Corp, a Canadian company, applied for mining rights in the mineral-rich area on and around the mountain, mainly to extract lithium for electric car batteries.
They were granted the rights, but there were loud protests in 2018. And by 2019, as a result of joint work between the Ministry of the Environment and the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP), the Ausangate area was established as one of three new Regional Conservation Areas in Peru.
However, according to Cusco’s manager for natural resources, the measure to protect the area does not guarantee that mining projects looking to extract lithium will be banned. Although Cusco’s governor, Jean Paul Benavente, said that permits for these projects should be declined, the demand for lithium – thanks to so-called ‘eco friendly’ cars – is set to dramatically increase. This puts growing pressure on local governments to sell it to international corporations.
Local Violence & Disputes
There is hope that the local people will continue to protest the presence of mining, though. Many of them have direct experience of the eco-horrors wrought by gold mining. In fact, since Rainbow Mountain became popular, over 500 local people have returned to the area from gold mines in the Amazon. They’ve chosen to take tourists over the mountains on horseback instead.
Such guided tours are now worth an estimated £290,000 to the community each year. But this income flow has sparked a tax dispute with the impoverished local municipality that has missed out on a share of the proceeds.
Yet, that’s not the worst of the problems that have happened on Rainbow Mountain.
Every year, several tourists die there. Some are struck by lightening, while others perish from falls, accidents, or even fatal altitude sickness.
And recently, members of the communities there have been killed or injured – mainly due to greed.
In 2024, for example, there was one death and three serious injuries amongst locals. Apparently, one community was against charging an entry fee. However, another group kidnapped the most vocal person (and his family) of the community that was anti-fee. Events escalated, resulting in his death.
A Better Example
Environmentalists hope the Pampachiri people will change their ways and learn from other sustainable tourism endeavours in Peru.
For example, the nearby town of Chillca has long had local shepherds gently guide tourists up the mountain as part of a five day hike that includes a visit to Ausangate. Today, the Chillca community manage four simple lodges made of eucalyptus wood with a capacity for 16 tourists each. They are lighted only by candle, but have hot water.
As we all know, there are strict environmental regulations at Machu Picchu, and visitor numbers are also strictly regulated. Perhaps the same rules should apply in order to solve some of the problems faced by Rainbow Mountain.
All images via TripAdvisor