Millions of Tourists Are Taking Their Next Trip to Peru's Mysterious Rainbow Mountain
I definitely would consider myself to have a sense of wanderlust — a desire to travel the world and see amazing things.
I am constantly dreaming of my next adventure and sometimes even planning multiple trips at once. When you spend a majority of your workday inside of an office, it is hard to not dream of escaping for a few days into the wonderful world around us.
Currently, I am dreaming of going to Switzerland and I can’t help but gaze at pictures of the magical views in that country.
But now it seems I might have to add somewhere else to my seemingly neverending list.
Tourists from around the globe have started flocking to Peru to see what has become known as the “Rainbow Mountain.”
The peak in the Peruvian Andes stands 16,404 feet above sea level, and hikers must climb for two hours to reach the top.
The multicolored ridge of turquoise, lavender and gold has only just been labeled as a “must-see” natural wonder for those traveling through the country within the last five years.
With 1,000 people trekking through the area each day, environmentalists have become concerned with the impact it could have on the land.
“From the ecological point of view they are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs,” Dina Farfan, a Peruvian biologist, said.
Nonetheless, like in many tourist towns, the Pampachiri indigenous community has benefited from the number of people coming through the area. Each tourist is charged $3 to enter the ancestral land, so the community makes about $400,000 a year.
“It’s a blessing,” Isaac Quispe, one of the many who quit his job as a gold miner to work in the tourist industry, said.
Before word got out about the beautiful Rainbow Mountain, a group of shepherds from the town of Chillca had been taken tourists up the mountain during a five-day hike.
Now, tourists can head up the mountain as a day hike or do a multi-day trek, either with or without a tour guide. And most people advise going during the summer months to avoid the rainy season.
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