Our 50th day, as it’s often now the case, began before the dawn as we took the bus to see a Rainbow Mountain. At least from pictures, this mountain with its colors looked incredible and we wanted to see it. What’s even more interesting is that this attraction only started to exist in 2016 when due to climate change the snow melted and local hikers discovered this wonder.
The biggest challenge for the Rainbow Mountain is its 5000m altitude which is difficult to handle for a lot of travelers. When we arrived at the base of the mountain at around 4500m there were already people barely catching a breath after only a couple of minutes of walking. Dozens of local people were quick to offer horses that take you halfway to the top. Our guide sprayed our hands with alcohol-coca spray and smelling them was supposed to make us less lightheaded. Chewing coca leaves or taking anti-altitude sickness medication (which also contains coca here) were valid options.
Step by step and in times catching our breath we reached the top. The climb wasn’t hard physically but I felt lightheaded although for Gabriele it was totally fine. The weather on the top was quite dramatic and changing all the time. One minute you would get decent visibility while the other the colorful mountain was almost completely hidden. After congratulating each other and taking some pictures we started to go down. In a couple of minutes, the temperatures dropped drastically and it started raining. We reached our bus with soaked ponchos and cold hands but also happy with the variety of experiences we just had. On the way back home we appreciated incredible views of mountain valleys and villages where people are living.
