30 Apr 2023
What a cool experience! The views around Palccoyo were unreal, and it was fun to hike around and see the rainbow hills and stone outcroppings.
In the morning, we were picked up around 4:30am and drove for about an hour-ish to a restaurant for breakfast. It was tasty but light (maybe bring some snacks if you like a big breakfast). From there we visited a recreation of an Inca rope bridge. The last hour or so of driving was up a bumpy dirt road that switched back up the mountain. The views at the top were worth the ride! It's a stunning view, and we had a couple hours to explore and hike the loop trail up to some view points and through the "stone forest" (rocky outcroppings along the ridge of a nearby hill). The views were incredible! It's at a pretty high altitude (4,900 m or 16,000 ft), so make sure you are acclimated beforehand and/or use some local remedies like coca leaves.
On the way back, we stopped at the same restaurant for a hearty lunch. They even took food sensitivities into account (gluten-free, no nuts, vegetarian, etc), and the food was very good. I was very happy with this trip and highly recommend it for anyone who wants to see colorful mountains in Peru!