Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 3 May 2018
Tourists flocking to Peru's newfound 'Rainbow Mountain'

By FRANKLIN BRICENO dered. He returned home
PITUMARCA, Peru (AP) — and bought a horse that
Tourists gasp for breath as last year earned him $5,200
they climb for two hours to hauling tourists uphill.
a peak in the Peruvian An- The guides dress in colorful
des that stands 16,404 feet woolen clothes and wide-
(5,000 meters) above sea brimmed, traditional hats
level. They're dead tired, to lead the horses.
but stunned by the magi- Farfan, the biologist, said
cal beauty unfurled before he hopes the Pampachiri
them. can learn from other sus-
Stripes of turquoise, lav- tainable tourism endeavors
ender and gold blanket in Peru.
what has become known It was the success of one
as "Rainbow Mountain," a such project, in the nearby
ridge of multicolored sedi- town of Chillca, that first
ments laid down millions of put Rainbow Mountain on
years ago and pushed up the map.
as tectonic plates clashed. For much of the past de-
It's only within the last five cade, a group of shep-
years that the natural won- herds had been quietly
der has been discovered In this March 2, 2018 photo, an Andean man rests with his llama while tourists take in the natural taking small groups of tour-
by the outside world, earn- wonder of Rainbow Mountain in Pitumarca, Peru. ists to the mountain as part
ing it must-see status on Associated Press of a five-day hike around
Peru's burgeoning back- the fast-melting Ausangate
packer tourist circuit. however, fear the tourists As proof, he points to a which has seen no part of glacier. Over time, and
"You see it in the pictures could destroy the trea- 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) dirt the windfall. thanks to the stunning pho-
and you think it's Photo- sured landscape, which is trail climbed by tourists to The surge in tourists also tographs posted on the in-
shopped — but it's real," already coveted by inter- reach Rainbow Mountain comes with a responsibility ternet, the secret got out.
said Lukas Lynen, an national mining compa- that has been badly erod- to be good stewards of the Today the shepherds of
18-year-old tourist from nies. ed in the last 18 months, environment and their new Chillca manage four lodg-
Mexico. "From the ecological point scarring the otherwise pris- guests, and Pampachiri es made of eucalyptus
The popularity of Rainbow of view they are killing the tine landscape. A wetland community leader Gabino wood with a capacity for
once popular with migrat- Huaman admits he is not 16 tourists each. They are
ing ducks has also been sure they are ready to fully lighted only by candle, but
turned into a parking lot handle it. have hot water.
the size of five soccer fields "We don't know one word Arriving guests are given
that fills each morning with
vans of mostly European
and American visitors.
There are more serious
threats, too.
Camino Minerals Corp., a
Canadian-based mining
company, has applied for
mining rights in the mineral-
rich area that includes the
mountain. The company
did not respond to a re-
quest by The Associated
Press for comment on its
plans.
Yet the flood of tourists
has meant jobs and hard In this March 2, 2018 photo, a tourist poses for a photo at the
cash for the local Pam- entrance that leads to Rainbow Mountain, in Pitumarca, Peru.
pachiri indigenous commu- Associated Press
nity, which has struggled
with high rates of alcohol- in English," he said. "Or first shoes made of alpaca
ism, malnutrition and fall- aid." leather and wool. At dawn,
ing prices of wool for their Despite the challenges, lodge-keeper Orlando
In this April 5, 2018 photo, community leader Gabino Human
poses for a photo backdropped by Rainbow Mountain, in Pitu- prized alpaca. Many have roughly 500 villagers have Garcia gently awakens
marca, Peru. abandoned nomadic life returned in the last couple his guests with a love song
Associated Press for dangerous gold mining of years to take up their an- performed in the Quechua
jobs in the Amazon. cestral trade of transport- language.
Now, they charge tour- ing goods across the An- "You always have to be
Mountain, which attracts goose that lays the golden ists $3 each to enter their des. The difference is that guessing what the client
up to 1,000 tourists each eggs," said Dina Farfan, a ancestral land, netting now they are hauling tour- wants, and take care of
day, has provided a much- Peruvian biologist who has the community roughly ists on horseback. it so you don't lose their
needed economic jolt to studied threatened wildlife $400,000 a year — a small "It's a blessing," said Isaac smile," Garcia says. "We
this remote region popu- in the area just a few hours fortune that has triggered a Quispe, 25, who quit his job want them to feel the
lated by struggling alpaca from the Incan ruins of Ma- tax battle with an impover- as a gold miner after six of greatest comfort at almost
herders. Environmentalists, chu Picchu. ished, nearby municipality, his camp mates were mur- 16,404 feet."q