[4] In mid-2010, mass tourism came, attracted by the mountain's series of stripes of various colors[5] due to its mineralogical composition on the slopes and summits.

From Pitumarca, travelers may go by foot, car or motorbike along a trail passing through several rural communities such as Ocefina, Japura and Hanchipacha, and reach the community of Pampa Chiri, where a 1.5-kilometer walk along the Vinincunca pass leads to the natural formation with stripes of colors that give the name Rainbow Mountain.

The petition included the territory of the districts of Cusipata and Pitumarca with an area of 400 hectares, covering the whole of the mountain, and overlapping the peasant communities of Chillihuani and Pampachiri.

INGEMMET issued a warning that parts of this territory, including Vinicunca, should have been protected within the "Ausangate Regional Conservation Area".

[13][14][15][16] In November 2018, Peru's President Martín Vizcarra issued a decree enforcing a 12-month moratorium on all mining activity in the area.

[21][circular reference] According to Cusco's manager for natural resources, the measure to protect the area does not guarantee that mining projects hoping to extract lithium will be banned.