Ecuador by Bicycle

Week 15: Holiday Time

After the busy construction period it felt a good time to take some time off and see a bit more of the country. Kitted out with maps from the Instituto Geographico Militar (located on the hillside just east of the Parque Ejido next to the white dome of the Observatory - you can't miss it), a mountain bike from the Biking Dutchman in Quito (hired at $15 a day www.bikingdutchman.com/) and a pair of goggles more apt for a world war one pilot, I hit the road.

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Using a mixture of pedal power, gravity and buses I travelled some 500 km through Ecuador's diverse terrain (equivalent to the distance of London to Glasgow as the crow flies); taking on the dusty and cobbled mountain roads through indigenous Quichua communities up to the spectacular Quilotoa lake, rattling down the side of Ecuador's highest snow covered peak Volcan Chimborazo and battling the heat on the tarmac road through the jungle on the waterfall laden route from Baños. 12 days later I return to Quito with knees aching, but refreshed... If you want to learn more or are a cyclist planning a route through Ecuador read on;

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Day 1 - 2: Cobblestones and Llamas

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SIGCHOS (2800m) to LATACUNGA (2800m) via Laguna QUILOTOA (3914m)

101 km

After battling the fumigating Trole buses through QUITO's old town, a bus from the city's glass fronted modern southern terminal Quintumbe takes me first to LATACUNGA, 100km and 1 1/2 hours south, from where I get a bus to the small town of SIGCHOS (note there are no direct buses from LASSO on the Panamericana as you might expect).

SIGCHOS, 50km to the west of the Panamericana, at 2800m is at the start of the "Quliotoa Loop". A lovely tarmac road winds its way up out of LATACUNGA and reaches a pass at (Xm) before descending into a valley carved out by the river (X). The newly surfaced road would make a lovely downhill run on the bike, but is greeted by a tough uphill on cobbled roads to SIGCHOS.

My cycling starts with a 23km bumpy and largely uphill ride (photo, above left) arriving into the small village of CHUGCHILAN at 3200m by nightfall. Despite the rocky route the view across the valley to the east is astounding, with the Volcan COTOPAXI visible on the horizon (below).

After a good night's rest, the road onwards to the Laguna QUILOTOA starts with some nice downhill stretches before making a steep climb towards the volcanic crater that holds the lake. The road surface becomes more solid and smooth after CHUGCHILAN and the aroma from pine trees shading the route fills the warm air. This fairly remote area is home to Quichua speakers heavily dependent on farming. On the road I pause to let a herd of sheep pass, with llamas in tow.

Just as I think I've reached the highest point on the route, the road dramatically cuts its way down across an almost moonscape valley - the road hugging chalk like rockfaces. The subsequent climb up to the lake (at 3914m) is rewarded with stunning views over the massive expanse of crystal blue-green waters (below), some 22km from CHUGCHILAN. A hike can take you around the ridge of the crater in 4 to 5 hours.

At the time of writing the mostly downhill road onwards from Lago QUILOTOA to the town of ZUMBAHUA (3800m) is in the process of being resurfaced. Clouds descended to cover the 14km bumpy route, as "volquetas" (trucks carrying roadstone) bumbled their way past me engulfing the air in thick plumes of dust. Aligning the road water gushes through open channels that the locals use directly for washing and laundary - using large stones and brute force. The reward at the end of the road is the sight of ZUMBUHUA (3800m) nesteld amongst jagged peaks (below).

After ZUMBUHUA climbs a wonderfully tarmaced road as the scenery becomes more desolate (below).

With rain beginning to thrash down I take a ride with a "camioneta" (a truck with a tarpoulined cover to transport my bike) up to "Control Millin", which is the highest point on the pass between ZUMBUHUA and LATACUNGA. From there it is the most beautiful 42km ride all downhill into LATACUNGA, via PUJILI. With the rain clearing, after the bumpy and rocky roads the smoothness of the asphalt is pure bliss (below).

Day 3: Downhill Adrenalin
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COTOPAXI (4500m)
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22km
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I can highly recommend the Biking Dutchman's trip to COTOPAXI volcano - even just for the superb picnic lunches on route. Located 30 minutes north of LATACUNGA, at the main entrance to the park off the Panamericana Highway I met the jeep that takes you and the bikes up to the snow line of the volcano at 4500m.

The route is ALL downhill back to the park's entrance along a fairly rutted dirt road that leaves your arms feeling like jelly afterwards.

Our tour takes in a detour to some Inca ruins and passes across a wide expanse created by the flows of "lahar" (a mixture of mud, rock and debris) from the volcano (below). In 1877 a lahar flow reached the pacific ocean in under 2 days, some 250km to the north, which demonstrates the velocity they can reach. Volcan Cotopaxi twice destroyed the nearby city of LATACUNGA in the 18th century. There are various translations for the name COTOPAXI, from "neck of the moon", "broken neck" to "headless poncho".

Day 4: Best Cycle Ride in Ecuador?
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CHIMBORAZO (4800m) downhill to AMBATO (2577m)
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70km

As part of the Biking Dutchman's two day tour a night is spent in the old railway station at URBINA, 1 1/2 hours south of LATACUNGA and just beyond AMBATO, offering stunning view's of Ecuador's highest mountain: Volcan CHIMBORAZO at 6310m. The next morning the jeep takes us up the mountain's first refuge at 4800m, passing through an almost desert landscape (below).
I found a translation for the name CHIMBORAZO as "the snowy pass" (from the Quichua "chimbana", "to cross" and "razu", "to snow").

I learn about the arduous work of cutting and collecting ice from the volcanoes glaciers for selling in the markets of Riobamba some 40km away. This practice is now becoming a thing of the past, whilst the glaciers themselves are receding. Caroline Bennett of Global Post makes an account of "Ecuador's last ice man". Take a look at; www.globalpost.com/dispatch/the-americas/100112/ice-man-chimborazo, where a short video can be viewed.

If you want to test out your lungs you can make the walk up to the second refuge at 5000m before starting the ride. When we left the first refuge it had begun to snow and the road was quickly covered in dense cloud. The track down is much smoother than at COTOPAXI. Goggles are desperately needed as ice attacks my face like needles.

Out of the cloud, a gravel road up at 4200m cuts its way through the desert landscape until reaching the main road between AMBATO and GUARANDA (above left). After a few more kms, we turn off onto a secondary road that follows the Ambato river into AMBATO. This tarmac section of the ride is again ALL downhill and was the moste beautiful cycle ride that I have ever taken - the road zig-zags its way through outstanding valley scenery (above right). As the valley narrows, the road is hemmed in by steep rock faces on either side - even passing under overhangs. With gravity as your aid it is probably my favourite ride in all of Ecuador.

70km later I arrive into the bustling city of AMBATO and find a bus to get to RIOBAMBA for the night (1 hour south).

Day 5: Cloud-covered Mountain Pass
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SAN JUAN (3400m) to GUARANDA (2650m)
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50km

I start the ride over to GUARANDA in the western part of the highlands from the small town of SAN JUAN, just outside of RIOBAMBA - which serves some of the best "almuerzos" (lunches) that I have had in all of Ecuador. The scenery is majestic - rolling green hills in all directions (above). There is an untarmaced, but firm scenic road onto SAN JUAN, which starts with a good 2-3 hour slog up to the pass at 4000m (a 600m height gain).

On reaching the pass visibility has reduced to only a few meters in the clouds and the road down into GUARANDA becomes much more sandy and loose, and is by no means downhill all the way as you might imagine. After 2 more hours I give in and hitch a lift into the town. The sight of civilisation is a welcome relief. I choose to get transport onto the quieter and more picturesque SALINAS, 35km north of GUARANDA, to spend the night in a refuge that has a log fire.

Day 6: From Chocolates to Home-Made Footballs
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SALINAS (3550m) to RIOBAMBA (2750m) via GUARANDA (2650m)
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60 km

SALINAS (above) was once a place of dire poverty isolated in the hillsides, until an Italian missionary named Antonio Polo arrived in town. He subsequently helped the community to set up a high-quality cheese factory using the milk from the surrounding farms. 40 years later, the town is now a model of community development with a dozen community run factories in the town; from chocolate, to woolen clothing (below right), cured ham and even footballs. It is the community who owns and manages the factories, with profits directly being used to help the town.

Daily visits to the factories also provide a healthy tourism income. I felt it was due for a rest from the saddle, and the perfect opportunity to try out Ecuadorian made chocolate for the first time. Interestingly, the wonderfully made footballs are branded with the FIFA logo and "made in Japan", for sale at local markets. This suggests that Ecuadorians look up to products made from abroad. To combat this mind-set a non-profit company has been running the campaign "¡Mucho mejor! si es hecho en ECUADOR", which translates as "Much better if made in Ecuador!". The logo below can is now placed on locally fabricated products, in a similar way as the Fair Trade logo is used. To learn more visit their website;

http://www.muchomejorecuador.com.ec/

You can learn more about SALINAS activities on their website:

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http://www.salinerito.com/ (Spanish only)

Above Left: as the name suggests, SALINAS first trade was salt. The salt pans are no longer used but extensive collection and drying pools can be seen dotted on the hillside.
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The afternoon's ride takes me back to GUARANDA - a mostly downhill route on tarmaced roads that I can thoroughly recommend. A bus can get you back up the entrance to CHIMBORAZO park, for a downhill ride that will literally take your breath away starting at 4200m, with the chance of a glimpse of the volcano between the clouds (below).

Day 7: Volcanic Debris

RIOBAMBA (2750m) to BAÑOS (1800m)

66 km

The main road from RIOBAMBA to BAÑOS starts as tarmac and makes its way mostly downhill though green valleys through the small towns of PENIPE and PUELA (above left).

The road passes beneath the active volcano of TUNGURAHUA (below left), which violently erupted in 2006, sending out a column of ash, rock and cloud for some 15km. The town of BANOS was evacuated and the main road from RIOBAMBA became blocked and submerged in debri and earth from subsequent landslides.

Before setting out I made enquiries with local truck drivers, who informed me the road was passable. And so it was. After the town of PUELA, the tarmac disappears and debris of rocks are strewn acorss the landscape. The road becomes extremely dusty and not the place to be as a terrific wind picks up. On reaching BAÑOS (above right), a town famous for its thermal baths, I can think of nothing better...

Day 8: "Highway of the Waterfalls"

BAÑOS (1800m) to PUYO (950m)

61km

The route onwards from BAÑOS, west towards the jungle is a great way to experience the transition from the highlands into the Oriente. With the descent in altitude, comes an increase in temperature and humidity as the vegetation turns to rainforest and hanging vines. The well tarmaced road is a popular route, taking you past a number of waterfalls to explore. The "Pailon del Diablo" (the "Devil's Cauldron"), pictured above, is well worth the visit. Access right up to behind the waterfall is possible - and it doesn't take long to get completely soaked. Peering into the cauldron I look around and see myself in the middle of the full circle of a perfect rainbow.

The route isn't without it's climbs as it follows the Rio Pastaza into the jungle frontier town of PUYO.

Day 9: Jungle Highway
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PUYO (950m) to TENA (518m)
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75km

The route on from PUYO towards TENA is on an all tarmaced road. The route climbs its way out of PUYO until it reaches SAN JOSE. From there it's downhill into SANTA CLARA and largely flat and slightly rolling onto PUERTO NAPO. There are a few steep climbs just before reaching PUERTO NAPO and after the bridges again it's steep up and downs into TENA itself.

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The atmosphere is hot and humid - with views overlooking the jungle canopy with the Amazon stretching out into the horizon as far as the eye can see. As I pause for breath by the road side birds create magical sounds, as dusk and an ensuing thunderstorm closes in.

Day 10: Rafting the Jondachi
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TENA

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38km
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TENA is internationally reknowned as the best place to experience white water rafting in Ecuador. I can thoroughly recommend rafting with "River People";

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http://www.riverpeoplerafting.com/

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It was an amazing way to see and experience undisturbed jungle - the river passing its way through gorges, waterfalls spilling out from great heights and thick overhanging vegetation on each side.

Day 12: Train Tracks
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"EL CHAQUIÑAN" Trail - PUEMBO to CUMBAYA
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18km

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After taking an evening bus from TENA to spend a night at the soothing PAPALLACTA hot springs, for the last stretch into QUITO I made my way to PUEMBO, to pick up the old train route down to CUMBAYA - now a popular cycle for families in and around QUITO.

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The well marked trail is firm and secluded, taking you down a canyon through eerie tunnels amidst dry and hot terrain. There is quite a climb out of the canyon, but makes for a great getaway from the highways and for me a pleasant way to end the cycling tour.

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To reach the trailhead I took the turning off the Panamericana to PUEMBO and after a few kms reached a Y marked by a conrete cross. Taking the left hand route and staying on the tarmac the road crosses the railtracks a couple more kms further on.

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The trail ends at CUMBAYA, but does go in the other direction. The trail can be followed east and north all the way through CAYAMBE, OTAVALO and onto IBARRA. For more detailed information you can ask the Biking Ducthman.

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I would recommend cycling in Ecuador. It's a popular national pastime, buses and passing jeeps are always happy to give you a lift and it's a great way to get out into the open air and explore some stunning and diverse scenery.