When a half-hour freeride down the world’s tallest active volcano is a mere optional side trip on your mountain-bike adventure, you know you’re in prime two-wheeling terrain. Cotopaxi (19,347 feet) casts a giant shadow across the lava canyons and alpine tundra south of Quito, Ecuador, home base for Tierra del Volcan’s four-day mountain-bike trips. The all-inclusive tour runs from two family-owned lodges on the edge of Cotopaxi National Park, through high mountain forest and rugged paramo – verdant, treeless alpine-tundra mountains.
By late morning on the first day, you’re on a state-of-the-art Bulls 29er bike for a short uphill to the north entrance of Cotopaxi National Park. From there, it’s mostly gentle downhill through the trees and then a lava canyon in Santa Rita Ecological Reserve. “I’ve never felt anything like volcanic ash and hardened lava underneath my tires,” says Vancouver photographer Dan Barham, 33, who rode the trail a couple of years ago. The highlight of the 30-mile day is the pedal (and short hike) to 300-foot Condor Machai waterfall, at 10,200 feet. Sleep at the Hacienda El Porvenir, a thatched-roof lodge, surrounded by the towering volcanoes.
Day two starts with wide-open alpine tundra and continues along a spring until it reaches a mountain lake called Yanacocha (“Black Lagoon”). But the best part is 13 blissful miles on Tierra del Volcan’s private singletrack wilderness trail – isolated and surrounded by huge boulders tossed down by Cotopaxi. Overnight is at an ancient Incan structure turned mountain retreat, with awesome views of the night sky. Feast on traditional Ecuadoran barbecue – or any trout you’ve scored out of El Tambo river, near the hacienda.
On the third day, the 34-mile ride back to El Porvenir ends at Limpiopungo Lake, a highlight of Cotopaxi National Park for the stunning reflection of Rumiñahui volcano (15,455 feet), and views of Cotopaxi and Sincholagua (16,049). It’s a short riding day so there’s plenty of time to explore the lake, while condors and caracaras soar overhead and llamas graze the paramo.
Tierra del Volcan calls the fourth and last day a “bonus day” – not everyone is up for high-altitude downhilling. This year, the outfitter and a conservation nonprofit built a killer singletrack so you can let loose as much as you dare on the half-hour, 2,300-foot drop. “It starts out at 15,000 feet,” says Barham. “But labored breathing turns to whoops and hollers within seconds.”
The Mountain Cotopaxi is one of the most beautiful volcano, perpetual snow top , one of the highest above sea level and also if it is measured from the center of the planet (do you know which is the highest mountain in the world?), one of the most symetric mountains in the world, just 2 hours south from Quito the capital of Ecuador. The weather type is chilly to cold temperatures ranging from upper 20s during the early morning, to upper 50s at midday, and down to upper 20s at night, it is windy. There are several trail to choose, but we assumed you will be traveling with a trained guide. There are several tour agencies in Quito that you can choose from for this off-road biking activity.
Also, please we recommend to stay within in the designated trails, do not make more trails this has a very harmful effect on the fragile environment of the Ecuadorian Andes, more explanations of this effect here, so please take care of the environment by following those guidelines. Future generations need to enjoy this beautiful mountain.
Happy Biking
Ecuador
City Hall in Quito Ecuador released their new project BICI-Q that is a system of public bikes. Here a brief description of the project:
- 21 stations
- 425 bikes
- Bikes with urban design
- Small basket to carry items
- Design so a person with skirt can still use the bike
- User have to register in advance, so if your are traveling into Quito make sure you do that.
- $25 anual fee for your subscription and ID
- per 45 minutes use
- Edad mínima 16 años
- The system allow you to pick up a bike from a one station and return it to any another station of the sytem
- BiciQ operates 364 days of the year, except January 1st from 07 AM to 7 PM.
- http://www.biciq.gob.ec/ Official Web Site
- BiciQ is a nice service that allow us to tour the city and run our errants in a very inexpensive way, it is quick, and easy to use within the urban area from Estación Norte del Trolebús, La Y, until Plaza de Santo Domingo, in the Quito’s historical district.
The ecuadorian highlands “The Andes” are an excellent destination for biking. This time we are goingto to talked about biking around Riobamba. Riobamba is a nice small city, high in altitude and very close to the Chimborazo, a the highest volcano in the world, actually it is the highest point on Earth measured fron the cetner of the planet, read more about it. You can make a variety of cycling tours around the beautiful Chimborazo Province, there are several operators that offer routes for each ability level. Get your adrenaline pumping on the spectacular downhill ride from Chimborazo volcano, enjoy the awesome sceneries of the Hidden Valleys, or go for the fantastic bike ride from the Andes to the Amazon, there are so many trips your will enjoy all of them, you need time and of course money.
Make you check all the details of the tour, the experience of the tour guide, and the awareness of the operator in terms of conservation. There are some guides and operators, like any other place that want to take you anywhere for the money without consideration of the impact the bikes place on the environment. We advocate “Little Impact Adventure” LIA, the idea is to enjoy your trip, explore new places, stay on trails, avoid trails that are closed for healing, bring back all garabage, recycle everything that is recyclable, avoid creating new unnecessary trails.
Ecuador is a small but beautiful country, there are so many micro climates there fore a great number of ecosystems, but for this reason it is fragil, we as tourists, adventure tourists, need to have this on mind at the moment of choosing tour operators.
Have a great trip in Chimborazo
Ecuador
As a general concept we think that bikes, no motorcicles, the onces powered by human force have little impact on our environment. Well, bikes that are running in our cities are inmensely beneffitial for our environment; in the other hand, off-roads, mountain bikes, downhill bikes are very destructive and impacting.
The problems occurs for several factors:
- Too many bikers per day or season: this does not allow the vegetation to heal and restore its conditions
- Lack or inexisting trail management: this increases the impact becuase trail become over used with huge impacts
- No trail rotation: this issue is related to the lack of trail management
- Little consideration of the type of vegetation: there are some ecosystems that more resistant that also heal rapidly, while for example in Ecuador, ecosystems at high altitudes take longer time to restore, if impact continues some type of vegetation do not grow back
Bikers mentalilty: this is the big issue, apparently some bikers have similar mentality that poeple that love 4WD (4×4) cars, where the enjoyment is based on how the car goes and successfully goes thru mud and hard conditions of the terrain. So for these travelers “adventurers” basically the idea is to control nature, and that goes against of what the idea is when we plan a trip to the wild, we go to enjoy nature, enjoy the beauty and leave it in better conditions of the ones we found it.
If we have complained in the past that litter found in our trips to nature is a terrible practice; and we argued that other campers, hiker, or bikers, destroy ecosystems. Heavy biking and 4×4 cars create even worst impact, it is more destructive.
If garabage and litter impacts nature
Erosion and ecosystem degration destroys even more.
The Consequences:
- Soil erosion: the lost of vegetation leaves the top soil exposed to wind and rain, creating a bad erosion, loose of top soil.
- Water contamination: too much sediments going to the rivers
- Ecosystem fragmentation: since vegetation provides habit and when this is gone ecosystems and microsystems are impacted.
- Significant lost of habit for sensitive species
Advice:
- Ask your tour guide to avoid creating unnecessary trails, opeing new trails …opens the door more destruction
- Ask your guide or plan for nature trip where the bike will stay most of the trip on designated trails
- Keep trails designated for bikers
- Trails shoudl be mantained to avoid erosion
- If the place has high demand, trails should be rotated, to allow nature to heal.
Ecuador being the second smallest country in South America, offers a remarkable array of options for the culturally curious or adventure-seeking traveler. While most visitors come to Ecuador to cruise around the Galapagos Islands, the rest of the country offers spectacular Andean trekking, white sand beaches, Amazon rain forests and glimpses into indigenous cultures, visit a amazing city, the capital Quito, Cuenca, increble beaches in Manabi . When you’re traveling in Ecuador, it is important to have patience, flexibility and a sense of humor, as well as to be attentive to safety, in order to enjoy the country’s scenery and culture. Here some simple things to remember when visiting this country.
Step number 1
Experience Ecuador’s diverse regions. During your trip, you can visit the Amazon basin in the Eastern region visit the Yasuni ITT, trek in the Andes at Cotopaxi National Park, shop at the markets in the highlands near Otavalo, Cayambe, learn to surf on the coast at Montanita, Puerto Lopez, Machalilla and of course you need to visit the Galapagos Islands.
Step number 2
Book are alwasy a great help when you are traveling, get a guidebook. There are some like the Lonely Planet, have practical travel information, particularly if your Spanish is uncertain or rusty. For Ecuador, where tourist information can be scarce, the “Getting There and Away” section on each city is extremely useful. Consulting these sections will give you a basic understanding of connections and prices for buses, taxis, domestic flies to and from other popular destinations.
Step number 3
It is a good idea to have some basic understanding of Spanish. Although many tourist establishments have English-speaking staff. In other hand taxi drivers, bus drivers, and the mayority of Ecuadorian citizens often speak only Spanish or limited english. If you are planning to be there for several weeks, try to take Spanish lessons in Ecuador; there are many spanish school for one on one private lessons for about $4 to $6 per hour.
Step number 4
Build flexibility into your plans. Ecuador like other countries in the region of South America are a bit more flexible on their schedule, which means activities may or may not happen on time; this could include of bus schedules. Be prepared sometimes to be 1 hour off schedule.
Step number 5
Use flights for long-haul trips and buses for shorter journeys. Most of the transportation in Ecuador is done on buses that do not have bathrooms or air conditioning. It is adviced to take buses for the mayority of your traveling in Ecuador, for longer trips, for example Quito to Guayaquil, Quito to Cuenca, buy an airline ticket, you can find very cheap flights on local airlines.
Step number 6
Learn about taxi fares. You could avoid being overcharged, just by asking your hotel staff about the standard rates. Before getting into a taxi, agree on a price with the driver, or you have to make sure the driver is using taximeter.
Step number 7
Find newer accommodations online. As Ecuador’s popularity is growing, newer hotels, hostals, Bed and Breakfast are being opened, so please use the internet to find great deals. Finally, in Ecuador “motels” are mostly used for romantic encouters, not for long staying.
Step number 8
Practice travel safety at all times. Even though the recent government is making big efforts to decrease poverty, you still need to be carefull. When sightseeing, go with minimal amount of cash. Place credit cards, passport, and other important items locked in your hotel’s safe, particularly in Quito or Guayaquil that are the largests cities. Keep a firm hold on your camera, and loop the strap around your wrist when taking photos. On buses try to keep your purse, bad, backpack in front of you, so you can hold it safely with your arms and try to sit by the window to ensure a disembarking passenger does not walk off with your luggage. On the bus, never place things in the racks above the seats, where they become an easy target for theft; instead, have your small bags in your lap all the time. Female travelers, especially those with blond hair, should be prepared for extra attention; guys are like in Italy and they will make comments of you at the street, so the best way to deal with unwanted comments is to ignore them.
Enjoy your travel
Ecuador is one the best touristic destinations, for several activities. Tourists that love adventure, nature, lovely cities and people, Ecuador is the place to go. Ecuador provides several activities from visiting Quito the capital of Ecuador declared World Heritage by the UNESCO, you can also visit the Islas Galápagos, Cuenca considered 2009, 2010, 2011 top 10 cities for retiring, the beaches of Ecuador are beautidul, the Amazonía and its biodiversity, that recently has proposed and exemplary project to keep oil under ground and avoid CO2 pollution, this project is named Yasuní – ITT, the Andes have several mountains, volcanoes, for those that love hiking, trekking, biking, rock and ice climbing. Some famous mountains are Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Cayambe, Illinizas.
Visit Ecuador
Islas Galápagos- Islas Galápagos tiene el Primer Transporte Marítimo Eléctrico Solar “Catamarán”El Catamarán: El Instituto Nacional de Eficiencia Energética y Energías Renovables (INER), entregará al Gobierno Autónomo Descentralizado Municipal de las Islas Galápagos el primer sistema de transporte de pasajeros marítimo de motores eléctricos alimentados por energía solar. Este un sistema para continuar con el cambio de la matriz energética que viene implementando el gobierno de […]
- The Galapagos Islands have the most Hummer Sharks in the worldThe Galápagos Islands have the most number of Hummer Sharks in the world, primarily around the Darwin and Wolf islands. Wolf Island also know as Wenman Island, named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf, it has an area of 1.3 Km2 and an altitude of 253 metros. This is a remote island separated […]
- Islas Galápagos tiene el Primer Transporte Marítimo Eléctrico Solar “Catamarán”
