Cloudforest, Coast & Craters Guided Motorcycle Tour

The Cloudforest, Coast & Craters Guided Motorcycle Tour is a seven-day guided motorcycle journey for riders who want to experience a broad cross-section of Ecuador while getting a genuine taste of dual-sport adventure riding. The route combines excellent paved roads with approachable unpaved backroads, carrying you from the Andes through cloudforest to the Pacific coast and back into volcanic highlands.

This tour is designed for confident road riders who are curious about off-road riding but do not consider themselves experts. The dirt sections are carefully selected to be manageable, confidence-building, and enjoyable, while still including loose surfaces, mud, ruts, cobblestone, and occasional water crossings. There will be moments that demand concentration and stamina, and some riders may consider the week an endurance test, but the challenge remains reasonable and well supported.

The pace is steady rather than aggressive. This is not a race or a technical enduro tour. The goal is to provide enough challenge to make the ride feel earned while leaving time to stop, explore, take photographs, meet local people, and appreciate the country around you.

Experienced guides manage the terrain, weather, logistics, and group pace so riders can focus on developing confidence and enjoying the journey. The tour is ideal for those who want real adventure riding, substantial variety, and a sense of accomplishment without spending the entire week fighting highly technical terrain.

Day 1

Quito – Intiñan – Mindo

Before the motorcycles leave Quito, the day begins with a detailed pre-ride briefing at Ecuador Freedom’s headquarters in the La Carolina neighborhood. Your guide explains Ecuadorian road customs, local driving habits, group-riding procedures, hand signals, spacing, passing etiquette, and how to recognize the intentions of buses, taxis, trucks, and other road users. The purpose is to remove uncertainty before the ride begins, allowing the group to move confidently and predictably from the first mile.

Quito sits at approximately 9,350 feet / 2,850 meters, surrounded by volcanic ridges and the sharp light of the high Andes. Your guide leads the group smoothly through the first section of city traffic, establishing a comfortable pace while everyone becomes familiar with the motorcycles. The opening miles are intentionally manageable, giving you time to settle into Ecuador’s rhythm before the road begins descending toward the western slopes of the Andes.

The first stop is the Intiñan Solar Museum, located directly on the Equator. Intiñan means “Path of the Sun,” and the exhibits introduce the relationship between latitude, solar movement, Indigenous knowledge, and the dramatically different ecosystems found across Ecuador. There are also balance experiments and demonstrations traditionally associated with the Equator, but the stop offers more than a photograph on a painted line. It provides useful context for the remarkable geographic changes the tour will cross over the coming week.

A short ride away, the route reaches an overlook above the Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve. Farms, homes, and narrow roads occupy the floor of this enormous volcanic caldera, creating one of the most unusual inhabited landscapes in Ecuador. Your guide explains the formation of the crater, the fertility of its volcanic soil, and how local families continue to farm within its steep walls.

From Pululahua, the road begins dropping away from the Andean plateau. The temperature rises gradually, the vegetation thickens, and the dry highland air is replaced by the smell of wet leaves, orchids, citrus trees, and rich soil. The pavement twists down the mountainside through a steady sequence of bends, with mist settling beneath the trees and small waterfalls appearing beside the road.

This first day establishes the rhythm of the entire tour. The riding is engaging but unhurried, giving you time to become comfortable with the motorcycle while noticing how rapidly the country changes around you. Your guide points out surface changes, damp corners, and areas where mist can make the pavement slick, keeping the group moving smoothly without rushing through one of Ecuador’s most beautiful riding environments.

Lunch is served in a garden surrounded by cloudforest, where hummingbirds and brightly colored tanagers move between flowers and feeders. The sound of running water and bird calls replaces the traffic of Quito, and the cooler highland morning already feels far away. It is the first of many moments on this tour when stopping becomes as important as the riding itself.

After lunch, the route continues deeper into the Chocó-Andino cloudforest. The road follows clear streams, passes small waterfalls, and winds beneath a dense canopy where the light becomes softer and the forest seems to close around the motorcycles. Mist can drift across the road without warning, briefly hiding the next bend before lifting again. These changing conditions require attention, but the pace leaves enough room to enjoy the scenery instead of simply concentrating on the pavement ahead.

By mid-afternoon, the group reaches Mindo, a small cloudforest town known for birdlife, cacao, coffee, waterfalls, and outdoor adventure. A visit to a local bean-to-bar chocolate workshop reveals how Ecuador’s fine-flavor cacao is fermented, dried, roasted, ground, and transformed into chocolate. The tasting is enjoyable, but the real value lies in understanding the patience, skill, and agricultural knowledge behind one of Ecuador’s most celebrated products.

The day ends at Septimo Paraiso, a comfortable country lodge surrounded by private cloudforest reserve. Timber buildings, garden paths, and broad windows allow the forest to remain part of the experience even after the motorcycles are parked. It is a relaxed, biker-friendly place where wet gear can dry, tired muscles can recover, and the first day’s impressions begin turning into stories.

The lodge has a heated pool, jacuzzi, spring-fed swimming pool, comfortable common areas, and a billiards room. Dinner is generous and home-style, served in a setting where the forest remains close enough to hear. As night settles over Mindo, frogs, insects, and distant birds replace the sound of engines, closing a day that began high in the capital and ended deep in one of the most biologically rich cloudforests on Earth.

Day 2

Mindo – Laguna Azul – Pedernales – Jama – Canoa

Day Two begins beneath the damp canopy of Mindo, where the cloudforest is still shining from the night’s mist. The road climbs briefly before turning west and beginning a long descent from the Andes toward the Pacific lowlands. Corners gradually open, temperatures rise, and the smell of wet leaves gives way to sun-warmed earth, coffee plants, cacao trees, and tropical flowers.

This is a day of constant transition. The morning begins in cool mountain air, but each drop in elevation brings warmer temperatures and broader views. Smooth pavement flows through the forest, interrupted by quieter backroads and short unpaved sections that introduce another layer of adventure without becoming highly technical. The pace remains steady, allowing riders to settle into the changing surfaces while still noticing the landscape around them.

One of the morning’s highlights begins away from the motorcycles. A short walk leads through dense vegetation toward Laguna Azul, where a waterfall drops into a clear blue-green pool surrounded by forest. The air is warm and heavy with moisture, dragonflies skim the surface, and the sound of falling water grows louder with every step.

The pool is cold enough to be refreshing but inviting enough that most riders do not need much encouragement. A swim beneath the waterfall clears away the heat and stiffness of the morning ride, leaving everyone alert and ready for the miles ahead. It is an uncomplicated pleasure: boots off, helmets set aside, and a few minutes spent in clean mountain water before returning to the motorcycles.

The route continues across a narrow suspension bridge toward a small riverside retreat surrounded by rainforest. Crossing requires balance and concentration, but it is manageable and becomes one of those moments riders are still talking about over lunch. On the other side, the group settles in near the river for a relaxed meal accompanied by birds, rushing water, and the constant background noise of the forest.

Farther west, the cloudforest begins opening into tropical farmland. Around La Concordia, trucks, farm equipment, roadside stands, and trading activity reflect the working character of the region. Beyond town, cattle pastures and ranches begin to dominate the scenery, marking the transition into the world of Ecuador’s Montubio culture.

The Montubios are the horsemen and farmers of coastal Ecuador, known for their agricultural traditions, rodeos, music, leatherwork, and close relationship with the land. Saddled horses stand beneath shade trees, handmade tack hangs from verandas, and families move between farms and small towns as part of an everyday routine that has changed little over generations. Riding through this country provides a direct look at rural coastal life rather than a performance arranged for visitors.

The Pacific announces itself gradually through salty air, seabirds, and a widening horizon before the route reaches Pedernales. The town is busy and unpolished, with fishing boats along the shore, seafood markets spilling toward the street, and the smell of salt, diesel, and the day’s catch hanging in the warm air.

South of town, the highway follows raised causeways between broad shrimp ponds. The flat water reflects the sky while frigatebirds and herons circle overhead, and the riding becomes open and relaxed after the tighter roads of the morning. Short sandy tracks occasionally lead toward the ocean, adding a manageable taste of coastal off-road riding and the possibility of another swim before continuing south.

The afternoon route links small fishing communities where nets dry on fences, wooden boats rest above the tide line, and children gather around football games in the street. Around Jama, the road follows the shape of the coastline as hills rise inland and the Pacific remains close enough to smell.

The light softens as the day progresses, turning the water silver and gold while warm coastal wind moves across the motorcycle. The riding here is less demanding, giving the group time to relax after the mixed surfaces and rainforest stops earlier in the day. It is a satisfying final stretch, with enough curves to remain engaging and enough open views to let the scale of the coast sink in.

The day ends in Canoa, a relaxed fishing and surfing village stretched along one of Ecuador’s longest beaches. Fishing boats share the shoreline with surfboards, hammocks sway beneath palms, and paragliders sometimes drift above the cliffs when the afternoon wind cooperates.

Tonight’s stay is at Canoa Suites, located directly beside the beach but far enough from the center of town to remain peaceful at night. Motorcycles are parked, riding gear gives way to sandals, and the Pacific becomes the backdrop for the evening.

The hotel’s tropical gardens, beach hammocks, outdoor restaurant, and beachfront firepit create an easy place to recover after a full day. Dinner features fresh coastal ingredients served within earshot of the surf, and the evening can be as social or as quiet as you choose. After beginning the morning in the cool cloudforest, ending it barefoot beside the warm Pacific makes the distance covered feel much greater than the mileage suggests.

Day 3

Canoa – Bahía de Caráquez – Quevedo

The morning begins beside the Pacific, with time for one last swim in Canoa before breakfast and departure. The route heads south along the Ruta del Spondylus, passing fishing communities, small farms, and broad coastal views before crossing the estuary toward Bahía de Caráquez. Mangroves spread across the water, wooden skiffs rest at anchor, and the green outline of Isla Corazón rises from the tidal channels of the Chone River.

The pavement is relaxed and flowing at first, allowing everyone to settle back into the motorcycles after the previous day’s descent from cloudforest to coast. As the route turns inland, the salty Pacific air begins to fade and the landscape changes to low hills, cattle country, and working agricultural communities.

The ride passes through Chone, a busy regional town known for its strong local identity and hearty Manabí cooking. Street vendors sell warm pan de yuca, a chewy bread made from cassava starch and cheese that makes an excellent roadside snack. Riders who want to try something more traditional may also find morcilla, a rich blood sausage prepared with pork blood, rice, onions, herbs, and spices, commonly grilled or fried and served with ripe plantain. It is deeply savory, filling, and closely associated with Ecuador’s rural cooking traditions.

After leaving Chone, the pavement ends and the character of the day changes completely. The route continues on remote, unpaved backroads through fruit farms, cattle ranches, and low coastal hills. Natural dirt, loose stone, shallow ruts, changing traction, and occasional stream crossings provide a genuine taste of adventure riding without turning the day into a highly technical off-road test.

These roads require attention and a steady throttle, but the pace allows riders to read the surface, select sensible lines, and enjoy the countryside. Children wave from roadside homes, farmers look up from their fields, and towering ceibo trees rise above the pastures, their pale trunks and wide branches creating the unmistakable skyline of coastal Ecuador.

The group gradually settles into the comfortable rhythm that makes rural riding so rewarding. There is almost no traffic and little reason to hurry. The road climbs and descends through isolated farms and communities that most international visitors would never know existed, with broad views appearing unexpectedly between the hills.

Before reaching the reservoir and its floating bridge, the group stops for one of the most personal experiences of the tour: lunch with a local farming family who prepares traditional chicken tonga. Tonga is a complete meal of rice, seasoned chicken, plantain, peanuts, and other regional ingredients wrapped tightly inside banana leaves and slowly steamed until the flavors and aromas blend together.

This is a special treat because tonga is not ordinarily restaurant food. It comes from the farming culture of Manabí and was traditionally prepared for agricultural workers spending long days far from home. Families wrapped the meal in banana leaves because the leaves protected the food, kept it warm, and made it easy to carry into the fields without plates or containers. It remains closely connected to farmers, ranch workers, family gatherings, and rural celebrations.

When the banana leaves are unfolded, a cloud of warm, fragrant steam rises from the rice and chicken. The leaves contribute their own subtle, earthy aroma while holding in the juices and seasonings. Sharing tonga with the family who prepared it gives riders something far more meaningful than a convenient lunch stop: a direct experience of Manabí hospitality and a meal rooted in the working life of the countryside.

This is one of the moments that defines the Cloudforest, Coast & Craters Tour. There is time to sit down, practice a little Spanish, learn about the family and their farm, and understand something about the people behind the landscape. Ecuador stops feeling like a backdrop and becomes personal.

After lunch, the unpaved route continues toward the calm waters of the Santa Teresa reservoir. A narrow floating bridge carries the motorcycles across the water, requiring smooth throttle control, balance, and a little concentration. The crossing appears dramatic from the shore, but the steady pace and guidance of the tour leaders make it an approachable and memorable part of the day.

Herons and kingfishers wait among the reeds while the surrounding hills reflect across the still surface. In this quiet corner of the country, water, forest, and dirt roads come together, creating a setting that feels far removed from Ecuador’s major highways and cities.

The journey also includes a crossing aboard a small local ferry. The motorcycles are rolled onto the simple platform for an unhurried passage across the reservoir, giving everyone several peaceful minutes to look across the green slopes and mirror-flat water before disembarking near Puerto Mono.

From Puerto Mono, the route enters a remarkable tobacco-growing region. Many of the original growers were Cuban tobacco farmers who escaped Fidel Castro’s Cuba carrying some of their finest seeds and generations of cultivation knowledge. They discovered that this part of Ecuador offered many of the same qualities they had left behind: rich soil, warm temperatures, carefully balanced humidity, and a climate well suited to growing premium tobacco.

Those farms helped establish an industry that now produces some of the finest tobacco used for premium cigars anywhere in the world. The broad, carefully tended leaves grown here are especially valued for cigar wrappers, which must be smooth, elastic, evenly colored, and nearly flawless. Riding past the tobacco fields adds another unexpected layer to the day and reveals how international history became rooted in this quiet part of rural Ecuador.

As the route approaches Quevedo, the countryside begins to change again. Tobacco farms give way to banana plantations, cacao groves, tropical fruit farms, packing houses, and an increasing number of trucks carrying agricultural products toward national and international markets.

Quevedo is one of Ecuador’s major agricultural and commercial crossroads. Bananas, cacao, fruit, sauces, and other products move through its warehouses and distribution centers on their way around the country and overseas. The city is busy, noisy, and unmistakably productive—a sharp contrast to the quiet dirt roads, family farms, reservoir crossings, and tobacco fields earlier in the day.

The night’s base is the Hotel Olímpico, a convenient and welcoming place to recover before the route turns back toward the Andes. Spacious rooms, a large swimming pool, water slides, and high-diving platforms provide an easy way to cool down after a warm and varied day in riding gear.

Dinner is served at one of Quevedo’s traditional chifas, Ecuadorian-Chinese restaurants that combine Cantonese cooking methods with fresh coastal and Andean ingredients. Large round tables with Lazy Susans encourage the entire group to share a generous selection of dishes.

Roast duck, fresh prawns, shrimp, crisp vegetables, noodles, rice, ginger, tamarind, pineapple, and local peppers move around the table as everyone reaches for the next plate. The atmosphere is informal and lively, exactly right after a full day of unpaved roads, stream crossings, family hospitality, floating bridges, ferries, and agricultural country.

Day 4

Quevedo – El Corazón – Facundo Vela – Salinas de Guaranda

Day 4 is one of the tour’s defining rides: a complete climb from Ecuador’s warm tropical lowlands into the high Andes. The day begins in Quevedo, where humid air hangs over banana plantations, cacao groves, and palm farms. The opening pavement is relaxed, giving everyone time to settle into the motorcycles before the terrain begins folding upward toward the western slopes of the Andes.

As elevation increases, the heat gradually softens and the road becomes more engaging. Agricultural plains give way to steep foothills, green river valleys, and roads that follow the contours of the mountains. By the end of the day, the route will have climbed from the tropical lowlands to elevations above 13,000 feet.

In El Corazón, the group stops at a small artisanal aguardiente distillery, where freshly harvested sugar cane is crushed, fermented, and distilled into Ecuador’s traditional cane spirit. Steam rises from the simple equipment while the sweet smell of molasses and fermented cane fills the air. Aguardiente remains closely connected to rural life, family celebrations, religious festivals, and community fiestas throughout Ecuador.

Nearby, a local family produces traditional panela, an unrefined cane sugar made by boiling fresh sugar cane juice in large pans over a wood fire. As the juice reduces, the building fills with warm steam and a sweet, smoky aroma. The thick syrup is eventually poured into molds and allowed to harden into golden-brown blocks.

Panela is used throughout rural Ecuador. It is dissolved in hot water to make agua de panela, stirred into coffee, added to sauces and desserts, and carried by farmers as a quick source of energy during long working days. Watching it being made reveals how closely the food, agriculture, and traditions of this region remain connected.

Lunch in the town plaza provides time to rest before the more demanding riding begins. Your guide reviews the upcoming surface changes, the gradual increase in altitude, and the best way to manage traction and momentum during the climb.

Leaving El Corazón, the pavement ends and the route begins climbing on natural dirt roads through the western cloudforest. The road narrows beneath moss-covered trees, orchids, bromeliads, and dense mountain vegetation. Small streams cross the slopes, mist gathers beneath the canopy, and occasional openings reveal deep green valleys falling away below.

This section requires smooth throttle control, relaxed body positioning, and steady lines rather than speed. Conditions can include loose surfaces, shallow ruts, damp soil, and muddy patches depending on recent weather. The riding is challenging enough to demand concentration, but the pace remains reasonable and allows time to appreciate the dramatic transition from tropical farmland into cool mountain forest.

The route eventually reaches the small highland community of Facundo Vela. Horses remain common transportation here, farms are worked by hand, and daily life continues at a pace far removed from Ecuador’s larger cities.

In Facundo Vela, the group visits a local school through Ecuador Freedom’s Ride for a Purpose program. Riders deliver school supplies, sports equipment, and educational materials directly to the children and teachers. Rather than leaving anonymous donations behind, participants meet the students and see exactly where the supplies will be used. For many riders, this personal connection becomes one of the most meaningful moments of the tour.

The nuns who help operate the school also make a distinctive jam from chamburo, a high-Andean relative of papaya. The fruit is smaller and more aromatic than tropical papaya, with a bright flavor that suggests citrus, pineapple, passionfruit, and green apple. It grows in cool mountain valleys and is delicate once harvested, which means it is rarely transported far from the communities where it is cultivated.

As a result, chamburo jam is difficult to find in stores or tourist markets. The jars produced here are a genuine local specialty, and the group usually purchases several to help support the school. The jam is delicious, but the story behind it—and the direct benefit to the students—makes it an especially worthwhile souvenir.

Beyond Facundo Vela, the route begins one of the most memorable riding sections of the week. A succession of tight cobblestone switchbacks climbs through fragrant pine forests, potato fields, grazing land, and scattered highland farms. The stones demand attention and steady momentum, while every turn gains elevation and opens wider views across the valleys below.

The forest gradually thins as the road enters open páramo. Sheep, oxen teams, and occasional llamas appear along the slopes, while farmers work small plots in bright shawls and felt hats. The route reaches a high saddle at approximately 13,400 feet / 4,085 meters, where the air is thin, the light is sharp, and the folded ridgelines of the Andes stretch toward the horizon.

This is one of those places where stopping becomes part of the ride. After beginning the morning in tropical heat, the cold wind and immense mountain views make the day’s change in altitude feel almost impossible.

The final section descends slightly into Salinas de Guaranda, situated at approximately 11,800 feet / 3,600 meters. The town is one of Ecuador’s most remarkable examples of community-led development. Beginning in the 1970s, local residents created a network of cooperatives that transformed a remote mountain village into a respected producer of cheeses, chocolate, cured meats, mushrooms, wool products, and other artisan goods.

These businesses remain closely connected to the community, providing employment for local families and allowing younger generations to build a future without leaving the village. Narrow streets, small stone buildings, cool alpine air, and surrounding farmland give Salinas a distinctive mountain character.

The night’s accommodation is Cachi Yacu, a warm and welcoming lodge well suited to riders. A large fireplace anchors the common room and quickly becomes the gathering point after a day spent climbing from the lowlands. Rooms overlook the tiled roofs and surrounding hills, while dinner features regional cheeses, mushrooms, and filling Andean dishes made with local ingredients.

Day 5

Salinas de Guaranda – Chimborazo – Riobamba – Baños

Day 5 begins in the clear, cold air of Salinas de Guaranda, where stone buildings, tile roofs, and cooperative workshops sit high in the Andes. Before returning to the motorcycles, there is time to explore the town and understand how this once-isolated community built one of Ecuador’s most successful rural economies.

Beginning in the 1970s, local families formed cooperatives to process the milk, wool, cacao, mushrooms, and other products grown or raised in the surrounding mountains. Rather than selling raw materials for little profit, the community began making finished products whose value remained in Salinas. Today, the town is internationally known for its cheeses, chocolate, cured meats, wool clothing, soccer balls, essential oils, and other goods sold under the El Salinerito name.

Visits may include the cheese factory, where large wheels mature in cool cellars; the wool mill and women’s knitting cooperative; the chocolate workshop; the soccer-ball factory; and the rooms where hams and sausages cure in the dry mountain air. Each enterprise supports local families and demonstrates how shared ownership allowed the community to create employment without surrendering control of its resources.

Salinas is impressive because the cooperative movement is woven into everyday life. The factories are modest, practical places rather than staged visitor attractions, and many of the people working inside are producing goods from materials raised within the surrounding valleys. Seeing the system at work provides useful context before the ride crosses the same highland farming country that supports it.

Leaving Salinas, the motorcycles climb onto remote dirt roads that cross some of Ecuador’s highest inhabited countryside. The route moves through small farming communities, windswept grasslands, and broad páramo where the horizon seems to expand with every kilometer. The terrain calls for steady momentum and careful line selection, but the pace allows everyone to ride comfortably while absorbing the scale of the landscape.

Along the way, the group visits a small rural school through Ecuador Freedom’s Ride for a Purpose program. School supplies and sports equipment are handed directly to the students and teachers who will use them. The stop offers time to meet the children, see the conditions in which they study, and make a practical contribution to a community far beyond the usual visitor routes.

From the school, the route continues across open high country toward Chimborazo. The mountain rises to 6,263 meters / 20,548 feet, dominating the skyline long before the road enters the wildlife reserve. Known locally as Taita Chimborazo—Father Chimborazo—it has shaped the weather, water, agriculture, and spiritual traditions of the surrounding highlands for centuries.

Inside the Chimborazo Wildlife Reserve, wild vicuñas graze beside the road in small herds. These delicate relatives of the llama were once nearly hunted to extinction, but they now thrive again under protection. Their fine wool is among the most valuable natural fibers in the world, although the animals living here remain wild and undisturbed.

The route remains near 14,500 feet / 4,350 meters as it crosses the exposed slopes beneath the volcano. The air is thin, the wind can be sharp, and the weather may change quickly from clear sunshine to mist, hail, or snow. Warm gloves and an extra layer are essential, but there is no reason to hurry. Stops allow everyone to catch their breath, watch the vicuñas, and take in uninterrupted views of ash-colored slopes, old lava formations, and distant blue ridgelines.

This high-altitude section is one of the defining rides of the tour. The roads are remote, the landscape feels immense, and the motorcycle provides access to places that would otherwise require hours of difficult travel. After several days of cloudforest, coast, farms, and tropical heat, the stark volcanic terrain around Chimborazo feels like another country entirely.

The descent brings warmer air and eventually reaches Riobamba, a historic highland city with broad streets, churches, markets, and long views back toward Chimborazo. Lunch features the filling food of the central Andes, including hornado riobambeño—slow-roasted pork served with mote, salad, and llapingachos, golden potato patties cooked until crisp outside and soft within.

From Riobamba, the road turns east and follows the Chambo River through wide agricultural valleys. After the concentration required on the high dirt roads, the pavement feels smooth and relaxed. Long curves carry the group past fields, villages, and river views while the dark cone of Tungurahua Volcano gradually appears ahead.

The temperature continues to rise as the route descends. Dry páramo gives way to greener slopes, canyon walls, orchards, and waterfalls, completing another dramatic change in climate within a single riding day.

The day ends in Baños de Agua Santa, a lively mountain town beneath the active Tungurahua Volcano. Waterfalls pour from the canyon walls, cafés and restaurants fill the compact center, and naturally heated volcanic baths have drawn travelers and pilgrims here for generations.

A soak in the thermal pools is especially welcome after the cold, thin air and rough surfaces around Chimborazo. Hot mineral water loosens tired muscles while the cooler evening air settles into the valley. Afterward, the town is easily explored on foot, with bakeries, artisan shops, restaurants, and the central church all within a few blocks.

The night’s accommodation is the welcoming Posada del Arte, a colorful, rider-friendly hotel near the thermal baths and central plaza. Ecuadorian artwork fills the rooms and common areas, the showers are hot and powerful, and the restaurant is well known for generous breakfasts and hearty meals. After a day that began among cooperative workshops and climbed across the flanks of Chimborazo, it provides a comfortable place to settle in and let the scale of the ride sink in.

Day 6

Baños – Patate – Salcedo – Pujilí – Quilotoa Crater Lake – Chugchilán

Day 6 begins with a hard climb out of Baños. Tight, well-banked switchbacks rise quickly above the valley, carrying the motorcycles away from the waterfalls and warm canyon air. The temperature drops as the road gains elevation, and broad views open back toward Baños and the steep green walls surrounding it.

This opening section sets the tone for the day: sustained climbing, changing surfaces, highland towns, and some of the most satisfying roads on the tour. Your guide establishes a steady pace through the switchbacks, allowing the group to enjoy the rhythm of the corners without feeling rushed.

The route continues toward Patate, a fertile valley known for orchards, vineyards, and mild mountain weather. The central plaza offers an easy place to stop for coffee and espumilla, a light fruit meringue commonly served in flavors such as passionfruit, guava, grapefruit, or grenadilla. It looks like soft-serve ice cream but has a lighter, airy texture and the bright flavor of fresh fruit.

Patate is also one of Ecuador’s small wine-producing regions. Local vineyards take advantage of the valley’s sunny days, cool nights, and volcanic soils, producing wines that are rarely found outside the country. Riders who want a reminder of the valley can pick up a bottle before continuing north.

Leaving Patate, the route avoids the busiest sections of the Pan-American Highway and follows quieter northern backroads through farmland and small communities. Smooth pavement runs along ridges before narrowing into older rural lanes where changes in camber, surface, and elevation keep the riding engaging.

In Salcedo, the group stops for the town’s famous layered fruit ice creams. Each brightly colored section is made from a different local fruit, often including blackberry, passionfruit, coconut, naranjilla, taxo, or mango. Cold, sharp, and refreshing, they make a welcome break before the road begins climbing again.

Beyond Salcedo, the pavement gives way to an old cobblestone road that climbs through broccoli fields, dairy farms, and highland communities toward Pujilí. The stones are generally well set, but the surface demands relaxed arms, steady momentum, and smooth inputs. It is a physical, tactile section of riding that feels very different from the flowing pavement earlier in the morning.

The climb is challenging enough to require concentration, but it remains approachable and rewarding. Your guide helps the group establish the right pace and spacing so each rider can find a comfortable line while enjoying the surrounding farmland and broad views across the central Andes.

In Pujilí, the route reaches one of the region’s important Indigenous market towns. Depending on the day, vendors spread through streets, courtyards, and plazas selling grains, vegetables, tools, clothing, household items, woven belts, and textiles used in everyday life. The market serves the surrounding rural communities and remains focused on practical goods rather than souvenirs arranged solely for visitors.

Your guide provides context for the clothing, products, and traditions visible in the market and helps the group move through it respectfully. This is another opportunity to step away from the motorcycles and better understand the working life of the highlands.

Higher in the mountains, the route reaches Tigua, known throughout Ecuador for its distinctive folk art. Local families paint bright scenes of Andean life, mythology, farming, festivals, volcanoes, and condors on stretched sheepskin. The style developed from traditional painted drums and has grown into one of Ecuador’s most recognizable regional art forms.

The workshops also produce hand-carved and painted masks representing animals, village characters, mythical figures, and local dogs. Pieces range from small works that fit easily into luggage to larger paintings and masks. If a purchase is too awkward to carry safely, Ecuador Freedom can arrange for it to be transported back to the Quito office.

Beyond Zumbahua, the road climbs across open pampa toward Quilotoa Crater Lake. Wind sweeps across the high plateau, llamas and sheep graze beside the road, and the immense volcanic caldera gradually appears ahead.

Quilotoa was formed by a powerful eruption roughly 800 years ago. The crater is now filled by a mineral-rich lake whose color shifts between deep blue, green, and turquoise as sunlight and clouds move across the water. Standing at the rim at nearly 12,800 feet / 3,900 meters, the scale of the caldera is difficult to absorb all at once.

There is no need to rush this stop. The motorcycles cool beside the road while the group walks to the viewpoints, takes photographs, and watches the weather move across the crater. The thin air, strong wind, and enormous silence give Quilotoa a presence that photographs never fully capture.

From the crater rim, the route descends toward Chugchilán through a mixture of paved mountain road, natural dirt, and narrow rural lanes. Stone walls divide patchwork fields while steep valleys drop away beneath the route. Surface conditions can vary with weather and maintenance, rewarding controlled speed and clean line selection rather than aggressive riding.

This final section captures the character of the tour particularly well. It is challenging enough to remain engaging, but the pace allows time to stop, regroup, and enjoy the scale of the Andean landscape. By late afternoon, the cold wind around Quilotoa gives way to the quieter atmosphere of Chugchilán.

The night’s accommodation is Mama Hilda’s, a long-established mountain inn built into the hillside above the village. Timber buildings, garden paths, warm common rooms, and wood-burning stoves create the kind of comfort that feels especially welcome after a full day at altitude.

Dinner is served family-style, with steaming pots of soup, local vegetables, grains, meat, and other straightforward highland dishes placed on the table for everyone to share. The dining room naturally becomes the gathering point for the evening as riders compare the cobblestone climb, the colors of Quilotoa, and the day’s most memorable sections of road.

Day 7

Chugchilán – Isinliví – Saquisilí – Machachi – Quito

The final day begins in the cold, clear air of Chugchilán, with stone walls, potato fields, grazing sheep, and steep Andean valleys surrounding the road. The route quickly leaves the village behind and returns to the kind of riding that has defined the week: natural dirt roads, tight switchbacks, changing elevation, and broad views across country few visitors ever reach.

The early miles require attention but reward smooth inputs and a steady pace. Rural tracks wind between farms and isolated homes, climbing and descending along the contours of the mountains. By now, the motorcycles feel familiar, the group has found its rhythm, and the dirt that may have seemed intimidating earlier in the week has become another part of the journey.

In Isinliví, the group visits a vocational woodworking school operated by the Salesian Order. Inspired by Don Bosco’s belief that education and practical skills can transform lives, the workshop teaches students how to design, measure, cut, join, and finish furniture using responsibly sourced local wood.

The smell of fresh timber and sawdust fills the room while students work with hand tools, measuring squares, planes, and modern equipment. The skills learned here provide young people with a practical trade and a way to build a future within their own communities rather than feeling forced to leave for larger cities. The visit offers another example of how education, craftsmanship, and local opportunity remain closely connected in Ecuador’s rural highlands.

Beyond Isinliví, the route climbs toward an old ridge-top pucará. These elevated strongholds and lookout points were positioned to control movement through the valleys, protect important routes, and communicate across long distances. From the ridge, the geography of the region becomes easier to understand: deep ravines, terraced fields, narrow passes, and ancient travel corridors connecting the highlands with lower valleys.

The stop is brief, but the view gives context to the roads the group has been riding. Long before motorcycles, these same ridges carried traders moving salt, wool, cacao, food, and news between different regions of the Andes.

The road then rises toward Guingapana Pass, reaching approximately 13,500 feet / 4,115 meters. Páramo grass bends in the cold wind, large rocks crowd the roadside, and the vegetation becomes sparse as the route approaches the highest point of the day.

Travelers have long built small stone piles known as apachetas along these high passes. The tradition predates the Spanish and reflects respect for the mountains and a request for safe passage. Adding a stone is a simple gesture, but in this exposed landscape it connects the ride to generations of people who crossed the same high country on foot and horseback.

From the pass, the Avenue of Volcanoes spreads across the horizon. On a clear day, the view can include Cotopaxi, the twin Illinizas, Rumiñahui, Corazón, Sincholagua, and other peaks rising above the central valley. Your guide selects safe places to stop, allowing everyone time to take photographs, warm cold hands, and absorb one of the widest mountain panoramas of the tour.

Descending from the pass, the route enters one of Ecuador’s most important flower-growing regions. Long greenhouse roofs cover the farmland, protecting rows of roses grown under the intense sunlight and cool temperatures of the Equator.

Ecuadorian roses are known worldwide for their unusually long stems, vivid colors, large blooms, and durability. A plantation visit reveals the careful process behind them, from planting and pruning to harvesting, grading, hydration, packaging, and shipment through an uninterrupted cold chain. The scale and precision of the operation provide a striking contrast to the rough páramo roads crossed earlier in the day.

Lunch is served at Hacienda La Ciénega, a historic seventeenth-century estate reached through an avenue of enormous eucalyptus trees. Thick walls, quiet courtyards, antique furnishings, and a small chapel preserve the atmosphere of another era.

The hacienda has hosted explorers, politicians, scientists, and travelers for centuries. Alexander von Humboldt stayed here while studying Ecuador’s volcanoes, and on clear days Cotopaxi remains visible from the gardens. Traditional highland food, warm interiors, and the depth of history make this far more than a convenient lunch stop.

After lunch, the final riding section follows the central valley through Lasso and Machachi. The road is smoother and more open now, allowing the group to relax into long curves while volcanoes appear and disappear behind afternoon clouds.

Fields, dairy farms, small towns, and greenhouse complexes pass beneath the high peaks as the route turns north toward Quito. It is an easier final stretch after the dirt roads and high pass of the morning, but the scenery continues delivering reminders of just how much ground the tour has covered.

The guide leads the group through the capital with local knowledge of traffic, intersections, and the most direct route back to Ecuador Freedom’s headquarters. Motorcycles return to the shop, side stands come down, and seven days of cloudforest, coast, tropical farms, highland dirt, crater lakes, cobblestones, and volcanoes are finally connected into one complete journey.

The finish brings a genuine sense of accomplishment. The tour has asked for concentration, stamina, and a willingness to adapt, but it has also left time to swim beneath waterfalls, meet rural families, visit schools and workshops, share local meals, and understand the country beyond the view from the road.

This guided dual-sport motorcycle adventure begins at the Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental offices in Quito's upscale and secure La Carolina neighborhood. We recommend arriving one or two days early so you can explore the city, adjust to the altitude, and complete your paperwork before departure. Our Quito headquarters is surrounded by excellent hotels, restaurants, shopping, museums, and parks, making it an ideal base before your adventure begins. If you have extra time, our guide to things to do in Quito offers plenty of ideas.

Orientation, Motorcycles & Support

On the morning of departure, your guide will lead a comprehensive pre-ride orientation covering Ecuadorian traffic laws, local riding customs, driver courtesies, group riding procedures, safety protocols, and what to expect over the next seven days. Riding in Ecuador has its own rhythm, and this briefing is designed to help everyone feel comfortable, confident, and predictable from the very first mile.

You will receive the adventure motorcycle of your choice, equipped with a waterproof luggage system and an optional tank bag. For groups of more than five riders, a support truck accompanies the tour to carry luggage, bottled water, tools, and emergency supplies. The support truck adds comfort and logistical support but is not intended as transportation for riders who simply wish to skip sections of the route. On smaller departures, riders carry their own luggage in the supplied panniers or luggage system.

Secure storage is available at our headquarters for any luggage or personal belongings you prefer to leave behind during the tour.

The Route & Riding Experience

The Cloudforest, Coast & Craters Tour is the result of years of exploring, testing, and refining what we believe are some of Ecuador's most rewarding motorcycle roads. Your guide knows these routes intimately and understands where road conditions change, where weather patterns shift, where the best viewpoints are found, and where the most memorable local encounters happen.

This tour combines spectacular paved mountain roads with non-technical dirt roads that provide access to places pavement simply cannot reach. While some days are long and rewarding, the off-road riding is designed for adventure riders rather than expert enduro specialists. Expect winding mountain pavement, rural dirt roads, occasional cobblestones, river crossings, cloudforest tracks, volcanic highlands, coastal backroads, and constantly changing scenery. The emphasis is always on experiencing Ecuador rather than racing through it.

The pace is intentionally relaxed enough to appreciate the country around you. If a spectacular viewpoint appears, someone is harvesting cacao beside the road, or a hidden waterfall deserves a closer look, we stop. Throughout the journey your guide will introduce you to local people, explain regional history and traditions, and share places that most visitors would never discover on their own.

Participants are also encouraged to take part in our Ride for a Purpose program. During the tour we visit a rural school to deliver school supplies directly to local students, creating one of the most memorable cultural experiences of the entire journey.

After the Ride

When the tour returns to Quito, you'll have access to our honor bar, jacuzzi, hot showers, and comfortable facilities while we help arrange transportation to your hotel, airport, or next destination.

Weather & Temperatures

Ecuador's weather patterns remain relatively consistent throughout the year, although this tour covers an extraordinary range of elevations and climates. During a single day you may ride from warm tropical lowlands where temperatures approach 90°F (32°C) to Andean passes above 13,500 feet where temperatures can drop close to freezing. Passing showers are always possible in the mountains, while longer periods of rain are more common on the western slopes of the Andes during March, April, and early May.

Dressing in layers is strongly recommended. Waterproof riding gear, warm gloves, breathable base layers, and quick-drying clothing will make the experience considerably more comfortable. For more information, please see our Weather in Ecuador Guide.

Accommodations

Throughout the tour you'll stay in carefully selected haciendas, lodges, boutique hotels, and inns chosen for their comfort, character, and location. These accommodations are an important part of the experience, allowing you to enjoy everything from cloudforest lodges and beachfront hotels to historic haciendas and charming mountain inns. Ecuador Freedom reserves the right to substitute accommodations of comparable quality when necessary due to availability or operational requirements.

Packing List & Preparation

Before your departure, Ecuador Freedom will provide detailed preparation information, including a recommended packing list and practical travel advice. No knowledge of Spanish is necessary. Your guide speaks both English and Spanish and will assist with communication, logistics, and cultural interactions throughout the tour.

We also recommend reviewing our Packing Guide, along with our recommended guidebooks and maps, before your trip. The better prepared you are, the more you'll enjoy Ecuador's constantly changing weather, varied terrain, remarkable scenery, and unforgettable riding.

• Unlimited Mileage Motorcycle Rental 
• Knowledgeable, Experienced, Local Resident Guide
• Saddlebags or hard luggage system
• Luggage storage and locker use while riding
• Guaranteed departure policy (we go even if only one participant signs up - we do not cancel tours on you!)
• Support Vehicle (5+ motorcycles)
• Single occupancy - no extra charge for your own room!
• All meals
• Tolls
• Fuel
• All other activities and tours listed in the itinerary and more
• Pre-tour 20% discount on any high-quality riding gear from our partner, Klim
• Souvenir T-Shirt
• Souvenir decal
• VIP access to the Freedom After-Ride Lounge with a hot shower, library, gym jacuzzi, and honor bar.

You do not have to pull your wallet out on our guided tours!

• 100% Refundable security deposit to cover any damage to the rental motorcycle
• Hotel accommodations before and after the tour in Quito
• Trip cancellation, medical, and emergency evacuation insurance
• Any activity not described in What's Included
• Meals not listed
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Gratuities

Click on a tour date above to begin the booking process.

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To reserve your place, simply click the tour date you would like to ride. Our reservation system will guide you through the booking process, including your rider information, motorcycle selection, optional extras, and deposit payment.

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