Offroad Ecuador Excursion Self-Guided Tour

You’ll begin your four-day “Offroad Ecuador Tour" from our shop located in Quito, Ecuador - 2850 meters (almost 2 miles above sea level) in the Andes Mountains, on the Equator, in South America.  In 1978, Quito became the first place on the planet to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for having the best-preserved historic center in all of Latin America. Quito is high on the Altiplano Plateau (the highest elevation capital city in the world) in the Andes at 9,350 feet.  

We suggest that you arrive a day or two early to experience our magnificent capital city while getting acclimated to the high elevation before beginning the tour.   Since the first day is long, we recommend picking up your bikes the evening before the tour so that you can get an early start out of Quito on day 1.

You’ll be outfitted with the offroad motorcycle of your choice and given a thoughtful presentation that will answer all your questions concerning local customs, rules of the road, riding signals, etc.   We'll show you how to operate your GPS unit and provide you with detailed daily route sheets that give you genuine points of interest, elevation profiles, and starting times.  We'll give you a thorough briefing to get you acquainted with your mission.

You will ride out of Quito, avoiding any suburban sprawl, and immediately begin navigating a dirt road that will take us first to a chilly highland pampa mountain pass and then through fertile farmlands, beginning our curvy descent into the lowlands of Santo Domingo Province.  As you descend the western slopes, you will pass several spectacular waterfalls as we ride through small villages such as Chiriboga and other settlements in the cloudforest on Ecuador's western slopes.   

Once down to about 3,000 feet in altitude, you will be in warm, humid air - quite a climate change from where you started just a little while ago in Quito.  You'll have a chance here to stop for a swim in natural basins formed by waterfalls.  Back on the bike, you will feel refreshed and regenerated by the mountain waters.  

You begin a climb that will last until the end of the day. You will tackle some steep switchbacks that will take you up for tremendous vistas over the valley below. Then passing through dense jungles and green pastures, arrive in the small town of San Francisco de las Pampas to have a great lunch of simple but delicious local cuisine and to chat with the townspeople.  

Continue on (sometimes) challenging dirt roads, climbing in elevation to over 11,400 feet, passing picturesque farmlands, cloudforest, and high moorlands before arriving in Sigchos, a town settled in the 1500s by the colonial Spanish.

In Sigchos, you are officially on the famous "Quilotoa Loop" and will continue past some astonishing scenery and farmlands before arriving at Mama Hilda'sin Chugchilan.  Here you find a private cozy room with a wood stove and a family-style dinner of pots and pots of hearty, country-style Ecuadorian food that will replenish you after a full day of riding.  You will surely fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.

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After a hearty breakfast at Mama Hilda's, head out of the charming mountain town of Chugchilan, and after another blissful ride on stunning dirt roads along deep canyons, you arrive at the awe-inspiring Quilotoa Crater Lake, which was formed after a catastrophic volcanic eruption about 800 years ago.  The lake has a beautiful aqua-blue color to it that is unique due to its mineral content. 

Then ride to Zumbahua on 10 miles of recently paved road that will give you great views of a fertile valley.  Zumbahua is a farming town with a central market square.   You can stop here for a "second breakfast" of fresh hand made empanadas and local fried potatoes.  The snack will give you an energy boost that you will need as we head up and into chilly air.

After Zumbahua, you are once again on unpaved dirt roads among the most picturesque regions of Ecuador. You will rise into highlands pampa, where wild alpacas and llamas roam free, maintaining an altitude of about 13,400 feet for a while.  The people who live at this altitude have kept their traditional ways.  Many live in mud homes called "chozas" that have thatched roofs.  Inside they cook in fireplaces without a chimney to seal their homes from rain. Here they herd sheep, grow potatoes, and live a simple life in a spectacularly beautiful place. 

You will pass through the quaint, charming little town of Angamarca, known for its wood carvings, and visit with the local craftsmen.  Then continuing along to the next hamlet of Shuyo, you can have the opportunity to stop and attend to distribute school supplies as part of our "Ride for a Purpose" program if you want (entirely voluntary).

From here, continue to descend into the subtropical climate and into the town of El Corazon - where they brew and bottle their unique brand of moonshine - flavored alcohol that is quite good yet inexpensive. El Corazon is an amiable town and an excellent place to stop for lunch.  You can buy a bottle of moonshine at the local store before leaving town.

From El Corazon, you will again face some challenging dirt roads that wind through thick jungles and arrive in the picturesque, isolated village of Facundo Vela, a place that seems like it hasn't changed much in the past 100 years.

The town is usually full of horses with not a single car to be seen.  You will feel as though you have ridden into a time warp.  Facundo Vela is known for the marmalades the local nuns make by hand to fund their school.  You can watch them stir this succulent concoction with big, wooden spoons in large hand-made copper pans. You'll want to bring a jar of this back home with you for a time when you'll enjoy breakfast thinking about this ride.  You will be glad you did.

Taking the dirt road out of Facundo Vela, continue to ride and gain altitude on a series of steep switchback cobblestone and dirt roads. Wild orchids and tropical plants scent the air through this section of the cloudforest and, then the air turns colder, and the scents change to those of pine and eucalyptus as you climb higher.

You cross a high mountain pass at 13,400 feet before arriving in the village of Salinas de Guaranda. This town is unique in Ecuador as it has a Swiss heritage. 

Here they make chocolate and cheese in the Swiss tradition; we will enjoy a good dinner at one of the local restaurants that use the local cheese, hams, sausages, and mushrooms produced here. You'll enjoy a good night's sleep at the new Cachi Yacu hotel (opened in November 2018), located in the heart of the village, across from the chocolate makers.

After yesterday's long ride, you will have (and will appreciate) the time in the morning to visit the extraordinary town of Salinas de Guaranda.  The local farmers bring their milk on donkeys, alpacas, motorcycles, and horses to the cheese factory every morning.  You'll see how the locals transform milk into the highest quality cheeses such as Gruyere, Emmental, Tilsit, and Gouda.

Then visit the chocolate factory, which uses only the highest quality locally grown cacao to make truffles and chocolate bars that blow away anything Godiva can make. The chocolates are gaining popularity and are exported around the world.  You can also visit the local craftsmen that make soccer balls by hand. And you can witness the sheering of the sheep and alpaca and their wool transformed into yarn using restored, 100-year-old machinery from Massachusetts's former mills in the USA.

Get back on your bike and take the dirt road that will bring you through breathtaking high-altitude paramo - with crystal waterfalls.  You'll ride along a steep ravine overlooking the western slopes with expansive views over the coastal plains.  You should stop in the hamlet of Arrayanes, population 87.  The townspeople work together to make a cheese called "Andino," which is savory, buttery, and slightly sharp. You will want to get one of the cheese rounds and carry it for a snack in the saddlebags.  

Continue down through several sets of switchbacks, with each turn giving us magnificent vistas.  Ride past towering 300 feet waterfalls and through other friendly villages.  You'll see mandarin orange trees, sugar cane, and exotic fruits growing along roaring whitewater rivers. 

Ride through the towns of San Luis and continue our descent to sea level.  Here you will be treated to long, rolling hills that make it seem we are on an extended motocross track through a garden.  We will smell the aroma of cacao drying in the sun and see the beautiful palm groves that are magical.

You will end the day in the city of Quevedo. Quevedo was the first Chinese settlement community in Ecuador, and many of the Chinese restaurants date back to the 1920s and are known as Ecuador's "Chinatown."  You can enjoy a bountiful Chinese dinner before settling into the Hotel Olimpico with its Olympic-sized swimming pool - for the night.

You will climb back into the tropical rainforest region from Quevedo, first passing grand palm, banana, and cacao plantations and then into coffee country.  

In Pucuyacu - a local animal and farmer's market - you will stop to get refreshments and an update on the road conditions ahead.  From Pucuyacu, you do a river crossing and then begin the steepest climbs you will have ever seen.   You climb over 6,000 feet in just 4 miles.  Again, you will be blown away by the views we get along this road.