By Train
The old traveller's adage, that all the fun is in the getting there, is never truer than with Ecuador's trains . If you're in a hurry this is not the way to go; landslides, delays and problems are frequent and services are regularly suspended. The situation changes all the time, so check the current state of affairs first - South American Explorers is a good place to ask. When everything works, however, a train ride is a real treat; you can sit on the roof enjoying the scenery, while the train slowly rattles down the track. The rail system once stretched from Guayaquil and Cuenca in the south to San Lorenzo near the Colombian coast in the north, but lack of funding, the rise of the roadbuilding, and a string of disruptions caused by landslides and El Nino events has left it a shadow of its former self. Four main routes remain: Riobamba to Duran, Quito to Riobamba, Quito to Cotopaxi, and Ibarra to San Lorenzo. At the time of writing, only two of these services were in operation, and then in restricted form. The first of these, the spectacular descent of the Andes from Riobamba to Duran, down the nariz del diablo , is currently running only three times weekly as far as Sibambe. The second, the Quito to Cotopaxi tourist train, goes every Sunday if there are enough people. The heart-stopping route down the mountains in the north from Ibarra to San Lorenzo was badly disrupted by the 1997-98 El Nino and hasn't been working for some time .
Your Tip for Ecuador
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