Ecuador Insitu | Meters, Through, Bike, Kilometers, Back | MOUNTAIN BIKE TOURS - In Ecuador, you will find different styles of m...

MOUNTAIN BIKE TOURS

In Ecuador, you will find different styles of mountain bike, usually defined by topography, cycle on dirt roads, paramos landscape, rainforests, beaches, and mountains. A wide variety of trips is available for any level bike rider.

Cotopaxi and Cajas National Park, Papallacta paramos, Quilotoa Crater, Mindo, and Pichincha are some places where you can combine adventure, adrenaline and enjoy beautiful landscapes surrounded by exotic flora and fauna.

Cotopaxi

We leave Quito early in the morning. After a one and a half hour drive on the Pan-American Highway, we reach the park entrance of Cotopaxi National Park. We drive through pine forest and soon reach the museum of the park. We visit the museum and savor a warm cup of ginger tee before continuing the ascent in our 4-wheel drive vehicle. We soon reach the highest point of the tour, 4.500 meters/15.000 feet. The view from this point is stunning as on a clear day we are able to see 8 volcanoes.

Afterwards we put on helmets, gloves, and protection pads and the bike adventure on the world’s highest active volcano can begin. The first 8 kilometers will take us down 700 meters on dirt roads through volcanic ash and páramo landscape. At 3.800 meters you actually have to do some pedaling heading down another 8 kilometers between volcanic rocks and wild horses to our lunch spot by an Inca ruin at 3.700 m. With some luck we might see a condor or a caracara. We put the bikes back on the jeep and head for the lake of Limpiopungo at 3.800 meters where we start the 16 kilometers downhill through pine forest biking on dirt roads. After two extra kilometers on a beautiful single track the bike adventure is over for this time.

We trade mountain bikes for our support vehicle and travel back to Quito along the “Avenue of the Volcanoes.”

Trip Rate	Moderate
Longitude	34 km/21 miles
Min. Altitude	3.200 meters/11.300 feet
What to bring	warm clothes and a rain/wind jacket

Papallacta

This is an excellent way to see a cross section of Ecuador’s ecosystems in just one day. As we travel, we are dwarfed by the striking Andes Mountains that surround us. If we are lucky and have a clear day, we can see all the snow capped volcanoes of the Eastern Cordillera (Cayambe, Cotopaxi, Antisana, and Chimborazo). You will pedal across the paramo – the Ecuadorian equivalent of the arctic tundra – and down through stunning cloud forest, traversing steep Andean slopes as you descend down into the Amazon basin.

The terrain for this leg of the journey is a combination of dirt and paved roads of scenic rolling hills. Drive to the high pass "Paso de la Virgen" at 4200 meters (13300 ft). From here, the descent begins by mountain bike all the way to Cuyuja, the Gateway to the Amazonian rainforest.

On the way, we’ll stop for a nutritious lunch. We will then drive you back to 3300 meters. Stop to have a swim in the best hot springs of Ecuador. Papallacta has clear water at ten different temperatures.

From the Ave Maria Pass (4200m), we then bike back towards Quito along the Chiche river basin. This is one of the longest downhill rides in the world, about 45 km. The last 18 kilometers will be on the famous railroad line going through five tunnels, one of which is 322 meters long. The spectacular ride takes us speeding through wide stretches of paramo and cloud forest, with the Andean sun illuminating the way. Some days can be chilled by occasional fog, so don't forget your mittens and fleece. In Tumbaco, we pile the bikes on the jeep's roof and head back to Quito.

Trip Rate	Easy
Altitudes	4200-3300m

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