Bike tour · Ecuador
Eight days of mountain biking down Ecuador’s volcanic spine — Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Quilotoa, and back.
Freeride scree-line descents, cloud-forest singletrack and one of the highest start lines on the planet.
What you can expect
Day by day
8-day routing in Ecuador. Full per-day details (distance, elevation, lodging, ride briefings) sent to confirmed riders closer to departure.
Day 1
Welcome to Quito! Your Ecuadorian mountain biking vacation will begin as we pick you up at the airport and help you with your gear and mountain bike. Quito is located at 2840 m/9350 ft above sea level. We will take it easy today and have an orientation meeting in the evening.
Included: Airport pickup, lodging in hotel or Airbnb style accommodations
Not Included: Meals
Day 2
Enjoy trails on the outskirts of Quito, these man made tracks are just perfect to get you warmed up and used to the riding here. They're short little rippers and we will do 5-6 laps before lunch. After lunch get ready for an urban downhill into the historic center of Quito! Your guide will take your bike bags and transfer them to our final destination in Cuenca. In the evening stay in Quito.
Included: Local MTB guide, breakfast, lunch, shared hotel room
Not included: Dinner
Day 3
Inca trails and Pambamarca Bike Park: Today, after breakfast, ride Inca trail twice in the morning and then we spend the afternoon rippin laps at Pambamarca bike park. This gigantic park, new to the Quito area, has tons of trails for all levels. You will have the chance to do as many laps as you want and try out some different lines.
Day 4
After a well-deserved rest and a delicious Andean breakfast, our transport will take us very close to the refuge at the skirt of snow near the Cotopaxi volcano. Here we will embark on an epic adventure of 2000m/6561 ft of descent. Our shuttle vehicle will be waiting for us after each ride. Today will give us some of our first freeride lines in deep steep scree. Let go of that front brake! Once we have finished for the day we will head out on a 2-3 hour drive to Baños where we will sleep for the night.
Included: Transport, guide, lodging, breakfast, lunch.
Not included: Dinner
Day 5
After three-days of riding we will take a much-needed day off to relax our muscles and calm ourselves in the therapeutic, hot waters of Baños. We will also be gaining lots of red blood cells for tomorrow's big ride at the Chimborazo volcano! Today please take the time to do maintenance on your bike, wash laundry and sleep in. If everyone is up for it we will take you to a special place for a small hike to some incredible waterfalls. If you would like to do a bit of biking on this rest day, we can help you locate a truck-taxi to take you up to a nearby trail through a forest. This day will be unguided. Additional options are visiting a famous treehouse with an enormous swing which swings out while overlooking a volcano!
Included: Lodging, breakfast
Not included: Dinner, lunch
Day 6
We will leave early today and head to Bolivar. As we drive though Ambato you may get to see the mightly Tungurahua volcano. The views of this volcano are absolutely stunning! Today we will do our highest and most iconic trail on our Ecuador mountain bike adventure, the Chimborazo mountain. The Chimborazo mountain is the closest point to the sun from the earth's core – worldwide!!! (Don't forget your sunscreen!) Our drive will take us to the Chimborazo volcano and having us start at over 4270m/14,000 ft. This unique trail is more than 20 kilometers long with a massive descent of 1550 m/5000 ft to the Cochas valley in Guaranda. While we do a serious amount of descent we will also be climbing while at high elevation. Those red blood cells from yesterday will come in handy today! Chimborazo happens to be the majestic mountain seen on the coat of arms of Ecuador. We will end the night in Bolivar at a gorgeous, rustic farmhouse. These guys are part of the local biking community! With extra luxuries like a pizza oven and fresh milk you will wish this was home.
Not included: Dinner
Day 7
Today we will need to decide which route to ride. Our decision is generally based on weather, season and trail closures. Mama Rumi and Contrabando (a fairly new trail) will take you first through the clouds on a beautiful shuttle ride to a starting point that looks out above the jungle. Either of these two trails will take us on a long descent through the cloud forest for some real jungle riding and down into the heat of the valley floor. Because these trails are in the cloud forest they are often closed during the rainy season or until they have been maintained.
The Mama Rumi trail is 2000 m/6500 ft of descent over 12 km/7.5 mi
The Contrabando trail is 2100m/7000 ft of descent over 13 km/8 mi
La Caseria is a super fun ride beginning at the Chimborazo volcano. It starts with a traverse over the wild land of the volcano with views of vicuñas and sometimes a fox or two. We will begin to freeride on the sandy dunes that then take us to a super fluid and fast MTB trail though the Ecuadorian Andes.
La Caseria Trail Stats: 1000 m/3300 ft of downhill over 9.6 km/6 miles
We can ride this one twice!
Included: Transport, guide, lodging, breakfast and lunch
Not included: Dinner
Day 8
Today you will return to Quito for your departure. You should say goodbye to your local MTB guide and prepare for the drive to Quito. We recommend a late flight after 6 pm so that you have time to pack up your bike and get to the airport. You can also choose to fly out tomorrow. Let us know so we can help you book a hotel for the night!
NOTE: For those adding on the Galapagos with a time restraint, today can be a flight to the Galapagos. Day 6 would be Chimborazo and day 7 would be Cotopaxi Bike Park and return to Quito.
Included: Breakfast, transport to Quito where you will pack your bag and then to the airport.
Not Included: Lunch, hotel, guide
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