Close to the Colombian border, at almost three thousand metres, the páramo above Tulcán is a cold, windy country of tussock grass and cloud. Tulcán, a town of over eighty thousand people, is the capital of Carchi province, and it sits at the very top of the northern Andes of Ecuador, within sight of the volcanoes that straddle the frontier. The air here is thin and cool, even at midday, and the rain is never far away.
This is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the great Inca road network that ran for thousands of kilometres along the Andes, linking Cusco with Quito and beyond. Sections of the road across Ecuador were added to the World Heritage list in 2014, and the segment here, between Pulcas and Troya, is one of the pieces that remains. The Incas built the road with stone paving, drainage and retaining walls, and it served messengers, armies and llama caravans. Before the Incas, the northern Andes were home to a number of local peoples, including the Pasto, who lived on both sides of what is now the border.
Riding in the region is a cool and often damp business, so pack a waterproof layer. The Pan-American Highway runs along the Andean spine and is the main artery, a good road with long climbs and descents, and a lot of trucks on the way to the border at Rumichaca. Away from the highway, rural roads can be rough, with gravel and potholes, and fog or drizzle can reduce visibility. The upside is the sense of landscape, with ploughed fields climbing the slopes and the páramo above, and the pale ribbon of the road unfolding.
Tulcán has everything a traveller needs, with several fuel stations, hotels, restaurants and markets. It is also famous for its cemetery, where cypress hedges have been clipped into arches, animals and geometric figures, and it is a strange and beautiful place to visit. Local food is hearty, with potatoes, guinea pig for the adventurous, and hot soups against the cold. The Colombian town of Ipiales, with its dramatic neo-Gothic sanctuary built in a canyon, lies just over the border.
Morning is the best time, when the cloud is often clear and the volcanoes can be seen. Bring a warm layer and keep your passport handy.