Sigchos is a market town in the foothills where the high páramo slides into warmer, greener country, and it feels like the end of one world and the start of another. The town sits at around 2,800 metres, on the western edge of the Ecuadorian Andes, with the Toachi canyon dropping away to the north and the road running down toward the subtropical valleys of the coast. It is the last proper settlement on the Quilotoa Loop, and for riders coming round from Chugchilán, it marks the point where the cold, windswept heights give way to terraces of maize, sugar cane and fruit trees.
Local life revolves around farming and cattle. Highland dairy farms produce milk and cheese, the fields are steep and worked by hand, and the surrounding hills are dotted with isolated houses and small chapels. The town has a square, a church and a few streets of brick houses, and the day often begins with farmers bringing milk down to collection points on the roads. The region was home to the Panzaleo people before the Inca arrived, and later to Spanish haciendas, and you can still see the traces of old estate buildings in the countryside.
The road from Chugchilán to Sigchos is a pleasure and a challenge. It winds along high ridges, with long views, then drops into the side valleys, crossing rivers on narrow bridges and climbing out again. The surface is a mix of paved and unpaved sections, with sharp bends and a number of blind corners, and landslides and washouts can close parts of the road in the wet season. The scale of the landscape makes distances deceptive, and a short stretch can take an hour. From Sigchos, the road to Latacunga climbs back over the páramo, passing farms and potato fields, and the temperature falls with every hairpin.
Services in Sigchos are modest. The town has shops, small restaurants and basic places to stay, but no big supermarket and nothing like a full workshop, so carry what you need. The surest source of fuel is Latacunga, a couple of hours away on winding roads, and it is wise to start any loop with a full tank and some spare capacity. Cash is useful, since cards are rarely accepted.
The best light comes in the morning, when the clouds lie in the canyons and the peaks stand clear above them.