Why this ride
281 km from Tangua to Tangua, about 7 h 47 of riding. On the way it passes Rosal de Chapal, La Cofradía, Chitarran and San Pedro. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 3,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Guapuscal Bajo and San Pedro
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 281 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 47
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Guapuscal Bajo
The Andes of southern Colombia look folded rather than carved, a series of green ridges one behind another until the cloud hides them, and Guapuscal Bajo sits in the middle of that country. The name means lower Guapuscal, which implies an upper one higher up the slope, and the pair are small farming settlements in the municipality of Tangua, in the department of Nariño. There is no famous landmark to point to here. The interest lies in the day-to-day landscape, in small terraced plots of potatoes, onions, maize and pasture, in the kids in uniform walking the lanes and the smoke rising from kitchen stoves.
Read the complete Guapuscal Bajo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Guapuscal Bajo is where the day begins. Next is Rosal de Chapal.
2. Rosal de Chapal
High in the department of Nariño, in Colombia's far southwest, the land folds into deep canyons cut by the Guáitara River, and the old Inca road, the Qhapaq Ñan, threads along the slopes. Rosal de Chapal is one of the surviving fragments of that road on the Colombian side, a stretch of track near the small towns of Funes, Iles and Contadero. The Qhapaq Ñan, a network of roads that tied the Inca empire together from present day Colombia to Chile and Argentina, was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2014, and Nariño holds its northernmost sections.
Read the complete Rosal de Chapal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rosal de Chapal comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is La Cofradía.
3. La Cofradía
Down in Colombia's far south, close to the border with Ecuador, the Andes spread into a high, rumpled plateau of small fields stitched together by hedges, with deep canyons cut into it by rivers rushing towards the Pacific and the Amazon. La Cofradía lies here in the department of Nariño, between Gualmatán and Contadero, at the height of the old Inca road network, the Qhapaq Ñan, which reached this far north as the empire's frontier pushed into what is now Colombia. A few stretches of the road around here are part of the Qhapaq Ñan World Heritage site.
Read the complete La Cofradía write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 77 km into the recorded legs you reach La Cofradía. Next is Chitarran.
4. Chitarrán
In the high Andes of southern Colombia, near the border with Ecuador, the Inca road network reached its northern limit. The Qhapaq Ñan, as the system is called, stretched from here to central Chile, and a few segments in the department of Nariño are part of the UNESCO listing of 2014. Chitarrán is one of these, a stretch of old road near the villages of Córdoba, Contadero and Iles, in a landscape of green hills, ravines and patchwork fields at altitudes of over two thousand metres.
Read the complete Chitarran write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chitarran, about halfway. Next is San Pedro.
5. San Pedro
Ipiales is the last big Colombian town before Ecuador, and the high, cold plateau around it is some of the most dramatic farmland in the Andes. San Pedro lies a little north-west of the city, in a landscape of terraces, small farms and green slopes that tilt toward the canyon of the Guáitara river. The land is at about 2,900 metres and above, so mornings begin with frost on the grass and a hard blue sky.
Read the complete San Pedro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
San Pedro sits at 74 km, about halfway. Next is back through Chitarran.
6. back through Chitarran
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chitarran write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Chitarran comes up about 178 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through La Cofradía.
7. back through La Cofradía
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Cofradía write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 208 km into the recorded legs you reach back through La Cofradía. Next is back through Rosal de Chapal.
8. back through Rosal de Chapal
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rosal de Chapal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Rosal de Chapal, late in the day. Next is Guapuscal Bajo.
9. Guapuscal Bajo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Guapuscal Bajo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 281 km.
Leg by leg
Guapuscal Bajo to Rosal de Chapal
Guapuscal Bajo → Rosal de Chapal is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Rosal de Chapal to La Cofradía
Rosal de Chapal → La Cofradía is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La Cofradía to Chitarran
La Cofradía → Chitarran is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chitarrán to San Pedro
Chitarrán → San Pedro is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
San Pedro to back through Chitarran
San Pedro → back through Chitarran is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chitarran to back through La Cofradía
back through Chitarran → back through La Cofradía is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through La Cofradía to back through Rosal de Chapal
back through La Cofradía → back through Rosal de Chapal is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Rosal de Chapal to Guapuscal Bajo
back through Rosal de Chapal → Guapuscal Bajo is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Inantaz and San Pedro · 287 km
- Los Ajos and San Pedro · 310 km
- La Cofradía and Guapuscal Bajo · 138 km
- Rumichaca and Rosal de Chapal · 251 km