CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
From Ayabaca it runs 468 km to Ayabaca; allow about 9 h 20 of riding. The stops in between: Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas, Segment Ciudadela - Vinoyaco Grande and back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,800 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Peru into Ecuador - carry ID and check the toll rules. The line favours views over speed.
High above the dry coast of northern Peru, the Andes rise into a cold, wet world of páramo and cloud forest, and in the highlands near Ayabaca sits Aypate, an Inca administrative centre that few visitors ever see. It was one of the major stops on the Inca road network in this part of the country, linked to the great highway that ran north toward Quito, and the Qhapaq Ñan road system was listed by UNESCO in 2014. The stone terraces, plazas and buildings lie scattered on a windy hilltop, with the mist drifting through, and the sense of remoteness is extraordinary.
Read the complete Segment Aypate - El Arco write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment Aypate - El Arco is where the day begins. Next is Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas.
The Inca road did not end at the Ecuadorian border; it ran on through the Andes of southern Ecuador towards Cuenca and Quito, and segments of it survive in the province of Loja, among them this one between San José, Llamacanchi and Las Limas. It is a remote stretch in hill country near the Peruvian border, where the Andes are lower and drier than further north, and the road crosses ridges and valleys covered with scrub, pasture and patches of seasonally dry forest. It belongs to the Qhapaq Ñan World Heritage site, which spans six countries.
Read the complete Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas comes up about 71 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Ciudadela - Vinoyaco Grande.
The Inca built a road through the Andes of Ecuador as they did elsewhere, and in the south of the country a stretch of it runs through the hills near Saraguro, north of the city of Loja. This is a section of the Qhapaq Ñan, the great Andean road system recognised by UNESCO in 2014, and the segment from Ciudadela to Vinoyaco Grande follows a paved or cobbled path across high grassland and over low ridges, with stone steps in the steep places and drains to keep the water off. Saraguro is known for its indigenous people, the Saraguros, who wear black clothing, the men in knee-length trousers and flat hats and the women with shawls and long pleated skirts, and who keep a strong tradition of farming and festivals.
Read the complete Segment Ciudadela - Vinoyaco Grande write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 232 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Ciudadela - Vinoyaco Grande. Next is back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas, late in the day. Next is Segment Aypate - El Arco.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Segment Aypate - El Arco write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Segment Aypate - El Arco. That is the ride.
Segment Aypate - El Arco → Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas → Segment Ciudadela - Vinoyaco Grande is 161 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Segment Ciudadela - Vinoyaco Grande → back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas is 165 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas → Segment Aypate - El Arco is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.