Segment Hierba Buena-Hierba Buena and Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos d
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
390 km
Riding-time estimate
10 h 02
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.
On the way it passes Segment San Antonio - San Antonio, Segment Mamamag - Mamamag, Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos d and back through Segment Mamamag - Mamamag. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 3,750 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Scenic road chapters
Avenue of the Volcanoes
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 32 km this is Avenue of the Volcanoes, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
32 km
Named road
Avenue of the Volcanoes
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Segment Hierba Buena-Hierba Buena
The Inca road in Ecuador came down from the high Andes to the coast, and in the south the line passes through hills above the lowlands near Naranjal, a banana and cacao town in the province of Guayas. This stretch, called Hierba Buena in the listing, belongs to the Qhapaq Ñan system, which UNESCO recognised in 2014, and it sits on the western slopes where the cold páramo drops through cloud forest into warm, humid foothills. The segment is paired with another called Botija Paqui, which suggests a path used by travellers and traders linking highland and coast.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Hierba Buena-Hierba Buena is where the day begins. Next is Segment San Antonio - San Antonio.
2. Segment San Antonio - San Antonio
What I can say is that the point lies on the steep western slope of the Andes, in the country between the highlands near Cuenca and the coastal plain, with Naranjal the nearest real town, thirty-odd kilometres off on the lowlands.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment San Antonio - San Antonio comes up about 66 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Mamamag - Mamamag.
3. Segment Mamamag - Mamamag
West of Cuenca the Andes lift quickly, and the Mamamag label sits on the edge of that rise, about twenty-four kilometres from the city, where the cultivated valleys give way to cold, open páramo. The nearest real town is Cuenca itself, a university city of cobbled colonial streets at roughly two and a half thousand metres, and anything you need, from fuel to a decent soup, you should sort out there before you climb.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 164 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Mamamag - Mamamag. Next is Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos d.
4. Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos d
High in the southern Ecuadorian Andes, at about 2,500 metres, Cuenca was founded by the Spanish in 1557 on a grid plan, on the site of an Inca city called Tomebamba, which was itself built over an earlier Cañari settlement. The colonial centre, with its cobbled streets, whitewashed houses with wooden balconies, churches and plazas, was inscribed by UNESCO in 1999, and the blue-tiled domes of the new cathedral are the city's landmark. The Tomebamba river runs through the city, lined with parks and old houses perched on the bank.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Hierba Buena-Hierba Buena closes the day.
Leg by leg
Segment Hierba Buena-Hierba Buena to Segment San Antonio - San Antonio
Segment Hierba Buena-Hierba Buena → Segment San Antonio - San Antonio is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment San Antonio - San Antonio to Segment Mamamag - Mamamag
Segment San Antonio - San Antonio → Segment Mamamag - Mamamag is 98 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Mamamag - Mamamag to Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos d
Segment Mamamag - Mamamag → Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos d is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos d to back through Segment Mamamag - Mamamag
Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos d → back through Segment Mamamag - Mamamag is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Mamamag - Mamamag to back through Segment San Antonio - San Antonio
back through Segment Mamamag - Mamamag → back through Segment San Antonio - San Antonio is 91 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment San Antonio - San Antonio to Segment Hierba Buena-Hierba Buena
back through Segment San Antonio - San Antonio → Segment Hierba Buena-Hierba Buena is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.