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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I and Segment Aypate - El Arco

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
264 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 18
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.

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Why this ride

On the way it passes Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas, Segment Aypate - El Arco and back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,550 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Ecuador into Peru - carry ID and check the toll rules.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I

    Far down in the southwest of Ecuador, in the province of Loja near the border with Peru, the old Inca highway crossed a dry and broken country of ridges and ravines on its way between the Andes of Ecuador and northern Peru. The subsection near the Quebrada Huatuchi is one of the stretches of the Qhapaq Ñan identified and protected here, part of a route that linked Inca settlements on both sides of the present border, including the ruins of Aypate on the Peruvian side. Out here the stone paving, retaining walls and drainage of the road can still be traced across the hillsides.

    Read the complete Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I is where the day begins. Next is Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas.

  2. 2. 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.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas comes up about 61 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Aypate - El Arco.

  3. 3. Segment Aypate - El Arco

    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.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 132 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Aypate - El Arco. Next is back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas.

  4. 4. 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.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas, late in the day. Next is Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I.

  5. 5. Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I to Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas

Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I → Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas to Segment Aypate - El Arco

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.

Segment Aypate - El Arco to back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas

Segment Aypate - El Arco → back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas to Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I

back through Segment San José - Llamacanchi - Las Limas → Subsection Quebrada Huatuchi - Plaza del I is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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