Quito Day Trips: Tundra, Tunnels, and the Equator
A must while in Quito is a bike day trip! I am not a biker and my husband loves biking. I was a little skeptical to do this tour because I wasn’t sure on how hard it would be, however it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip! We booked our tour with Biking Dutchman, only $49 US per person.
A great way to see the cross section of Ecuador’s ecosystems in only one day. You start your trip in a small group, there was only three of us plus the guide. We drove to the páramo, Ecuador’s equivalent of the arctic tundra, which is amazing! The altitude is a bit high so you want to pace yourselves at some of the higher elevation while biking and hiking around.
You then end your day trip in the cloud forest at the edge of the Amazon basin. The terrain for the most part is a combination of dirt and paved roads of scenic rolling hills.
Don’t worry: for those of you who don’t want to bike all day long, they drive you to certain spots and then let you bike the rest or if you just don’t feel up to biking anymore you can ride in the jeep. You also get to visit the Papallacta hot springs for a dip in the natural thermal pools, which I totally loved after biking for a while. It was nice and relaxing and only $7.50 per person. If you get a clear day, which we did for the most part, you can see Antisana Volcano.
One of the last parts of the trip you travel over Papallacta pass and start your descent (over 6000 feet) downward to Tumbaco valley just outside of Quito.
All and all, I would have to say that this was one of the highlights of Quito! The last bit of the trip, at about eighteen kilometers, you get to bike the famous railroad line going through five tunnels, one of which is 322 meters long. The spectacular ride took us speeding through wide stretches of parámo cloud forest.
On the other side of the railroad tunnels, you can see the holes in the mountain behind us. The railroad is built through the mountain…pretty cool!
Another place we explored in Quito was the Intinan Museum, also known as the “Middle of the Earth.” There are two sites you can go to. The first one is Cuidad Mitad del Mundo, which wasn’t as neat as the second location, Intinan Museum. You get to learn a lot more about old Ecuadorian culture and there are some fun activities to try, they also have different statues from around the world.
So to sum it up, those were some of the highlights from our trip to Quito. Our next stop on our trip was to stay in a lodge in the Amazon Rainforest.
Sammy currently lives in Muskoka, Canada. She loves cooking, traveling to unique locations, and sharing her experiences through everyday life. Her newest adventure in life is mommyhood! Learning how to juggle life as being a wife, new mom and still maintaining order. She can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
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