Ecuador – Peru guided tour (The great escape)
South America is and has been one of the most valued destinations to travel to and have a great adventure, this is due to its landscapes, cultures, and above all how cheap it is to visit it. Within this adventurous destination, there are 2 jewels impossible not to visit, we are talking about Ecuador and Peru. We started our trip with the motorcycles of Ecuador Bike Rental by Sleipner in the center of the planet, Quito, the capital of Ecuador, surrounded by mountains, active volcanoes, culture, and Andean landscapes that will captivate us from day one. This time the rental motorcycles that were chosen were KTM 790, SUZUKI DR650, and TRIUMPH TIGER 900 RALLY. ECUADOR – PERU (THE GREAT ESCAPE) GUIDED TOUR The history (South America is and has been one of the most valued destinations to travel)Although Ecuador is a relatively small country, it has an immense variety of climates, landscapes, and cultures, as you can see on the first day of our adventure. In just 30 minutes we will arrive on our motorcycles at one of the highest points on asphalt, the Papallacta paramo at 4063 meters, which already means a drastic change in vegetation and climate, even getting snow depending on the time of year. From this point we have a constant descent until we reach the gateway to the Amazon, we quickly reach 400 meters and we can see the change of vegetation again, until now 3 different climates and landscapes in just 5 hours of travel. We are greeted by cheerful and playful capuchin monkeys, a clear sign of the jungle and its wild fauna. Ancient towns and their culture welcome us to get to know their lifestyle that has changed very little over the years, we enjoy the typical food of the place made before our eyes, Chicha, and Maito is traditional. We continue our trip to return little by little to the Andes but not before enjoying our second day in the jungle and cloud forest of the Baños area, waterfalls, rivers, rafting, and many other activities await us in this city. Transportation We take tourist transportation to these places, the Chiva, which is nothing more than a small truck with wooden chairs and no windows to enjoy the scenery. Baños is located at 1800 meters, so its climate is mild during the day, perfect for water activities, and a little colder at night, which allows us to get to know the city on foot and enjoy a delicious dinner. The next day seems short in a distance of 332 km, but we must leave early to take advantage of the day since when crossing the Andes this will take us all d ay. A road with many curves awaits us today, the first section takes us to the first Catholic church in Ecuador, built where the first city of Quito was founded, the Balbanera continues to maintain its decoration and history since 1534. Andean landscapes, crops of corn, wheat, quinoa, etc, accompany us all day, at one point we find ourselves bordering mountains above the clouds, with views of landscapes between mountains, valleys, and canyons, what more could you ask for in a motorcycle adventure? We know the Inca ruins of Ingapirca, a temple dedicated to the sun god and the moon goddess, were very important for the Inca culture. Finally, we arrive in Cuenca, located at 2500 meters but in a valley, it welcomes us with a pleasant climate that remains that way throughout the year, old buildings, contrasted with its exposed brick architecture is a great visual attraction, its warm people and its delicious food are just an extra to this experience. The guinea pig is one of its characteristic dishes, impossible not to try it. Cuenca Rest day to get to know this beautiful city, its beautifully decorated churches with great history, the history of the city and landscapes that we can discover from a tour bus that takes us through its narrow streets full of life and colors. A new day and new landscapes await us, so we get our motorcycles ready and hit the road, farms and more plantations say goodbye to Cuenca, only to give way to semi-desert mountains that take us to the coast, where cocoa and banana surrounding the road. This is how we reach the border with Peru, hereafter carrying out the COVID protocol and presenting the vaccination card, we proceed to leave Ecuador and enter Peru, once this procedure is done, we must temporarily import the motorcycles to Peru. All this procedure takes approximately 1 hour per motorcycle and rider, so we must go with time and patience. Ecuador Bike Rental’s guide, Pancho, is in charge of all the legal procedures for the rental motorcycles, it is a long process but he knows the procedure so it is fluid. Welcome to the land of eternal summer. One of the characteristics of Peru is its climate on the coast, lots of sun, heat, and the Pan-American highway awaits us. We arrive at Punta Sal, where we enjoy a day at the beach, warm waters and relaxation are the strong points of this day, we visit Mancora where we can stock up on sunscreen, purchase a SIM card for our phones and be able to be connected in addition to having a first view of the landscapes that await us the following days. Arriving to Peru (South America is and has been one of the most valued destinations to travel)The first difference that we can see is the roads of Peru since when crossing deserts their roads are straight and little traveled, this allows us to go faster and reach our destinations at a better time. We leave for Chiclayo, on the way we can learn a little about Peruvian culture, and its gastronomy and before arriving at the hotel we visit the first cultural destination, the mummy of the Lord of Sipan. A former ruler of the Mochica culture, a culture that predates the Incas. Back at
Ecuador – Peru guided tour (The great escape) Read More »