These pages are designed to tell you about my experiences while cycling around Ecuador between January 23rd and February 26th 1999.

My trip was oriented around the central mountains of Ecuador between Quito and Cuenca. I did not go to the coast or the Galapagos Islands at all, but I did cycle around the major peaks in this area and through the Amazon Jungle in the western foothills of the Andes.

I am not going to describe the country and people and places to stay, that can be easily discovered by examining the numerous guidebooks (e.g. the Lonely Planet guide) that are available to the traveller on Ecuador. Instead I will describe the possible routes to take and explain what to expect when cycling there.

My advice to anyone thinking of going to Ecuador is just do it. The people are very friendly and it is very cheap. The mountains are beautiful and majestic and there are numerous roads that go off into them that are waiting to be explored. It is possible to still see rainforest as you move around and with that there are hundreds of animals and birds that will cross your path to add a bit of interest to the greenery and desert.

I got most of my advice about cycling around Ecuador from Ecuador Explorer and the Biking Dutchman, a really laid back world travelled cyclist now settled in Quito. He suggested many of the routes I describe here and gave tips about getting around (like don't be afraid to take a bus or 2). He is the best person to talk to no matter whether you want an organised tour or to go it alone.

While I was there, there was a major political and economical crisis going on with no petrol in the petrol stations and country wide strikes happening daily. From the outside it must have looked chaotic, but for the people it is just another hardship in another day. It hardly affected me as the busses carried on running as normal and I could get to and into every where I wanted to. The roads were a bit emptier than normal which was nice. Since I left the crisis has worsened, with more strikes and protests, the banks closing and the Sucre crashing in value. Good for visitors (except for the banks closing so bring lots of small dollars) as it makes it even cheaper. I saw several protests but all were peaceful, although a couple of isolated skirmishes happened I do not believe that there is any real dangers from the crisis for the tourist.

I am very interested in hearing from anyone else who has also attempted to cycle around Ecuador and I will include their experiences in this site if they write to me by clicking on the mail icon on the left menu bar.