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Chugchilan

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Shady Ady
Shady Ady
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5 out of 5
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Chugchilan

  • January 27, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Shady Ady from Hinckley, United Kingdom
Chugchilan

Chugchilan, a tiny village deep in the Andean Mountains containing no more than 20 houses, seems a strange place to be popular on the backpacker circuit. Its approximate half-way point on the Quilotoa Loop explains its popularity. There are only three places to stay here and although most people use Chugchilan as a stop-off point, a place to rest for the day, the village has much to offer in its own right.

Located on the Toachi Canyon, its idyllic position gives many opportunities for horseback rides into the surrounding Andean wilderness. All accommodation in Chugchilan offers a variety of horseback rides and varied information on different hikes. I would recommend hiking down into the Toachi Canyon, a 4-hour round-trip to the banks of Rio Toachi where a few homesteads, a beautiful little church, and a school can be found. Be aware of the dogs though, which can be aggressive when passing their homes. Have a few stones at the ready! My hostel, Hostal Cloudforest, was excellent in arranging hikes and horseback tours.

Within the local vicinity there is much to visit on horseback. I decided on a 6-hour trek costing $12. For this you are taken galloping through the Andean countryside high into the Paramo, where you visit a local cheese factory, followed by a quick gallop to pre-Incan ruins and both primary and secondary cloud forests. The pre-Incan ruins were a little disappointing as they were just trenches in the ground, but the cloud forests made up for this. Shrouded in thick clouds, it was amazing galloping through the tiny forest paths, the clouds not allowing you to see more than a couple of metres in front of you.

This was only the second time I had ridden a horse and by the end of the 6 hours, I was in a foul, angry mood from all the pain I was experiencing, but this took nothing away from the day’s experience. I would highly recommend starting your horseback trek as early as possible as the clouds immerse Chugchilan and the surrounding areas very quickly and normally torrential rain occurs from 2pm onwards.

Within Chugchilan itself there is very little to keep you occupied, as it resembles a ghost town most days. The only place really offering substantial food for lunch is Hostal Cloudforest, with hearty almuerzos costing only $2. I don't really have fond memories of my lunch here though, as it gave me a bad case of food poisoning, which made the journey out of Chugchilan a nightmare. Only two buses leave Chugchilan every day, both to Latacunga, one via Zumbahua at 4am and one via Sigchos at 3am. There are also two buses to Chugchilan from Latacunga from the Terminal Terrestre, one at 11:30am and the other at midday. All journeys cost $2.25. There is a milk float that leaves Chugchilan at 9am that takes you as far as Sigchos, where there is more regular transport to Latacunga.

From journal Tales of a Travelling Englishman (Ecuador - Part 2)

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