The ‘Back on Track’ group tour starts in the Andean city of Quito and visits snow-capped Cotopaxi volcano before heading to Mindo cloud forest.
Specialist tour operator Journey Latin America announces the launch of an exclusive one-off small group tour travelling on Ecuador’s newly restored and much anticipated trans-Andean railway.
The ‘Back on Track’ group tour starts in the Andean city of Quito and visits snow-capped Cotopaxi volcano before heading to Mindo cloud forest – a lush and serene environment ideal for bird watching. The last 4 days of the tour are spent travelling on board the trans-Andean railway, partially hauled by steam engine, from the high Andes to the coastal lowlands of Guayaquil. By day watch the breath-taking scenery from the panoramic windows before stopping for the night in local towns along the route.
Having virtually been closed down in 2007 after floods and landslides destroyed much of the track, in 2008 the railway was declared a Historical Monument and a huge investment programme was put in place to renovate the network. In June 2013 the railway officially re-opened with large sections of the line fully functioning and with steam-hauled trains operating along some sections of the journey.
Journey Latin America’s co-founder and director Chris Parrott first travelled along the line in all its rattling glory in 1975. Chris comments “Travelling at a leisurely average of just 20kph, passengers enjoy panoramic views of the passing snow-capped volcanoes and dramatic Andean landscapes. First opened in 1908, the railway transformed communication between the country’s coastal lowlands and the high sierra, and today makes for one of the most spectacular cross-country rail experiences on the planet.”
Photo caption: A Baldwin ‘Mogul’ 2-6-0 steams through Ecuador’s Pacific lowlands.
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