Riobamba Travel Blogs

We had come to Riobamba for one reason, to ride the infamous Devils Nose train, the only functioning train ride in Ecuador and one that is famous for the scenery, several switch backs down a steep mountain side and the fact that you can sit on the roof for the entire journey....or so we thought. D…

  Saturday was very boring. We just drove to Baños (we got to see the ash spew out of Tungurahua on the way), had lunch in the charming central square complete with hummingbirds and nice cafes, visited the sulphurous hot baths, and then went on an ultra-crummy “Poppa Luchos” trip to…

Riobamba has the crumbling colonial character and air of a half-hearted revival that only a railroad town past its heyday can have. It is hard to ignore the visions of grandeur that the town must have conjured up during the prime of the railroad era when the city was in the middle of the railw…

How could we possibly pass up the opportunity to ride on the top of a train! Especially down 800 metres and around a landmark called Nariz del Diablo (The Devil's nose). We had visions of a roller coaster ride that would raise the hairs on the back of our necks. The train didn't…

One of the most amazing little countries. Beautiful place and people. The Amazon and the Andes...what more could you ask for. Stayed in the Amazon. Also took a train from Quito to Cuenca through the Avenue of the Volcanoes.

Paul headed back to Quito as he was flying back home to Turks & Caicos (tough life), while Harald, Sylvie and I got the bus down to Riobamba (1.5 hours, $2), hoping to get ourselves sorted for the Devils Nose train journey.  Its one of the only remaining trains in Ecuador and isn´t really…

Op dinsdag 19 augustus zijn we van Quito met de bus naar Riobamba gereden (ca. 4 uur). Na aankomst eerst naar de hostel om even op te frissen en de spullen achter te laten. Daarna meteen door naar het treinstation om tickets voor de treinreis te regelen. En wie komen we daar tegen?! De familie…

Having confidently predicted that the one-day strike in Baños wouldn´t affect me because it was only one-day (and not the day I wanted to leave), I learnt a little about strikes here.  Namely that they are not always as short as hoped for! Leaving Baños thus became a bit of a nightmare as …

Quito, Coca, Mondana, Agua Santa, Banos, Salinas, Riobamba, Chimborozo, Mitad del Mundo, Chugchilan... Went for a month with an anthropology class on sustainable development - it was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had.

I got into Riobamba about 4:30, (Hostal Ñuka something, 3 bucks) and headed to the bull fighting stadium. Saw a group of people standing around watching something...I wandered over hoping for a cock fight, but only locals playing volleyball as others bet. Got to the bull ring and couldn`t find a w…

I finally got away from Banos after a crazy night at the local Karaoke bar. Everynight we have gone to bed listening to the appalling singing from over the road and then heard them being chucked out onto the street about 2am and the shutters going down, so we decided we should go over and chec…

A year spent exploring South East Asia, Australasia and my favouriter continent of South America

Hi all My name is Mark Robertson, 27 years old from Wellington, New Zealand. I'm off to Bogota, Colombia on 4 March 2008 from Auckland New Zealand, via Buenos Aires. Spending 1 month in Colombia attending a Colombian friend's wedding before backpacking my way from Colombia to Argentina, via Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia over the following 5 months.

ANDREI - A fond farewell to the lovely town of Cuenca and a ride North to the less enchanting Riobamba.  We were a tad worried as the bus driver declared that we were to get off on an apparently random street corner.  A quick taxi ride brought us to our hotel, though. The town may not ha…

In the morning we had tentatively planned to go either to the Zoo or to the banos for which the town was named, we ended up doing neither however and just headed to the bus station to part ways.  I ended up on the same bus as 3 of the guys as they were going to Guayaquil and me Riobamba, …