Devil's Nose Railway
The Devil’s Nose Railway was one of the great railway engineering feats of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The line initially ran from Guayaquil on the coast to Quito, but now only the section between Riobamba and Sibambe is operational. This includes the spectacular ride down and up the Devil’s Nose between Alausi and Sibambe, with the line descending 1,000 metres down a steep slope on a series of switchbacks.
The entire journey between Riobamba and Sibambe is spectacular, passing through beautiful scenery and market towns before descending the Devil’s Nose. The train leaves Riobamba early, at 7am, taking about 4 hours to reach Alausi, before descending to Sibambe, taking another hour. The train then ascends again to Alausi, before returning to Riobamba. Most passengers disembark at Alausi after ascending from Sibambe (it is not possible to continue from Sibambe).
The train currently operating this route is the autoferro, a single carriage train. It is no longer permitted to ride on the roof of the train.