B-1  Quinara Loop

Distance         36.9 km            

Time Moto     1.00 hour

Time Bicycle   3.00 hours

Altitude          1424 m – 2006 m

Ascent            833 m

Descent          807 m

Rating             Easy 2/5

Start               Bus terminal Vilcabamba

End                 Bus terminal Vilcabamba

This loop is a classical bike-tour, which circles around the Mandango massif. At the back of the massif you cross the lovely Valle de Quinara and follow the rivers Piscobamba & Vilcabamba back to the starting point.

Route: From the Bus Terminal, head south along the new highway, past the Barrio Izhcayluma. The road ascends 6.3 km and 440 m to the Lambunuma-pass at nearly 2000 m, then descends towards Masanamaca.

At the bottom of the descent, opposite the road building camp, you find the turnoff to Quinara on your right. Follow this gravel road past a couple of gravel mines to the laid back town of Quinara in the Piscobamba-valley. After another little ascend you enter a lovely green valley, contrasting with the normally brown slopes of the Mandango-massif. 4 km after Quinara you will pass the little village of Masanamaca. 800 m past Masanamaca, in the hamlet of El Sauce, you could alternatively take the old road to Linderos, (As lined out in hike D 5.0) but we follow the road along the Rio Piscobamba to the barrio Moyococha, where you find a nice swimming spot at the banks of Rio Piscobamba. 1.5 km past the swimming spot, you pass the hamlet of Solanda. Between Solanda and the next hamlet Santorum, you cross a small unnamed pass of 1485 m. From this little pass we descend to the Rio Vilcabamba-valley. Along the valley, the road climbs gently past the barrios of Linderos, Cucanama bajo, Cucanama alto back to the Vilcabamba-Loja road, where we turn right, back to downtown Vilcabamba.