MTB-1.0  Cerro Toledo downhill

 

Distance         53 km

Time Bike       5.00 hours

Altitude          1445 m – 3455 m

Ascent            655 m

Descent          2530 m

Rating             Moderate / Difficult   3-4 / 5 (Depending on weather-& road conditions)

Start               Chinos bike shop Vilcabamba

End                 Chinos bike shop Vilcabamba

Beyond any doubt, this is the ultimate MTB downhill trip in the vicinity of Vilcabamba. Starting at the Paramo at the antennas of Cerro Toledo at 3455m, it crosses a spectacular rainforest section of PN Podocarpus, 20 km downhill to the highway in Yangana. Return to Vilcabamba is by the way of the Yangana-& Piscobamba valleys.

The trip is best arranged by Chinos Bike shop, which also rents out bikes & helmets. https://www.facebook.com/Chinos-Bikes-Vilcabamba-427504074049326/?ref=page_internal

Don’t be fooled by the nice & warm weather of Vilcabamba. It can be windy & stormy in the Paramo above the rainforest! Equip yourself with appropriate clothing.

 

Route: The Bikes are loaded onto the pickup-taxis at Chinos Bike shop. Via the Lambunuma-pass, Masanamaca and Yangana, we get to the Cerro Toledo turnoff, exactly one kilometer out of Yangana. This gravel road on the left ascends 20 km, first through pastures & fincas, then enters the PN Podocarpus rainforest and emerges to the treeless windswept Paramo above 3000 meters. Across the Toledo pass we eventually reach the antennas of Cerro Toledo at 3455 meters. On a fine day, the views to the south reach the border region with Peru, but more often, the views are obstructed by rain & clouds accompanied by harsh winds. After preparing the bikes and warming up, the 1 ½ hour downhill ride can start. Hardly any pedal stroke needed, gravity doing the job, down it goes, through Paramo, rainforest, pastures & fincas to the Yangana highway, a really spectacular ride!

Lunch can be had in one of Yanganas restaurants. Freshly powered, we continue down to the gravel road dropping into the Rio Yangana valley. Winding along Rio Yangana and after passing the hamlet of Elvira, we cross a small wood bridge and soon after, the valley opens up at the barrio of Comunidades to join the valley of the Piscobamba River. Then the road swerves to the right and crosses Rio Masanamaca on a concrete bridge, where it joins the Quinara road near the Piscobamba gravel mine. We turn left at the bridge and after 3 km, reach the laid back village of Quinara in the Piscobamba-valley. After another little ascend, we enter a lovely green valley, contrasting with the normally brown western slopes of the Mandango-massif. 4 km after Quinara town we’ll pass the little village of Masanamaca. 800 m past Masanamaca, in the hamlet of El Sauce, we could alternatively take the old road to Linderos on the right, (As lined out in Hike D 5.0) but we follow the road along the Rio Piscobamba to the barrio Moyococha, where there is a nice swimming spot in the river. 1.5 km past the swimming spot we pass the hamlet of Solanda. Between Solanda and the next hamlet Santorum, we pass 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.