Take the Tren de la Libertad

Following repair work to restore some of Ecuador’s railway tracks to their former glory, the once defunct Tren de la Libertad is now triumphantly back on track. You can hop on board this slow train between Ibarra and Salinas for a scenic ride through classically Andean terrain.

The train clatters across cobbles and into rolling fertile fields, heading downhill on a single-track railway that once led all the way to the coast. The regenerated 30km section carves its way through mountains via a network of narrow tunnels, hewn by hand in the early 20^th century, and leaps across valleys on a series of rickety viaducts.