Peter’s Picture Show: Nariz del Diablo Train Ride

Nariz del Diablo, Alausí, Ecuador

The Nariz del Diablo (Devil’s Nose) train ride in Alausí, Ecuador is unlike most others.

Part of the crucial railway running from coastal Guayaquil to capital city Quito high in the Andes, this hair-raising stretch near Alausí zig-zags up an incredibly steep stretch of mountain – so sheer that a series of rocking switchbacks guide the train up nearly 600 meters (2000 feet) in just a few miles of track.

An engineering marvel when it was completed over 100 years ago, the Nariz del Diablo track still makes for one dizzying ride today. And thanks to the rebuilding efforts of current Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, the entire railway line from the Pacific coast to the Andean highlands is set to reopen in a couple of months after decades of interrupted service.

4 thoughts on “Peter’s Picture Show: Nariz del Diablo Train Ride”

  1. OK, I have jelly legs watching this! Can’t you and Paul just sit in the central plaza and watch dust motes? Phew, scary! Last night, there were fireworks in the Jardin, exploding above the Perroquia, that we saw from our bedroom window. Now that’s what I call safe travel. You bad boys sure take chances. Love, Mom

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: