Alausí and Nariz Del Diablo

After traveling north four and a half hours on the bus from Cuenca, I arrived in Alausí for my 2pm train ride to Nariz Del Diablo — the world famous Devil’s Nose train, billed as “the most dangerous train in the world.”

A bit of background: Ecuador once had a fairly extensive train system that over time fell into disuse and disrepair and was shut down after a couple of revival attempts. Part of that system was the engineering marvel at Nariz Del Diablo. Ecuador is bisected by the Andes, and trains can’t easily climb mountains. The railway generally ran through valleys and gentle climbs up and down, but near Alausí, this was impossible due to an 800 meter sheer cliff called the Devil’s Nose. So a series of switchbacks at a 3.5% grade enabled the train to climb the cliff. At a cost of 2500 human lives, it was completed in 1902. The Nariz Del Diablo section of track was long operated as a tourist attraction, has been closed for several years, but reopened a couple of months ago. 

The bus dropped me off on the side of the autopista in Alausí, and I walked through town and dropped my backpack off at my hostel, Killa Wasi. It’s on a farm about a 15 minute walk from the center of Alausí.  Very cool place, and my private room with private bath was $20. If you are staying in Alausí, it’s worth the schlep. 

I had time for lunch so I had the $3 almuerzo at Bukardia — the recommended place was empty and Bukardia was full of Ecuadorians, and for me a restaurant full of locals is a good sign. Delicious: first course of soup with a little beef on the bone, second course of pollo and sauce, potato salad, and rice with ahi, a dessert of stewed apples and pineapple, and watermelon juice. Watermelons were for sale everywhere so they must be grown locally. 

Coming out from lunch I saw the cutest guy walking the street on stilts. The whole thing surprised so much I forgot to take a picture. So random. I recovered my composure and tried to find him but he had gone. You would think someone on stilts would be easy to find. I swear I did not hallucinate him. 

Took a walk around Alausí’s very nice downtown area. Lots of people, lots of shops, and lots of tourists. I’m told the town was suffering for several years due to the train’s closure, and you can tell the locals are excited to have everything back. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. 

I always check out the mercado in a new town. It’s a good way to judge a city. Nice mercado here. It is being partly renovated so a lot of the vendors were outside on the street. But it was clean, and busy. 

At 1:30pm I headed for the train station for my 2pm departure — they have three daily trips at 8am, 11am, and 2pm. They had a band playing on the platform, and people were dancing and clapping. Ecuadorians know how to have fun. They will sing and dance at the drop of a hat. The platform was packed — every trip on this train is completely sold out, and you need to book well in advance. Ticket sales open online the first of the month, for that month only. 

My coche (coach) number 252 was in front by the engine, which I liked. There are pairs of single seats facing each other along one side of the aisle, and four seats in the same configuration on the other side. I had a single side seat at the very front. 

Nota bene: there are not 252 cars on the train. There are six, and they are randomly numbered. 

As the train departed, there were lots of townspeople waving us away — again clear that everyone appreciated that it was back in service. 

The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. For much of the journey, you are quite literally on a carved out edge, with the cliff face on one side and a sheer drop of hundreds of feet on the other. You go out at a higher altitude and then go back and forth down the switchbacks to go down the cliff and through another train station (Pistishi) to a Nariz Del Diablo viewpoint at the bottom. 

We had a few minutes to enjoy looking at what we had just traversed, and then went back to Pistishi Station for the indigenous house museum, train station, indigenous dancing, and the gift shop. Touristy but definitely fun. The train station had a restaurant and if I’d known I might have waited for lunch there. It looked and smelled really good. 

The return trip is the same trip, in reverse up the cliff. On the way back though the engine was at the other end and my car 252 had great unimpeded views. I’d definitely recommend booking either the first or last car. 

Spending a nice quiet night at Killa Wasi Hostel and then getting a bus back to Cuenca at some point in the morning. 

Alausí and the Nariz Del Diablo is definitely worth a trip from Cuenca. You could do it in a day but it would be a very long day. I’m thankful I took the extra time and got to spend time in the town. Charming and fun place.