The Devil's Nose & Ingapirca Ruins

June 16, 2016

Our destination today is Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador but we have a few stops for adventure along the way.  This morning, we drove to the little town of Alausi for a train ride along a stretch of track of Ecuador's first railway built in the early 1900s.  It is known as the "most difficult railway in the world" because of the engineering feat that was required to cross a near vertical wall of rock known as El Nariz del Diablo (The Devil's Nose).  The solution was to carve a series of tight zig zags into the rock so the train could continue on the journey from Guayaquil to Quito and today's trip provided fantastic views of steep ravines, sheer drops, spindly bridges and a raging river!

Waiting to board!

They used to allow passengers to sit on the roof... can you imagine!?!

At the top of the switchbacks with the river and station below

The brakeman makes sure the wheels stay on track

"The Devil's Nose" in the center background

The boys put pennies on the rail to be pressed-
they were nearly melted!

Three boys taking in the view

The city of Alausi complete with statue of St. Peter

After the train, we continue southward with a stop at the largest known Incan ruins in Ecuador.  Franco called it our "appetizer" for the ruins we will see in Peru next week.  Visiting this site also allowed us to learn more about the history of the indigenous Canari people in this region. They worshipped the moon instead of the sun and built oval structures instead of the square and rectangular buildings constructed by the Inca.

I just love the "patchwork" of farms on the side of the mountain

Traditional dress for indigenous young boys

The Ingapirca Ruins-
This was not a true city but a "Tambo" or resting place for the Inca as they travelled from one capital city to another.
What was discovered are the foundations for walls, houses, baths and the remains of the temple.

The Sun Temple

The boys are standing in the niches where mummies were housed-

Interesting Fact: The temple at this site is the only Inca temple found that is fully oval in shape.
Archeologists attribute it to the influence of he Canari peoples of Ecuador.