What to see in Alausí

Alausi has not much to offer except you are a train fanatic. There is the most famous train route of Ecuador. Open especially for tourists.

This route goes down 500 meters within a small distance. A ticket is 33$ which is quite a lot and therefore I only recommend it to train lovers. The train itself is not that spectacular, but the route is. There is no gearwheel and therefore it is one of the steepest routes without that. As the valley is quite narrow they used the zigg-zagg technique for two curves, which is, as you know as a train lover, a complicated and somehow dangerous technique.

The views are great, especially if you sit on the right side of the train. Seats are numbered so ask when buying and buy a bit in advance. The Nariz del diablo mountain is less spectacular though, as it got its name by the fact that a lot of workers died during the construction of the railway. There were local indigenous people as well as Jamaican people working. Unfortunately those brought also illnesses like the yellow fever and malaria to this region which is one of the main reasons for the deaths. The other reason is dynamite.

There is a very nice hostel in Alausi, called Community Hostel Alausi. But their breakfast is not vegan friendly and there are also not that many restaurants in town. On request they prepare you food in the hostel and they say also for special diets. I ate at the Cafeteria Estacion del tren, where I asked for rice with vegetables, which is not on their menu. Generally you can do that in every restaurant in Ecuador and Peru.