Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
main square and along Av. 27 de Noviembre, including a few excel-
lent galleries with awide range of carvedmotifs. South of Ibarra a few
miles is the quaint village of
La Esperanza
. In addition to bargain-
price, high-quality leather goods, the village offers easy access to
Cubilche
and
Imbabura Volcanoes
. The trip to the top of Cubilche
takes just a few hours from La Esperanza. The hike to Imbabura is a
littlemore difficult and requires a very long day (over 10 hours), but is
reportedly well worth the effort.
Ibarra is on the Pan-American Highway, less than three hours north
of Quito by bus. Frequent buses head there from Quito and Otavalo;
it's easy to flag one down along the side of the highway. FromOtavalo,
it is just a hop, skip, and jump by car or taxi. Buses begin and end
along the western side of town, though at no specific terminal. They
tend to wait around the train station on Juan de Velasco and farther
west.
El Ángel
Just over 19 miles north of Ibarra, at the village/military checkpoint
or
Mascarilla
, the Pan-American splits. To the north is the old road
to Colombia via
Mira
and
El Ángel
. The town of El Ángel is known to
travelers primarily as the gateway to
El Ángel Ecological Re-
serve
. See El Ángel,
Eco-Travel
section, page 142.
Tulcán
Alternatively, the main road to the north reaches Colombia via
Tulcán. With a population of about 40,000, Tulcán is the capital of the
Carchi Province and is the region's commercial center. This is due pri-
marily to the fact that it is a border townwith Colombia, and is only of
interest to the traveler heading into Colombia or perhaps into El
Ángel Ecological Reserve. If you're here, check out the cemetery,
which is famous for its artistic display of topiary bushes. The re-
nowned work began with a local Ecuadorian, José Franco, and still
draws attention through his family's continued efforts. The cemetery
is just north and a couple of blocks west of Ayora Park, away from the
city center in the northwest corner of town. It is a bit of a hike (or short
cab ride) from Independence Plaza and the hotels and restaurants
downtown.
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