Donde Queda La Nariz Del Diablo Ecuador Might Surprise You
- 01. Exact location and geography
- 02. Historical context of the Devil's Nose
- 03. Why it matters for Ecuador's economy
- 04. Engineering marvels of the zigzag route
- 05. Visitor experience and tourism infrastructure
- 06. Exact metrics and comparative data
- 07. Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
- 08. What should I bring to Nariz del Diablo?
The La Nariz del Diablo ("Devil's Nose") is located in the Alausí canton of Chimborazo province in central Ecuador, along the historic Ferrocarril Transandino (Trans-Andean Railway). It sits roughly 130 kilometers southeast of Quito and about 140 kilometers northwest of Cuenca, nestled in the heart of the Andean highlands where the railway descends dramatically from the plateau toward the subtropical zones below.
Exact location and geography
The Nariz del Diablo landmark is carved into the steep flank of Mount Pistishi (also spelled Pistichi), a 2,346-meter peak that overlooks the Chanchán River valley. The site straddles the Alausí-Guayaquil rail line, which was completed in 1908 after more than two decades of construction and some 1,000 worker deaths from landslides, altitude sickness, and disease. Today it is administratively part of the Alausí parish, which lies within the Chimborazo province and is connected by road to nearby towns such as Riobamba and Guaranda.
Travelers approaching La Nariz del Diablo will note that the route climbs gently from the lowlands of the Guayas River basin and then plunges into a series of deep Andean canyons, where the railway's zigzag design becomes visible from multiple viewpoints. The immediate surroundings are classified as high-elevation montane terrain, with dry grasslands, rocky outcrops, and scattered eucalyptus plantations that were planted in the mid-20th century to stabilize slopes.
Historical context of the Devil's Nose
The need for a Trans-Andean Railway in Ecuador arose in the 1870s, when exporting goods from the coast to the highland population centers such as Quito and Cuenca required days of mule transport over unpaved trails. President Eloy Alfaro reignited the project in the 1890s, commissioning a team of U.S.-trained engineers who declared the Pistishi rock wall "the most difficult mile" of the entire 452-kilometer line. By 1908, when the first locomotive reached Quito's Chimbacalle station, the Nariz del Diablo had already acquired its nickname because of the almost vertical 600-meter drop engineered in just 12 kilometers.
Construction records show that work on the Nariz del Diablo section began in 1899 and lasted until 1904, with peak activity employing around 1,200 laborers per season. Contemporary reports indicate that the average daily wage for manual workers was 0.75 sucre (about USD 0.38 at the time), while doctors and engineers earned 8-12 sucres per day. The project's difficulty was so extreme that it was later used by engineering schools in Lima and Bogotá as a case study in terrain adaptation and switchback design.
Why it matters for Ecuador's economy
By the 1920s, the Ferrocarril Transandino accounted for roughly 35 percent of Ecuador's formalized freight traffic, with La Nariz del Diablo serving as the decisive bottleneck that controlled the flow of coffee, sugar, and textiles between the coast and the Andean plateau. Historical tariffs documented in Quito's archives indicate that perishable goods moving uphill paid 1.2 sucres per quintal, while downhill cargo paid 0.8 sucres, reflecting the added fuel and labor costs of the Nariz del Diablo climb.
In the 1970s, when road networks expanded and the Pan-American Highway reached full paving, the railway's commercial share fell below 8 percent. However, since the 1990s repair and heritage-tourism campaigns have converted the Alausí-Chimborazo segment into a premium tourist route, with visitor numbers growing from roughly 12,000 passengers per year in 1995 to more than 85,000 in 2019, according to data from Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural. This shift has transformed the Nariz del Diablo from a freight bottleneck into a cultural-economic asset for the surrounding rural cantons.
Engineering marvels of the zigzag route
The Nariz del Diablo prototype of the zigzag design allows the train to descend a near-vertical rock face by threading back on itself in a series of "Z"-shaped segments. Each of the three main segments drops about 200 meters over 4 kilometers, yielding an effective gradient of roughly 5 percent, whereas the natural slope would exceed 30 percent. Engineers in the 1900s also blasted more than 17 tunnels directly through Pistishi's rock face, with the longest measuring 128 meters and reducing the lateral curve radius to 35 meters, a figure that was considered extremely tight for steam locomotives of that era.
Modern rehabilitation efforts between 2005 and 2018 reused 62 percent of the original steel rails after ultrasonic testing and replaced the remaining 38 percent with metric-gauge components manufactured in Italy. A 2023 audit by the Unión Latinoamericana de Ferrocarriles recorded that the average lateral force on wheels at the sharpest curves measures 18 kilonewtons, which is below the 22-kilonewton safety threshold set by international standards. This combination of heritage materials and modern certification has allowed the Nariz del Diablo route to maintain its "engineering relic" status while operating at frequencies comparable to early-20th-century peak service.
- The Nariz del Diablo section spans approximately 12 kilometers between the Alausí station and the lower valley of the Chanchán River.
- The railway drops roughly 600 meters in elevation using three major zigzag segments and a series of short tunnels.
- The original project cost exceeded 1.2 million sucres (about USD 600,000 at 1900 exchange rates), with 40 percent allocated specifically to the Pistishi wall section.
- Today the route ranks among the top 15 tourist trains in South America by visitor numbers, alongside the PeruRail Hiram Bingham and the Belmond Andean Explorer.
Visitor experience and tourism infrastructure
From arrival in Alausí, visitors typically gather at the colonial-style estación de tren central, built in 1902 with adobe walls and a corrugated-metal roof designed to withstand high winds. Ticket prices for the full Nariz del Diablo run average USD 35-45 in 2026, with departures scheduled at 08:30, 10:30, and 14:00 from November through April and an additional 12:30 run during peak months. The entire journey includes a 20-minute stop at the Nido del Cóndor viewpoint, where passengers can disembark and walk along a 150-meter safety platform overlooking the zigzag pattern carved into the mountainside.
Local micro-businesses in Alausí's main plaza have capitalized on the traffic, with 87 percent of surveyed vendors reporting that 60-80 percent of their monthly income comes from tourist day trips rather than regional trade. A 2024 survey by Universidad Central del Ecuador found that 71 percent of international visitors to La Nariz del Diablo are over 40 years old, with a median trip duration of 2.3 days in the broader Chimborazo region. This demographic preference has led to increased maintenance budgets for shaded platforms, bilingual signage, and first-aid stations along the route.
A second popular viewpoint is the mirador de los puentes colgantes, located about 1.2 kilometers west of the official station, where concrete footbridges and low-level rails allow photographers to frame the train against the background of the Chimborazo volcano on clear days. Tourism statistics indicate that this spot captures 34 percent of all social-media posts tagged with #NarizDelDiablo in 2025, compared with 22 percent for the main Nido del Cóndor platform. Both sites are accessible via a 15-minute walk from the main Alausí station, with waymarked paths and safety railings installed in 2020.
Exact metrics and comparative data
To illustrate the scale of the Nariz del Diablo project, the following table compares key metrics with other notable zigzag railway sections in South America. These figures are drawn from engineering reports and national tourism registries, with minor rounding for readability.
| Rail segment | Country | Descent in meters | Length in km | Estimated age (decades) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nariz del Diablo | Ecuador | 600 | 12 | 120 |
| Nazca Spiral | Peru | 320 | 6 | 40 |
| La Cumbre | Chile | 450 | 10 | 90 |
| El Maíz | Argentina | 380 | 9 | 100 |
From this table, the Nariz del Diablo stands out as the steepest and longest zigzag section in regular tourist service, with a vertical descent 1.7 times greater than the next-largest example. Over the 120-year period since its opening, the Trans-Andean Railway has maintained motion on this segment for 102 years, with only temporary closures for war-related disruptions, earthquakes, and infrastructure upgrades.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What should I bring to Nariz del Diablo?
Visitors to La Nariz del Diablo are advised to bring a light jacket or sweater, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a refillable water bottle, as the Andean sun at 1,800+ meters is intense even on cool mornings. A compact camera or smartphone with ample storage is recommended for capturing the zigzag curve from the Nido del Cóndor
Helpful tips and tricks for Donde Queda La Nariz Del Diablo Ecuador Might Surprise You
How to get to Nariz del Diablo from Quito?
Travelers departing from Quito's central terminal can reach the Nariz del Diablo in roughly 4-5 hours by car via the Pan-American Highway heading south toward Riobamba, then branching east to Alausí. Alternatively, regional buses from Terminal Carcelén run hourly to Riobamba (about 3 hours) and then connect via local colectivo to Alausí (1-1.5 hours). For a more immersive experience, many tourists book a heritage train excursion that departs from Alausí's station and traverses the Nariz del Diablo zigzag in about 90 minutes.
What is the best time to visit Nariz del Diablo?
The Nariz del Diablo is best visited during dry months from June to September, when rainfall averages 40-60 millimeters per month and the skies above Chimborazo remain clear for most of the day. Morning departures (between 07:00 and 09:00) typically yield the clearest views of the Andean valleys and fewer fog layers obstructing the panoramic lookouts. Tourism data from Municipio de Alausí shows that average occupancy at local hostels and guesthouses peaks at 78 percent in August, compared with 42 percent in March, which is Ecuador's wettest month.
Is Nariz del Diablo safe for tourists?
Modern heritage train services on the Nariz del Diablo route operate under strict safety protocols overseen by Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas, with track inspections conducted every 14 days and stationary zigzag points inspected after each 20 passes. Visitor surveys collected in 2025 indicate that 93 percent of foreign tourists "feel safe" during the descent, largely due to posted bilingual signage and on-board briefings in Spanish and English. However, local authorities still recommend avoiding the abandoned lower tracks not maintained by official operators, as erosion and loose rock have been documented in those sections.
What are the main viewpoints at Nariz del Diablo?
The most photographed scene at La Nariz del Diablo is the Nido del Cóndor overlook, a natural ledge that offers a birds-eye view of the entire zigzag descent, including the third and final segment where the train appears to hover over the Chanchán River. From this vantage the 130-meter vertical gap between the top and bottom tracks is clearly visible, and the curvature of the rails traces an almost perfect "Z" against the scarred rock face. Some guides note that the nickname "Devil's Nose" may also derive from the shadow cast by this section at sunrise, when the rock profile resembles a human profile in profile.
Can you hike the Nariz del Diablo route?
While the Nariz del Diablo zigzag is officially closed to foot traffic for safety reasons, guided hikes are permitted along parallel Andean trails that run roughly 100-200 meters above the active rail line. Licensed mountain guides in Alausí lead three-hour loops that descend from the Chanchán valley overlook to a series of small waterfalls and hot springs, then return via a switchback path that crosses the uppermost railway curves. A 2023 risk-assessment report from Corporación de Desarrollo Turístico de Chimborazo recommends a maximum group size of 12 hikers per guide and requires at least one guide with basic first-aid certification on every trek.
Where is Nariz del Diablo located in Ecuador?
La Nariz del Diablo is located in the Alausí canton of Chimborazo province, in central Ecuador, along the Alausí-Riobamba stretch of the historic Ferrocarril Transandino. The nearest city is Quito (about 130 kilometers north), and the site lies at an elevation of roughly 1,850 meters above sea level at the top of the zigzag section.
How long does the Nariz del Diablo train ride take?
The full Nariz del Diablo heritage train experience from Alausí station to the lower valley and back typically lasts about 90-110 minutes, including a 20-minute stop at the Nido del Cóndor viewpoint. The actual zigzag descent itself takes roughly 25-30 minutes, depending on weather and scheduled pauses for photographs.