

Truckers Challenge on Cotopaxi Volcan Road, Ecuador


Truckers on Cotopaxi Volcan Road, Ecuador




Truckers, adventurers, and travelers alike can satisfy their vigorous desires by visiting some of the perilous roads in the world. One of which are the roads found in Ecuador. People visiting the area will not only enjoy the adventure but also the majestic scenes in the place.

The Cotopaxi Volcan Road

The Cotopaxi Volcan road in Ecuador is one of the most dangerous roads on earth. However, while this 25-mile road is uniquely terrifying for truckers, it leads to the entrance of Cotopaxi National Park through a swift fast moving stream. Travelers must watch every second they take in passing through the road, or else, they might not make it to the National Park.

Pan American Highway is connected by Cotopaxi Volcan road to the Cotopaxi Volcan national park. This 40-kilometer track is covered by potholes. It runs through streams flooding heavy waters, so it is not an ideal place for family vacations. The road is so dangerous, getting the lives of some reckless tourists every year.

This road is just one of the countless terrifying roads for truckers in the country. The dangerous route is full of holes, but it makes the truckers’ journey exciting when they need to pass through a bridge-less stream. This place is fatal especially during flash floods. Even if the rain is not heavy, flash floods still occur in the area.

Volcanic eruptions happen once every century, but mudslides and floods are common in this road. Moreover, the changeable weather conditions as well as very rugged road surface add in the danger of traveling on this route.

The Cotopaxi Volcano

When truckers successfully pass through the terrifying road, they can receive a great reward of gazing Cotopaxi volcano. Being one of the topmost active volcanoes on the planet, Cotopaxi erupted for 50 times already since 1738. A large number of valleys were formed by vigorous lahars are surrounding the volcano. These calamities gave great risk to the settlements and fields of the local people in the area.

Truckers In Ecuador

Most of the common tourists are going to the country’s national park to visit the Cotopaxi volcano. For those adventurous truckers who are looking for dangerous roads on earth, they are lusting to try passing through the rugged terrains of Cotopaxi Volcan road. Since the road is very unsafe, many people are even discouraging the use of these routes.

Since the area is very dangerous, it requires durable trucks designed to overcome extreme situations. Moreover, truckers must also be trained enough to pass the test of this challenging route. The place is so risky so people must not try the area if they are not sure about their capability.

History And Conditions Of Railroads In Ecuador

In 1908, the Guayaquil-Quito railroad was completed and served as the very first effective inter-regional connection between the two cities in the area. This road shortened the travel time of people living there from 12 days to 12 hours.

During the 1950s, several roads were built to transport agricultural products. After the world war II, the country started to invest in building highways. These highways then became the main means of transportation among the people. The opening of new roads also opened up new settlements in the country. In 1989, about 28,000 km roads were developed. However, only few of them were paved and graveled. Most of them remained as dirt roads.

The Pan American Highway is the most heavily traveled and oldest route in the road network. Following it is the Inca imperial highway in Sierra, linking the towns in inter-Andean corridor and the Colombian border. This railway from the Colombian south border going through the capital of Cuenca was paved except the 12-km segment of the road. Most of the road’s surface there is graveled.

The north-south route from Esmeraldas to Costa is paved. This lane is in parallel with Pan American Highway. It is found in the south of Machala and north of Quayaquil to the Peruvian border. This road is divided into two routes. One split goes to Babahoyo (the eastern branch) and the other one goes to Daule River (western branch). The road made an important role in giving traffic for the tropical production in Costa.

There were paved railways connecting the north-south Costa road and Pan American Highway. Moreover, there were asphalt roads connecting the oil-producing places of Salinas in the Pacific as well as the small port of Manta with Guayaquil. These east-west arteries became useful in integrating the regions, showed by the progressing volume of production loaded between Sierra and Costa.

During the late 80’s the country suffered from lack of good highways . A few dirt roads are extended from the Pan-American Highway. Most of them are to going to the oil-producing areas in the northern part of the region. The roads were made by the oil companies to easily access their fields, but they also became useful in increasing the colonization of the country. Some populations added along the way through these highways.

A lot of trucking companies and bus lines provided motor transports in the country. Most of these trucking companies were small and they have no regular schedule. They were just operated by the owners who are also the drivers. Majority of the bus drivers and owners, with a few truckers, are under the cooperatives, which provided uniform rates. Bus transportation services in the towns are inexpensive. They also transport regularly but are often plagued by vehicle breakdowns and are very crowded. In 1986, there were an estimate of 22,000 trucks, 14,000 buses, and 250,000 passenger cars in Ecuador.

The history and calamities in Ecuador are the reasons behind the dangerous roads that are common to the place. They became a great attraction to adventurous truckers who want to experience extreme rugged transportation. While the roads are perilous, the country also offers beautiful scenes and attractions. Truckers who are trained well to drive in the rugged terrains, and own durable transportation motors are invited to challenge themselves in these famous roads. They will surely have a lot of stories to tell afterwards.

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