B-2.1 Loop Uruchi Valley-Cutunapamba-San Pedro

Distance          11.5 km - Loop

Time                4.0 hours

Altitude          1525m - 2125m

Ascent             610m

Descent           550m

Rating             Moderate  3/5

Start                Vilcabamba tourist office

End                  San Pedro de Vilcabamba

This loop follows the quiet, shady Uruchi-Valley, crosses over a 2125 meter-pass into the Rio-Uchima valley and trough the hamlet of Sacapo to San Pedro de Vilcabamba. 

Route: From the Tourist office head east along Calle Diego Vaca de Vega to Yamburara bajo. In 20 minutes, you find “Craig’s Book exchange” on the left. Turn left on the right-hand-side of that building into the Uruchi valley. (See photo B-2.0-3) This vehicle track along the shady valley ends after 2 kilometers. 20 meters to the left of the vehicle turning place is a farm gate. Enter, and find to the right the trail zigzagging uphill along the ridge.  After climbing 150 altitude meters, you reach the gate to the “Finca Numba”. Enter the gate and immediately turn left on the trail skirting around the farm. At the second farm building uphill, you'll find the vehicle track, by which the farm is accessed from the Uchima valley. Follow this track uphill and after 30 minutes, you reach a farm gate at the pass of 2125 m. From here it’s a 500 m altitude drop to the bottom of the Uchima valley. 5 Minutes after the pass, you reach the farm gate at the Toronche intersection, where you have to branch to the left. One kilometer further down, you come across yet another gate, which marks the upper limit of the ill-fated Cutanapamba-ecology-project:    http://www.seekvilcabamba.com/projects/uchima/property.aspx

Descend at this gate and pass the first one of the 17 originally planned houses of the project. The newly carved road which scars the whole mountainside, winds down into the valley for two kilometers. Rio Uchima is crossed on a gated concrete bridge. Turn left after the bridge. One kilometer along this road, you pass the little village of Sacapo. Another 1.5 kilometers, past a little shrine and San Pedro college down below, gets you to the unspoiled & compact village of San Pedro de Vilcabamba. On the Loja-highway in San Pedro, you can catch the “Vilcatouris”-bus  back to Vilcabamba ($ 0.50), in order to spare you the 3 kilometer-hike along the busy highway.