F-3.3 Sendero Ecologico, Rumizhitana – Landangui, Part III

Distance         8.5 km

Time               2.5 hours

Altitude          1550 m – 1700 m

Ascent            50 m

Descent          180 m

Rating             Easy 2/5

Start               Rumizhitana

End                 Landangui (Rio Malacatos-Bridge)

 

With one exception of 1.5 Kilometers, the whole trail follows the Rio Malacatos, passing a number of bridges spanning the river, connecting small hamlets to the main road above. For the mountain-biker, this leg of the Sendero Ecologico is the least attractive and most difficult one of the whole trail, since there are many fence-gates and many small obstacles on the rough cut trail. This trail also passes several gravel-mining places, where the illegal mining has more or less come to a halt after the intervention of the municipio. Also, on this leg you’ll quite often experience a weather change from the often rainy conditions of the Podocarpus foothills to the much dryer region of Landangui/Malacatos.       

Access from Vilcabamba to the village of Rumizhitana is by shared taxi ($2.25) or by the slower “Vilcatouris” bus ($ 0.90).

 

Route: From the bus stop at the highway in Rumizhitana, you pass the attractive little church on the way down to the Malacatos River. Here you’ll find an official looking starting point, marked “Sendero Loja Vilcabamba”. After 1.2 kilometers, or 20 minutes, you reach the first bridge on this leg, crossing Rio Campanas, a tributary of Rio Malacatos. Here, the trail doesn’t cross the bridge, instead turns right, following the main valley. 2.5 kilometers later, the trail crosses Malacatos-River on a new bridge with bamboo-rails, to its eastern side. 1 kilometer further, after passing the first double suspension bridge, you pass under a second double suspension bridge at Yuma, and, 200 meters later, cross a tributary River on a Bamboo bridge. Immediately after this bridge, the wide trail turns uphill, away from the River. (There is no sign, indicating this turn). Just follow this main trail, which turns to the right after 100 meters. One kilometer later, where the trail makes a sharp turn uphill to the left, you find an unmarked shortcut, leading again down to the river. Here you cross the river, only to recross it 100 meter later on a second bridge, passing a newly constructed vacational compound. (Total absence of trail-signs in this section). The remaining 2 kilometers of this leg follow the eastern shore of the Malacatos River. Passing a plant nursery, you emerge on the Taxiche-road in Landangui. Public transport back to Vilcabamba ($0.50) you have to catch at the Landangui intersection 50 meters away, since buses don’t pass by the Taxiche road.