Nestled in the lush green valley of the Andes Mountains, Vilcabamba, Ecuador is a quiet little town that’s known for its beauty and its reputation as a place of healing and rejuvenation.
We are drawn to far-off, exotic places, and there was something about the energy of Vilcabamba that called to us. So, we packed our backpacks and set off for a day trip from Loja to explore this beautiful corner of the world and see what it had to offer.
As we walked through the streets lined with brightly colored houses and shops, we felt a sense of peace and tranquility wash over us. The locals were friendly and welcoming, and the air was fresh and clean.
We spent our day hiking along the Rumi Wilco Trail, marveling at the stunning views, and taking in the amazing fragrances of the countless flowering plants.
Following our long walk, we stopped by Paradise Indian for a delicious lunch prepared by our friend Akhil from Kerala in Southern India. It may not have been traditional Ecuadorian food, but it was made with traditional Ecuadorian ingredients. And it was riquísimo!
As the day passed, we found ourselves feeling more alive and vibrant. We knew that this place had worked its magic on us, and we were grateful for the opportunity to experience it.
Our time in Vilcabamba may have been short, but we left feeling relaxed, peaceful and reconnected to nature. We hope to stay longer next time.
Watch Our Video from Vilcabamba Ecuador
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING WE GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH OUR LINKS. THERE IS NO COST TO YOU AND SOMETIMES YOU'LL EVEN GET A DISCOUNT BY USING OUR LINK. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Get the Free Move Abroad Checklist
Enter your email address here to get our Unconventional Newsletter with all sorts of timely information about living abroad, online income and achieving financial independence.
You'll also get immediate access to our Move Abroad Checklist that will walk you through the process of wrapping up your life at home and moving to a new country.
PLUS, there are several other free perks in our Live Abroad Toolkit we think you'll enjoy!
https://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Vilcabamba-Ecuador.jpg7201280JP Stonestreethttps://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Amelia-And-JP-Logo-Header-v2.pngJP Stonestreet2023-01-06 08:00:402023-06-11 15:03:14The Beauty of Vilcabamba Ecuador: An Unforgettable Day
Vilcabamba Ecuador has been popular with expats for a long time. It’s a quaint mountain town that sits in a valley surrounded by beautiful panoramic views.
It was originally considered for inclusion in the list of Blue Zones, which are areas around the world where people live exceptionally long.
Its omission from the final list didn’t stop the belief that Vilca is a valley of longevity, which is one reason expats have flocked there over the past 15 years.
We’ve travelled to the most popular expat areas all over Ecuador, but Vilcabamba has by far the largest concentration of expats that we’ve seen.
If you want to live in a beautiful small mountain town with nice weather and lots of expats, Vilca might be the place for you. If you prefer fewer expats, but want a similar living experience, you might prefer Malacatos, Landangui, Yangana or one of the other small towns near Vilca.
Are you planning a move to Ecuador? We created the Ecuador Relocation eCourse to make your move abroad as easy and painless as possible. It has 63 videos with tons of written content that will walk you through every step from A-to-Z. We even have a downloadable move abroad checklist and a city comparison matrix that will help you choose the perfect location based on what’s important to you. Read what our past students had to say and sign-up here.
Watch Our Vilcabamba Ecuador Pros & Cons Video
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING WE GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH OUR LINKS. THERE IS NO COST TO YOU AND SOMETIMES YOU'LL EVEN GET A DISCOUNT BY USING OUR LINK. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Get the Free Move Abroad Checklist
Enter your email address here to get our Unconventional Newsletter with all sorts of timely information about living abroad, online income and achieving financial independence.
You'll also get immediate access to our Move Abroad Checklist that will walk you through the process of wrapping up your life at home and moving to a new country.
PLUS, there are several other free perks in our Live Abroad Toolkit we think you'll enjoy!
In this video, we share several Vilcabamba to Cuenca transportation options, as well as a few more Vilca Observations from our week there. You’ll also get to meet a chocolate farmer who uses something other than plastic for his packaging.
Vilcabamba to Cuenca Transportation Options
Aside from driving yourself, here are your four options for Vilcabamba to Cuenca Transportation, or vice versa.
Elite Tours from Loja to Cuenca ($22/person)
We took a taxi from our hotel (Madre Tierra) to the Elite Tours office in Loja, Ecuador. Then we hopped on a van similar to the red one in this photo, and rode back to Cuenca. The taxi from Vilcabamba to Loja cost $20 for both of us (not each) and the Elite Tours Van Service cost $12/ticket. That made the total cost for both of us $44 or $22 each.
The Elite Tours dropoff and pickup location in Cuenca is located on Remigio Crespo close to Avenida de las Americas and Feria Libre. It’s just a few doors down from the OperazuayTur office.
Daily Shuttle Between Izhcayluma in Vilcabamba and Cuenca Ecuador ($15/person)
On the day of our departure, the Izhcayluma Shuttle Service that leaves Vilcabamba at 8am every day was undergoing some routine maintenance so it wasn’t running. That’s the main reason we took Elite Tours, instead. However, we also didn’t want to get up so early on our last day in Vilcabamba so it worked out for the best.
The shuttle costs $15 per ticket and arrives in Cuenca between noon and 1pm. It then returns to Vilcabamba leaving Cuenca at 1:30pm and arrives back in Vilcabamba around 5:30pm, depending on traffic.
Public Transportation ($8/person)
The most economical option is to take a bus from Vilcabamba to Loja, Ecuador. This takes 60 to 90 minutes and costs $1.50. Then you’ll need to transfer to another bus that costs between $6.50 and $7.50, and takes about 4 hours to arrive in Cuenca. You can take this route from Cuenca to Vilcabamba, too.
Since we haven’t done this route, here’s a link to more information. At roughly $8 per person, this is the cheapest way to travel between
Private Driver (Like Edwin)
You can also hire a private driver to take you from door-to-door. The cost varies by driver, time of year and distance, so we can’t quote any prices, but $100 and $150 is reasonable for a private driver. If you’re travelling with 4 or 5 people, this will be nearly the same cost per person as taking the Elite Tours Van Service, only it’s door-to-door.
If you’d like us to connect you with Edwin, please drop us a note through our Contact Form and we’ll send an introduction email. Edwin has been featured in several of our videos.
Super Mercado Patricia Cuenca Ecuador
We also gave a brief tour of SuperMercado Patricia in the video. It’s a small grocery store near our house in El Vergel that we like. It’s convenient, closer than Supermaxi and has a better selection of tools, lightbulbs, paper and other random items.
Vilcabamba Chocolate Farmer
Unfortunately, we didn’t get any contact info for the chocolate farmer we met in Vilcabamba on our last night there. We were impressed that he doesn’t use plastic to package his products. Instead, he uses natural materials like leaves and reeds. His chocolate was pure and delicious, too!
Hopefully you enjoyed our video, and if you did, please LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE it, and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel. ¡Muchas Gracias y Hasta Luego!
Watch Our Video About Transportation Options from Vilcabamba to Cuenca, Ecuador
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING WE GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH OUR LINKS. THERE IS NO COST TO YOU AND SOMETIMES YOU'LL EVEN GET A DISCOUNT BY USING OUR LINK. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Get the Free Move Abroad Checklist
Enter your email address here to get our Unconventional Newsletter with all sorts of timely information about living abroad, online income and achieving financial independence.
You'll also get immediate access to our Move Abroad Checklist that will walk you through the process of wrapping up your life at home and moving to a new country.
PLUS, there are several other free perks in our Live Abroad Toolkit we think you'll enjoy!
https://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Vilcabamba-to-Cuenca-Transportation-Options.jpg14102126JP Stonestreethttps://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Amelia-And-JP-Logo-Header-v2.pngJP Stonestreet2019-07-16 13:00:102023-06-11 15:45:08Vilcabamba to Cuenca Transportation Options + More Vilca Observations
On our last day in Vilcabamba Ecuador, we decided to share the 5 things we loved plus one interesting observation. It’s a truly magical place and should be on your list of places to visit.
#1 The Vilcabamba Weather
We were in Vilcabamba during the dry season, which is June through October. While it did rain a little and was cloudy a little during our 8 days there, it was mostly sunny, breezy and warm. And a welcome break from the cloudy, chilly winter days of Cuenca.
The mornings and evenings were a little chilly so we were thankful to have our jackets and pants, but we wore shorts and short-sleeved shirts most of the afternoons.
#2 The Natural Beauty of Vilcabamba
We have been to a lot of tropical places, but Vilcabamba ranks up there as one of the prettiest. The natural beauty is sometimes shocking and hard to believe.
Vilcabamba is located in a valley, so there are amazing views of the mountains from lower elevations, and the valley from higher elevations.
Flowers and fruit trees are in abundance everywhere. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out our tour of Madre Tierra Resort and Spa, as well as our walking tour of Vilcabamba for a view of the amazing flowers and fruit trees.
#3 The Vilcabamba Hiking
When we lived in Denver, Colorado, we hiked almost every weekend during the spring and summer months. We loved getting away from the busy city to enjoy the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
Well, Ecuador is just as beautiful if you love hiking like we do. Unfortunately, on this trip to Vilcabamba, we weren’t able to hike as much as we wanted to due to my recovering sprained ankle. It’s almost completely healed now, so I’ll be ready for our next trip!
Our favorite hike was along the Rumi Wilco trail that leads into Vilcabamba. It was so quiet and peaceful that we had it nearly to ourselves. We only saw a few people on both days we hiked the trail.
We also hiked along the gravel road that runs in front of Madre Tierra. It passed San Joaquin and looped around back into Vilcabamba. The views along this road of old structures and Mandango on such a bright blue-sky day were unbelievable.
#4 The Food in Vilcabamba Ecuador
Since we stayed in a hotel without a kitchen, we ate out for every meal. Most of our meals were at Madre Tierra, but we ate in town several times, too.
Mico’s Oasis Verde
Our favorite place by far was Mico’s Oasis Verde. We interviewed Mico about his restaurant and style of cooking in another video if you want to learn more. His food is plant-based, gluten-free, soy-free and delicious. We don’t have an issue with gluten or soy, but we appreciated the vegan options.
Click to Enlarge
United Falafel Organization Vilcabamba
We also enjoyed United Falafel Organization (UFO) and their garden. The atmosphere and service were amazing, but their falafels were to die for! They were rich and flavorful, as were their fresh-made pitas and hummus. Yum!
Urku Warmy Vegetariano Vilcabamba
We also really liked our dinner at Urku Warmy Vegetariano in Vilcabamba. We had a giant salad that we shared, plus a delicious veggie pizza sin queso.
#5 Vilcabamba is Tranquil and Peaceful
Vilcabamba was much quieter than Cuenca. We didn’t hear many car alarms and no house alarms. The buses are much less frequent and don’t run through the center of town. The motorcycles are still loud, though, but the majority of sounds are farm animals and children playing. Overall, it was very tranquil and peaceful.
We especially like seeing all the people in El Centro enjoying life with family and friends. It was the hub of activity it the town, just like it used to be in the states several decades ago. It’s a much slower pace of life there.
Interesting Observation: The Eclectic Mix of People
One thing that stood out over everything else was the eclectic mix of people in Vilcabamba. The gringo population is quite large there, much larger than we expected. Sometimes there were more gringos in and around El Centro than Ecuadorians. It appears the gringos spend their days talking with friends and drinking beer at the numerous streetside restaurants around El Centro.
We heard multiple languages during our brief time in Vilcabamba, including French, German and lots of English, among others we couldn’t identify. Spanish is by far the most common, though. And many of the older Ecuadorians who run the shops and restaurants, and drive the taxis, don’t speak English, so knowing some restaurant and taxi Spanish is very helpful.
We used Duolingo and Memrise to learn some Spanish before coming to Ecuador. And now, our Spanish tutor is helping us take it to the next level.
Hopefully you enjoyed our video, and if you did, please LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE it, and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel. ¡Muchas Gracias y Hasta Luego!
Watch Our Video About Vilcabamba
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING WE GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH OUR LINKS. THERE IS NO COST TO YOU AND SOMETIMES YOU'LL EVEN GET A DISCOUNT BY USING OUR LINK. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Get the Free Move Abroad Checklist
Enter your email address here to get our Unconventional Newsletter with all sorts of timely information about living abroad, online income and achieving financial independence.
You'll also get immediate access to our Move Abroad Checklist that will walk you through the process of wrapping up your life at home and moving to a new country.
PLUS, there are several other free perks in our Live Abroad Toolkit we think you'll enjoy!
https://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Vilcabamba-Ecuador.jpg7201280JP Stonestreethttps://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Amelia-And-JP-Logo-Header-v2.pngJP Stonestreet2019-07-13 13:00:252023-06-11 15:45:11Vilcabamba Ecuador: 5 Things We Loved + 1 Interesting Observation
This video starts with a Vilcabamba Ecuador Tour showing our walk around town. Then we talked with Mico from Mico’s Oasis Verde before enjoying a delicious dinner.
Vilcabamba Ecuador is located about a 45 minute drive south of Loja Ecuador. The name Vilcabamba comes from the Quechua language spoken by the indigenous people in this area, and means “sacred valley.” Vilcabamba was a popular “vacation” spot for Inca royalty.
We thoroughly enjoyed our Sunday walking tour of Vilcabamba Ecuador. It was nice to see so many people enjoying El Centro.
Click to Enlarge
Mico’s Oasis Verde – Vilcabamba Ecuador
UPDATE: Mico moved his restaurant to Cuenca and changed the name to El Oásis.
Our dinner at Mico’s Oasis Verde in Vilcabamba was out-of-this-world! Mico and his team are true artists when it comes to plant-based cuisine. We enjoyed Mico’s creations so much that we ate there three times during our stay in Vilcabamba.
The photos in this gallery are from several visits to Mico’s Oasis Verde. Click to enlarge.
Watch Our Video About Vilcabamba, Ecuador
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING WE GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH OUR LINKS. THERE IS NO COST TO YOU AND SOMETIMES YOU'LL EVEN GET A DISCOUNT BY USING OUR LINK. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Get the Free Move Abroad Checklist
Enter your email address here to get our Unconventional Newsletter with all sorts of timely information about living abroad, online income and achieving financial independence.
You'll also get immediate access to our Move Abroad Checklist that will walk you through the process of wrapping up your life at home and moving to a new country.
PLUS, there are several other free perks in our Live Abroad Toolkit we think you'll enjoy!
On our trip to Vilcabamba Ecuador, we stayed at the beautiful and relaxing Madre Tierra Resort and Spa. We also enjoyed a leisurely hike on the Rumi Wilco trail along Río Vilcabamba. And we ended our video with a night of bachata dancing with Johnny and Olesya.
Vilcabamba Ecuador Madre Tierra Resort & Spa
We absolutely LOVED our time at Madre Tierra Resort & Spa in Vilcabamba Ecuador. The grounds were beautiful, our room was very comfortable, the food was delicious and the views were spectacular! If you book with them, tell them Amelia and JP sent you!
View from our Room at Madre Tierra Resort & Spa
On our second day in Vilcabamba, we awoke to sun and blue skies, with incredible views of the valley and mountains. I snapped these shots with my iPhone, but had no idea it would capture what we were seeing with such clarity. I didn’t edit any of these photos, but they still don’t look real!
Hiking Near Madre Tierra Resort & Spa
In addition to the Rumi Wilco hike we featured in the video, we also hiked along the gravel road in front of Madre Tierra Resort & Spa.
Madre Tierra is the pin just below the “P” in San Pedro in the map below. On Wednesday, we hiked west along the road and looped back into Vilcabamba for lunch.
The views along the road on a bright, sunny day were equally unbelievable to the views from our room. This is a photo of Montaña Mandango, known as the sleeping Inca by the indigenous people. You can hike all the way to the top of this mountain, but we’ve been told it’s a very difficult hike. Maybe we’ll do that on the next trip to Vilcabamba.
On Thursday, we hiked up the ridiculously steep road heading northwest from Madre Tierra and were rewarded with these views of the valley below.
Madre Tierra Resort & Spa Dining
As with most hotels and resorts, the vegan menu options were limited. However, they went out of their way to accommodate our dietary requirements with some very delicious food.
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING WE GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH OUR LINKS. THERE IS NO COST TO YOU AND SOMETIMES YOU'LL EVEN GET A DISCOUNT BY USING OUR LINK. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Get the Free Move Abroad Checklist
Enter your email address here to get our Unconventional Newsletter with all sorts of timely information about living abroad, online income and achieving financial independence.
You'll also get immediate access to our Move Abroad Checklist that will walk you through the process of wrapping up your life at home and moving to a new country.
PLUS, there are several other free perks in our Live Abroad Toolkit we think you'll enjoy!
https://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Vilcabamba-Ecuador-Hike-2-1500x1125-1.jpg11251500JP Stonestreethttps://ameliaandjp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Amelia-And-JP-Logo-Header-v2.pngJP Stonestreet2019-07-06 13:00:102023-06-11 15:45:14Vilcabamba Ecuador: Madre Tierra Resort Tour + Rumi Wilco Hike + Bachata Dancing
We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
Essential Website Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
Google Analytics Cookies
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
Other external services
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
Other cookies
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
Privacy Policy
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
We are drawn to far-off, exotic places, and there was something about the energy of Vilcabamba that called to us. So, we packed our backpacks and set off for a day trip from Loja to explore this beautiful corner of the world and see what it had to offer.
