Devil's Nose (Nariz del Diablo)
The most spectacular zigzag of the Ecuadorian railway. Alausí ↔ Sibambe (Chimborazo).
2
Stations
≈ 12 km (round trip)
Route length
≈ 2 h 30 min
Duration
Running
Service status
Devil's Nose (Nariz del Diablo) · Alausí ↔ Sibambe
The Devil’s Nose (Nariz del Diablo) is one of the tourist routes of the Trans-Andean Railway of Ecuador, on the Alausí ↔ Sibambe (Chimborazo) stretch. The most spectacular zigzag of the Ecuadorian railway. It is one of only two routes running today. It came back in 2025 under the Alausí municipal government and, after the landslide of 18 February 2026 damaged some 5 km of track, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport rebuilt the trackbed and trains ran again from 6 June 2026.
It covers roughly ≈ 12 km (round trip) between Alausí and Sibambe, with a duration of ≈ 2 h 30 min. What makes it special:
- The train drops ~500 m down a zigzag carved into solid rock
- A welcome from the Sibambe community with dance and a museum
- One of the boldest feats of railway engineering in the world
- Restarted in 2025 and running again since 6 June 2026
Schedule and fare
Did you know…?
- The train drops ~500 m down a zigzag carved into solid rock
- A welcome from the Sibambe community with dance and a museum
- One of the boldest feats of railway engineering in the world
- Restarted in 2025 and running again since 6 June 2026
Links and connections
The Devil’s Nose (Nariz del Diablo) runs along the Alausí ↔ Sibambe (Chimborazo) stretch, in the heart of the Trans-Andean Railway. Its stations are linked by road to Ecuador’s main cities, which makes it easy to reach the train’s starting point.
Interchange stations. This route shares stations with other railway routes: Alausí connects to Tren Crucero; Sibambe connects to Tren Crucero.
Plan your journey — use our route planner to see which route connects two stations, the travel time and the distance.
Bookmark this Trans-Andean Railway guide
We update trenecuador.org as soon as there is news: route reopenings, schedules and fares for the segments still running, and updates on Ecuador's railway heritage. Save it and come back before planning your train trip.