Coming from Quito you have to take the road to Los Bancos (Calacalí/La Independencia) and in La Armenia (5 km further from Nanegalito, 800m further from the gas station) you have to turn right and take the road to Pacto/Chontal/Garcia Moreno. From here it’s a 15 minutes drive to Tulipe. You'll pass La Armenia and St. Elena and then reach Tulipe. In Tulipe you have to turn left onto an unpaved road, directly after the bridge over the Rio Tulipe. There is a big wooden sign of the Chocó Andino Biosphere Reserve. From this turn-off to the reserve it is almost exactly an hour by car. The unpaved road leads you up to Las Tolas (6 km, there is a brown sign for Las Tolas). Reaching Las Tolas, a few meters into the village, there is a turn-off where you have to drive uphill to the right (there is a green sign on the corner which directs you to Ayapi-Pachijal). Driving uphill you have to keep (sharp) left and then you'll pass the church and the village. About 800 meters behind the village there is another turn-off where you have to turn left (there is a green sign which directs you to Ayapi-Pachijal). You have to follow this road for about 11km (mostly downhill) until you reach Ayapi/ “El Copal” with some houses on the left (and right). From here the road gets bumpier and it’s just 10 more minutes (1,5km) to the reserve.

During rainy season you will need a 4WD for the last 500 meters or you have to park your car further up the road and we pick you up! We don’t recommend using Google Maps (or Waze) for navigation!! How to get to Un poco del Chocó (pdf) >>

Unfortunately, there is no public transport getting you all the way to Un poco del Chocó. However, the bus companies “Minas“ and “Otavalo”, which both operate from the Northern bus terminal “La Ofelia“ in Quito, have several daily busses going to Tulipe (2 hours bus ride). Let us know which bus you are planning to take and we can arrange a taxi to pick you up in Tulipe accordingly.

At the bus terminal “La Ofelia” in the north of Quito there are the two bus companies "Minas" and "Otavalo" running busses to Tulipe. The bus to Tulipe takes about 2 hours and cost 2,25 US$.

Schedule

Minas Otavalo

06:15 06:30

09:00

10:00 10:30

11:30

14:00 15:45

16:20 17:00

18:00

Please note that there are two different sections of the Ofelia terminal. One section is for the (blue) city busses and the other section of Ofelia is for inner provincial busses of the companies Minas, Otavalo and Flor del Valle from where your bus to Tulipe will leave.

Please contact us to arrange a taxi from Tulipe, Quito or the airport to the reserve. Coming from Quito you might be able to convince a taxi or Uber to drive you to Tulipe, but from there we highly recommend arranging a taxi with us. We know a few taxi drivers who have 4WD vehicles and know the way to the reserve (prices see below).

Pick up service (max. 4 pax) from Tulipe 25 $ from Quito ~ 100 $

from Tababela Airport ~120 $

Please note that we prefer to receive new arrivals from Monday to Wednesday (not on holidays), if possible before 4 pm. If you can’t get to the reserve during those times, you should plan to stay in Tababela (near the airport) or in Quito (if you want to explore the city first). You’ll find recommendations for hostels in the travel arrangements FAQ!