Loja, a place to BE

Unlike its more popular neighbor, Vilcabamba, which is oversaturated and oozing with Europeans and North Americans, Loja is sorely overlooked by travelers and even its own inhabitants. The first time I arrived in Loja, about a year and a half prior to when I would live there (and just stopping by on my way to Peru), I asked a couple of locals what I should see and they told me there was nothing, that I should just go to Vilcabamba. This sad truth is due to the general lack of museums and activities that normally cater to tourists.

Usually treated as a pit stop en route to Peru, Ecuador`s music capital has virtually no distant foreigners, allowing for a more authentic Ecuadorian experience. Other than being the music capital, Loja boasts the country`s best bread and coffee, grown locally (from a one former Starbucks employee/French press using/espresso drinking-coffee snob). You can smell fresh bread and coffee on every corner! Only slightly exaggerating.

I spent two weeks couch surfing during which time I spoke to a half a dozen people who were not only immediately willing to allow me to stay with them, but excited to answer my questions, make me food, and share their lives with me. It was during this time that I recognized the large population of university/environmental/engineering/music students working on projects and theses that always generated interesting conversations. There is a true vibe of kindness that radiates as far and wide as the abundant city wifi signal, around every plaza square, and through the crowded, energetic markets.

For me, as a city, Loja is one of the greatest, and I`m really not much of a city person. I tend to get panic attacks if I can`t see green around me. Loja is not only teeming with green spaces full of active people, but is also surrounded on all sides by mountains easily accessible by foot and spotted with Eucalyptus trees – a smell that has become extremely comforting to me.

As a runner, the first green space I fell in love with was Parque lineal, a park/trail that runs along either side of one of Loja`s two rivers for approximately two miles. The trail that runs through this park actually continues for about 40 km to Vilcabamba and is very popular to cyclists. A group of friends and I attempted to walk the whole thing but we only made it halfway.

Halfway through my time in Loja I met the lovely people at Descubriendo Ecuador Travel Agency who showed me that all of the surrounding mountains are inundated with trails easily trekked as long as you are willing to look for them, or better yet, go with a guide.

Loja has it all, from Gastronomy, to music and dancing, to nature and mountains. Nearly every day ends with a spectacular, cloud-strewn sunset blanketing the mountains, and often accompanied by a rainbow. As long as you`re willing to look a little deeper that the general flashy tourism and lack of backpacker hostels, Loja is really the place to be.

#LojaMountaintrails #Trails #Mountains