Border Crossing: Colombia to Ecuador

Crossing the border between Colombia was the part of our journey we were dreading most.

After reading multiple blog posts describing bus hijackings and the dangers of traveling through this region during the nighttime, we decided to take the journey slow, traveling only during daylight hours.

Despite all the horror stories though, there was no time during our trip that we felt unsafe.

Our three day journey looked a bit like this:

Day 1

Bus from Salento to Armenia – 40 minutes

Bus from Armenia to Cali (4 hours)

Bus from Cali to Popyan (3 hours)

Day 2

Bus from Popyan to Ipiales (7 hours)

Day 3

Cab from Ipiales to the border

Get Colombian exit stamp

Walk across the border

Get Ecuadorian entrance stamp

Taxi from border to bus station in Tulcan

Bus from Tulcan to Quito

As you can see, the journey was a long (and pretty uneventful) one.

There were only a couple of notable things that happened during those long three days:

1. Several police checkpoints: picture young men – maybe 19 or 20 – dressed in camouflage gear and each carrying an AK-47 and a pistol, entering the bus to check identification of each passport. For what purpose exactly, I do not know.

2. A stunning church

Las Lajas Cathedral in the border town of Ipiales, Colombia

3. Endless hours on buses means many naps and eating only bread and jam. 

Oh, the life of a backpacker... jam sandwiches for 3 days straight.

4. One very sketchy motel in in the border town of Ipiales. Only $10 per night though. I guess you get what you pay for…

At least we only had to stay one night...?

TINY shower