Heritage route
Nariz del Diablo
Alausí → Sibambe · Ecuador
View on the map →Wikipedia (ES) ↗
To scale the sheer “Devil’s Nose” cliff the line zig-zags up a Z-shaped switchback, edging forward then reversing; reopened in August 2025 after five years shut.
How this line was checked
- Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 2016146 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within under 25 m of them
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 4 m from it
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
- See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it
Questions and answers
How long is the Nariz del Diablo?
The Nariz del Diablo runs 12 km from Alausí to Sibambe.
How long does the Nariz del Diablo take?
The fastest scheduled journey is 2 h 30 min for the 12 km. That is an average of 5 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 30 km/h.
Who runs the Nariz del Diablo?
Ferrocarriles del Ecuador, with diesel, tourist coaches.
How old is the Nariz del Diablo?
The line has been in service since 1902. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
More heritage routes
- Durango & Silverton
1882 gold-rush narrow gauge: steam-hauled ever since, on the Highline ledge blasted 120 m above the Animas River gorge.
Wikipedia ↗ - La Trochita
Theroux’s Old Patagonian Express: 750 mm gauge, 1922 steam locomotives and wood-stove-heated wooden coaches across the steppe.
Wikipedia ↗ - Sagano Scenic Railway
A retired JR alignment above the Hozugawa rapids: twenty-five slow minutes of maples and gorge that the modern main line skips through tunnels.
Wikipedia ↗ - SL Gunma
Restored D51 498 “Degoichi” and C61 20 haul retro coaches up the Joetsu Line on weekends: steam echoing off the Tone gorge under Tanigawa’s wall.
Wikipedia (JA) ↗
