Tulcán

city in Ecuador, capital of the Carchi Province

Tulcán is a city in Ecuador and is the main border crossing to Colombia.

Topiary and sculpture in the Tulcán cemetery (Cementerio)

Get in

By plane

  • Teniente Coronel Luis A. Mantilla International Airport (TUA ). TAME, the national airline of Ecuador ceased operations leaving Tulcan with no commercial air service. 

By bus

As of 2023 January:

The central bus station "Terminal Terrestre Tulcán" has frequent buses to [and from] Quito and other major cities. To Quito, the double-deck large buses cost $7USD and nominally takes 5h30min for the 230km trip, but could take longer due to waits and delays.

At the Ecuador side of Rumichaca border point, minibuses coming to Tulcan (12 seats Toyota Hiace kind) cost $0.75USD.

At the Colombian side of Rumichaca border point, shared taxi (sedan with 4 passengers) to Ipiales cost 3000 COP.

Get around

Unfortunately the taxis have fixed the price to and from the border into town at $3/trip, even though this is more than it should be (or would be if they had meters).

There is frequent city bus running between terminal and the centre (and beyond). The fare is $0.30. At parque Ayoro, you can catch a colectivo to the border (Rumichaca, $0.75).

See

  • Tulcán Cemetery (Cementerio de Tulcán), Av. del Cementerio. What? Visit a cemetery? Yes, visit if you like elaborate topiary. Called by some the most elaborate collection of topiary in the world, this cemetery is a special place worth your taking time out to see. (updated Dec 2015)
  • Reserva Ecológica El Ángel. A nature reserve near Tulcán. 

Do

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

There are many hotels ranging from $10/single in downtown area and near the bus terminal.

  • Hotel Saenz, Calle Sucre y Rocafuerte, ☏ +593 6-298-2881. An affordable, but nice hotel in the center of town. Cable TV, private bathrooms with hot water. Priced for backpackers. 

Connect

Go next

Ipiales is just on the other side of the border and can be reached with collectivos or taxis.

Otavalo is a few hours south on the Panamericana.

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