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Vilcabamba Glimpse #55

HIKING AND HORSEBACK RIDING TRAILS

Hacienda San Joaquin, nearly 700 acres, is wrapped and protected on three sides by the Andes Mountains and open on the fourth side to the Vilcabamba River, our southern boundary. The elevation of the ranch rises from the valley floor at 4,839 feet to our mountaintops at about 6,512 feet.

The ranch's 700 acres is calculated as if the property were flat. As we have mountain ranges undulating all along our northern, western and eastern boundaries, the actual useable land is around 2,500 acres. Well over half of this will remain in its natural state for the recreational use of our residents.

Our hiking and horseback riding trails begin at our Equestrian and Hiking Center, located on the western side of the ranch. The trail rises north to the highest elevations of the ranch. It turns east at our northern ridge line. It continues east and terminates at our hotel, Sunrise at Hacienda San Joaquin, at the eastern end of the ranch. It is about a 4-mile track that our workers diligently cut into the rugged terrain. It's been an enormous project.

The trail is extraordinary. It's a fantastic place to hike or ride horses. The views from the ridge line are breathtaking. The photos in this Glimpse were taken from only about the western third of the trail.One can look south to properties on the ranch and beyond to mountain ranges, east down an extraordinarily picturesque valley and more mountain ranges, or north to the beautiful neighboring valley of Malacatos and still more mountain ranges. Click here to see a sampling of these views: http://picasaweb.google.com/jrsimonetta/December122008HikingAndHorsebackRidingTrails#

The photos:

Best, Joe

Joe Simonetta
Owner/Architect
Hacienda San Joaquin
Vilcabamba, Ecuador


P.S. International Living named Ecuador "The Best Place in the World to Retire" http://www.haciendasanjoaquin.com/best_in_the_world.html