Are you thinking of visiting Las Lajas Church in Colombia near the Ecuador Border?  Are you also thinking of crossing into Ecuador from Colombia by land?  Good, here is some useful information.

If you prefer other languages, please use the Google Translate at bottom of this post.

We flew from Santa Marta Colombia to Pasto Colombia with Avianca airlines at 6 am on Saturday. We had a layover in Bogota for 1.5 hours which was good because we had breakfast at the airport. A funny thing happened when we landed at Antonio Nariño Airport (Pasto).  The man sitting beside me was terrified because strong winds affected the landing. One hand was grabbing the seat in front of him, while the other hand was holding his jacket over his mouth. I thought it was extremely funny but I didn’t laugh because I was almost vomiting myself. The high mountain and canyon views while landing were incredibly beautiful but the wind was so strong it felt like we would fall off the mountain when we landed.  I googled the Pasto airport and it is the most dangerous landing in Colombia. You can watch a landing here on youtube. Luckily I didn’t know how dangerous it was before I boarded the plane.

After you land in Pasto Airport, take a taxi to the Pasto bus terminal.  Take a bus from the Pasto bus terminal to the Ipiales bus terminal, and then take a taxi to the Las Lajas Church.  Here are more details.   

 

Pasto Airport to Pasto Bus Terminal: We took a taxi to the bus terminal in Pasto for COP 30k. At first, they were asking 40k COP, but I negotiated a lower price. I was in luck.  The taxi was about 30 minutes and the view was amazing. The taxi driver stopped at one point so I could take a picture of the Pasto city view.

 

Pasto bus terminal to Ipiales bus terminal: From Pasto bus terminal to Ipiales is about 2 hours, and the fee is COP 10k per person for a minivan. They also have buses but we were tired so we decided to grab a mini-van because it was departing sooner. Actually, the bus departs every 20 mins, but I learned that later.  We were sitting in front seat of the mini-van with the driver, so we had more leg room and a better view.

 

After 2 hours we arrived at Ipiales bus terminal, and walked 1 block to Hotel Mowa and stayed for 1 night.  The room cost COP 50k for a double bed and a hot shower.  It was clean but small. The staff was super friendly. In Ipiales, don’t worry about booking before arrival. Once you get to the Ipiales bus terminal, just walk to right side 100m, you will see a few hotels but they are not on any internet website.  You can walk in at any time and I believe you will always get a room. Staying next to bus terminal is good because you can get a taxi or colectivo (minivan) to the Las Lajas Church.  It is also easy there to get a taxi to Rumichaca which is where you cross the border into Ecuador.  

 

As a smart traveller,  I checked the reviews on google for hotels within eyesight of the bus terminal in Ipiales.

Ipiales hotels google review rating :

Hotel Mowa : 4.5 stars 

Hotel San Jose :  4.1 stars

Hotel Metropol : 3.3 stars 

 

Hotel Mowa is very secure and clean.  The main door is always locked so ring the bell. But the price is slightly more than the other hotels.  Hotel Metropol is COP 20k for a single room.
Hotel Mowa single room is COP 35k without breakfast.

 

Transportation from Ipiales Bus terminal to Las Lajas Church: Colectivo is COP 2500 each / Taxi COP 10k, 15 mins

 

After check-in the room, we didn’t hesitate. We took a taxi to visit the famous Las Lajas Church. The taxi dropped us about 500 meters from the Church because the road is blocked for cars. You need to walk to the church. It’s a beautiful walkway with restaurants, hotel, handicrafts stalls.

This church is famous for its stunning architecture centred over a remote ravine and a series of legends involving the appearance of the Holy Virgin and a mysterious mural. You can watch the story on the information board at the church. It’s worth to pay a visit to the church before crossing the border into Ecuador.

After visiting the church, we had dinner in the Chinese Restaurant in our hotel.

 

CROSSING BORDER TIME!

 

Hotel/Bus Terminal Border/Rumichaca

The bed in our hotel was so good we slept until 8.30am.  We grabbed a taxi to the border right in front of the hotel. It took 15 mins, COP 8000 bring you all the way to Rumichaca, Colombian Immigration. I don’t know how long the line is on weekdays, but on Sunday the line exiting Colombia at 9 am, takes forever!!. If you can, try to reach the border by 7 am, early, because the line is likely to be shorter and it is too hot to stand in line after 10 am. It takes about 2-3 hours to get the stamp exiting Colombia. Bring your hat and wear sunblock!

 

Crossing Colombia to Ecuador Border!

After getting our exit stamp leaving Colombia, this is the fun part! Enjoy walking across the bridge to Ecuador!  Don’t forget to take a selfie there! You are going to cry soon when you see how long the line is at Ecuador Immigration.

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Ecuador Immigration!

 

This line took us 4 hours to get an entry stamp into Ecuador!  The line wrapped completely around the immigration building almost to where the line entering immigration started. Can you imagine? Water, snacks, sunblock, and a hat, is your best friend now. I am Malaysian, so they asked me questions like, what is your name? (Maybe they didn’t know how to pronounce my name.) It seems like not many Asians travel to South America.  I look Chinese, so maybe they were thinking, why am I not from China? Hahaha… This happened to me in Colombia as well. Oh Ya! In Ecuador, they do not allow you to bring you big luggage or backpack when you enter the immigration office.  We just left our luggage outside near the door and tried to keep one eye on it. That is what everyone else was doing also.  Guess what?  Our luggage was still out there when we exited the building. Actually, once you are inside the immigration office, the line took less than 10 mins to get the stamp. Yes, less than 10 minutes!

 

After 4 hours in Ecuador Immigration just for the official legal stamp in the passport, we grabbed a taxi just outside the Immigration office.   In Ecuador, they use US dollars.  The taxi cost USD 3.5 to reach the Tulcan Bus Terminal. Once you arrive at the bus terminal, you have to go to the upstairs counter and check for Otavalo or Quito or any destination you heading! We choose to stay in Otavalo because we wanted to see the beautiful mountains, the 100-year-old artisan market, Cuicocha lake, traditional craft workshops, and many many more.

 

Tips: Some people report crossing both sides of the border in 30 mins.  They didn’t say what day and time they crossed. But, I can tell you now, crossing at 9 am on SUNDAY, is not a FUNDAY!

 

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Crossing Borders overview on Sunday

Pasto Airport – Pasto Bus Terminal: Taxi l 30 mins l COP 30k

Pasto – Ipiales: Minivan l 2 hours l COP 10k each

Ipiales – Rumichaca(Border) : Taxi l 15 mins l COP 8k

Colombia Immigration : 3 hours (Sunday)

Ecuador Immigration: 4 hours (Sunday)

Ecuador Border – Tulcan Bus Terminal: Taxi l 20 mins l USD 3.50

Tulcan – Otavalo: Bus l 3 hours l USD 3.75

 

Wish you happy travelling! Feel free to ask me any question about crossing the border !