Greetings,

I have taken too long on my South American tour so far, with various great diversions and stops, and some time constraints are biting. I need to get from Cuenca (Ecuador) to Lima (Peru) in about a month. All accounts seem to suggest the mountain roads are the more scenic and worthwhile. But they will likely be slower. So I want to try and find a compromise between scenery and time. Thoughts and suggestions welcome, especially if you have ridden this route.

Currently thinking something like: Cuenca-Loja-Zumba-Namballe-Jaen-Bambamarca-Cajamarca-Huaraz-Lima. (That would be tarmac but keen on dirt if it's smooth enough and passable on a heavily loaded bike). I know the 'Peru Great Divide' starts around Huaraz but I don't know if that's feasible given time and being fairly heavily loaded. Btw if anyone has a link to a freestanding .gpx file of the Great Divide that would be very useful: I use OsmAnd and don't want to switch to RideGPS which is where all the online .gpx files I've found so far seem to be.

Cheers