Why travel on horseback?

Why is it so special to travel on horseback?

Many answers could be given to this question. And yes, we will speak more broadly about it.

Each person who has experienced traveling on horseback—whether independently, with groups of friends, or through an operator or agency—will have an answer, but they will all unanimously say it is a wonderful and unique experience.

When you explore a place from the back of a horse, you ride with locals, in the local riding style, and on local breeds of horses. They will show you the best of the area for this type of activity without the conventional limits of roads, paths, and distances. It’s a great way to travel because you can learn things not found in guides. You can make new friends by meeting other travelers who share the same interests and experiences in adventure and ecotourism.

When you ride to explore a place, you move more carefully through the environment, allowing you to notice more things than if you were walking, biking, or motoring. This includes breathtaking scenery, local culture, and wildlife. You get to know these places in a more organic way, not missing any spot a traditional traveler would visit.

Few customers of viajaracavalo, by choice, have taken only one horseback trip. There’s always the first followed by many more, and the desire to continue is permanent and addictive.

Below is an excerpt from a book in Spanish by an Ecuadorian rider that expands the perceptions of horseback travelers.

“When traveling this way, the routes acquire distinct connotations; they are opportunities to absorb the surroundings, to think and dream. Thus, distances are distances. Distance is, once again, a dimension of life. The steep slopes regain their dramatic significance. Crossing rivers and streams once again becomes unsettling challenges. The wild lands acquire concrete dimensions, and their solitude shakes us as much as their snowstorms and swamps. The enormity of the mountains returns to us the forgotten humility. Old prides resurface, such as feeling like a rider on a good horse, accustomed to the difficulties of the journey, the storms, the intensity of the sun, but tireless in pace or short gallop.”

Source: Fabián Corral – Preface – CABALGATA POR LOS ANDES ECUATORIANOS