From Quito, I decided to head to Baños de Agua Santa. Many travelers head here because it’s commonly referred to as the adventure capital of the country. The main reason why I decided to head south to Baños though was the weather. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been traveling in places with cold weather. I packed really light so I wasn’t prepared. I brought a jacket and two sweaters, that’s it. In Quito it was getting incredibly cold especially at night, and the rainy weather was making things worse. I needed to go someplace warm. During the month of March lots of rain is expected anywhere in Ecuador, but at least it would be a lot warmer in Baños since it’s located in a way lower elevation right by the Amazon jungle.
There are lots of buses leaving from Quito to Baños daily since it’s a very popular bus route. There’s one leaving every 30 -45 minutes, so you don’t need to purchase tickets in advance. A one way ticket only costs 4 US dollars. That’s real cheap for a 3-4 hour bus ride, especially since these are nice air conditioned buses. These buses leave from the Quitumbe bus station in Quito. The easiest way to get there is via taxi. A taxi should set you back around 10 dollars if you’re coming from the historic center. Ubers are cheaper, but like in Colombia it can be difficult to get one since these are technically illegal in the country. You’re unlikely to get one if you’re in an area with lots of police presence… like many places in the historic center, or from any bus station. Local buses within the city are way cheaper than taxis but it might be difficult if you’re carrying huge backpacks.
Once we arrived in Baños, I immediately knew that I would love the place. After spending weeks in a number of chilly places, I was glad to be in a warm place again. The town itself is quite small, you can easily walk to and from any point in town. There are a couple of attractions within the town itself. Right at the main square, the Church of the Virgin of the Holy Water (Nuestra Senora del Agua Santa) is hard to miss. There’s a museum inside showing the history of the town and the church itself, so it’s a good place to start one’s day in Baños.
Baños is known for thermal baths, so we made it a point to try em out. We went to Termas de la Virgen which is only a 5 minute walk from our hostel. Just head toward the waterfall on the southeastern part of town. The thermal baths are right beside it. It costs 2.50 USD to enter during the daytime, and 3.50 USD at night. I’m not quite sure how sanitary the place is, but it’s something we had to do to get the full Baños experience so we just threw all caution to the wind lol. There are various pools with varying temperatures. I found the hottest one unbearable. This is the perfect place to interact with locals because it’s packed with Ecuadorians. When we went there I didn’t see any tourists. The small waterfall called Cascada Cabellera de la Virgen is worth checking out too. I saw a couple of people filling plastic bottles with water from the waterfall. When I asked them about this, they told me the water from the falls is considered holy and it has healing properties. Many locals keep a couple of bottles filled with this holy water at home.
Perhaps the most famous attraction in the area are the so called “swings at the end of the world”. You’ve probably seen lots of pictures on social media. Those swings are located in Baños, specifically at Casa del Arbol. It’s easy to get there via public transport. There’s a local bus that goes there several times a day, and it only costs 1 dollar each way. The bus waits for passengers near the corner of Vicente Rocafuerte Street and Pastaza Street. If you have trouble finding these streets, simply search for “bus hacia La Casa Del Arbol” on Google Maps. Here’s the bus schedule as of March 2019:
| From Baños to Casa del Arbol | 5:45 AM | 11:00 AM | 1:00 PM | 2:15 PM | 4:00 PM |
| From Casa del Arbol to Baños | 8:00 AM | 1:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 4:00 PM | 6:00 PM |
The bus ride takes about 30 minutes. It could take longer if the bus stops multiple times. There are no official bus stops along the way, people just get off and hop in randomly. I suggest heading to the bus stop early. I got there 30 minutes before the time of departure and it was already packed. The aisle was already full of people and the bus driver still kept letting people in!
Some people choose to hike all the way up from the town to Casa del Arbol. The hike takes about 3-4 hours though, so this may not be feasible if you don’t have much time. If you took the bus, you’re gonna be dropped off at the foot of a small hill. Remember this spot because this is also where you’ll find the bus heading back to Baños. This spot is easy to remember though because you’re gonna see swings on top of the hill. These are not the famous swings that you see on social media. These swings are cheaper though so you might want to try em out. They only charge a dollar and you can stay on the swing longer since there’s barely any line for these. Casa Del Arbol is on the other side of the hill. Just continue walking on the clearly marked path toward the other side and you’ll end up at the entrance where you’d have to pay 2 dollars. From here you can already see the famous swings, along with a couple of others. You’ll also see the incredibly long line. There wasn’t any line on the other swings, but of course everyone wanted to take pictures on those swings hanging on the tree. We had to fall in line for almost an hour before we finally got to ride the swings. That was an incredibly long wait just to spend about 30 seconds on the swing, I guess it depends on how much you want to have those pictures for your gram lol. If you give those guys pushing the swings a dollar they’re gonna push you extra hard and give you a couple more seconds. About the view, it’s a hit or miss. It can be bright and sunny in town, yet it could be really cloudy once you get to Casa Del Arbol which could obstruct the view. I guess we were quite lucky when we got there. I mean lots of clouds were covering the mountains but the cloud cover wasn’t too thick so we could still see a beautiful view. The next day, some people I’ve met weren’t so lucky. When I looked at their pictures, I could barely see anything in the background.
If you head to Casa del Arbol late in the afternoon, take note that the last bus back to town leaves at 6 PM. When we left at 6 PM there were still so many people waiting in line at the swings. If you really need to have your pictures taken at the swings but you don’t want to risk missing the bus, I suggest heading to Casa del Arbol at 2 PM or earlier. Otherwise you’d either have to hike all the way down for about 1-2 hours or take a cab for 10-15 USD. Many people who miss the last bus are willing to share taxis though so it shouldn’t cost much if you find other people who are willing to split the fare with you.
Another nearby attraction is El Pailon Del Diablo. This one is a massive waterfall and it’s definitely a must visit. When you’re in Baños, you’ll most probably hear of the so called waterfall route (Ruta de las Cascadas)— a biking route wherein you’ll pass by a series of waterfalls, and Pailon del Diablo is the last stop. This 10 mile biking route isn’t for everyone though. Although most of it is downhill, several parts are uphill and I heard it can be really grueling. If you’re not in the mood to do the biking trail, it’s easy enough to head directly to El Pailon del Diablo.
Several blogs have mentioned that there are buses that go directly from Baños to El Pailon. I’ve asked two different people working at the hostel, one volunteer from the US and one who’s a local, and both of them told me something different. I asked a random local on the street and another one at the bus station, and they all told me the same thing. I needed to take a bus to Puyo and get off at some point along the way. I just found it odd because there are direct buses that head back to Baños from El Pailon (for only 1 USD) — it’s weird that these same buses do not run the opposite route. I dunno if I just asked the wrong people, but based on what those 4 people said, this is how to get to El Pailon from Baños:
First head to the main bus terminal in town and look for buses heading to Puyo. You’d have to pay the full amount of 2.50 USD even if you’re getting off near the entrance to El Pailon which should only take about 20 minutes. Make sure to inform the bus driver that you’re heading to El Pailon, else he won’t make a stop near the entrance.
This is where the bus dropped us off:
On the right you’ll see some sort of hotel with a swimming pool. Just follow the path downhill passing by the left side of the hotel.
There are lots of signs pointing to El Pailon along the path so you won’t get lost. Here are a couple more pictures along the path, arranged in order.
After passing by a couple of restaurants you’ll eventually reach the entrance where you’d have to pay 2 dollars to get in. From the entrance, it’s an easy 15 minute hike to the waterfall. After passing through a number of suspension bridges, you’ll see El Pailon del Diablo in all its glory. By the waterfall, the path consists of stairs heading downward. Watch your step because these stairs are wet and slippery! At a point near the middle of the falls, you’ll reach a dead end, but you’ll see people on more stairs down below. Apparently there’s another entrance to El Pailon at the small village of Rio Verde, and you need to enter through that entrance to reach the bottom of the falls. That’s right, there’s no connection from the path that starts from the top of the falls. I tried to ask how I could get to the other entrance, but my Spanish was really rusty at this point. My language translator apps weren’t helping either. It seems I didn’t miss much anyway. According to many people I’ve spoken to, the view of the falls from above is definitely better than the view from the below.
Since Baños is the adventure capital of Ecuador, there are a number of activities for thrill seekers. Right in town you can bungee jump off the bridge for 15 USD. This isn’t actually bungee jumping though, it’s more of a swing jump so a number of people complained that their backs hurt afterward. Some of my friends went white water rafting. There are a number of canyoning activities wherein you’d have to rappel on several small waterfalls, as well as tours to the Amazon jungle for a couple of nights. Just walk around town and you’ll find many companies offering these tours. You can look around for the best rates.
If you’re on a tight budget there’s no need to worry. The best thing about Baños is you don’t have to break the bank because there are many free hiking trails nearby. You can practically head on any direction uphill and you’ll come across remarkable viewing points. Walk around and you’ll see a number of waterfalls. This is truly a remarkable place for any nature lover! Check out some of the sights we saw when we decided to just walk around on our own:
I have to say though, Baños is kinda touristy. It’s a popular place to visit even for Ecuadorians. It can get quite expensive if you don’t cook your own meals. Good thing almost all local restaurants have this thing called an “almuerza“. For about 2-3 dollars, you can get a full course meal with soup, salad, and dessert. The servings are generous, I always felt full each time I ordered an almuerza. If you have to eat out, ignore all the other items on the menu and simply ask if they serve almuerzas!
About the nightlife, it’s pretty dead on weekdays but on weekends it comes alive. The most popular spot seems to be Leprechaun Bar. It has different areas playing different types of music so I’d say this is the best choice for those who want to party. If you don’t like the music playing in one area you can always transfer to the adjacent one.
Baños ended up as my favorite place in Ecuador. The combination of the warm weather and the remarkable views made me love the place. I did check out other places that weren’t cold in the country, specifically those in the coast but I wasn’t impressed. The nightlife was great in Montañita for instance, but those beaches weren’t anything to write home about. The fact that it was raining most of the time didn’t help matters. I guess March isn’t the best time to head to Ecuador. I wanted to visit more places but the frequent torrential rains made it hard.
In spite of the terrible weather when I went, I’d still say Ecuador is a great country to visit. It boasts of remarkable sights, the country also has a very rich history. I’ve barely scratched the surface though, I didn’t even get to visit the Galapagos Islands— I really wanted to, but I just couldn’t afford to at this time 😦 That’s just one of many reasons to go back I guess. As a travel destination it may not be as popular as nearby countries, but it’s still a country that leaves many of its visitors wanting more.
no roads to follow 