Baños



Baños (de Agua Santa) is a small city in the Andean Highlands of Ecuador under the smoke of volcano Tungurahua. Popular with both foreign and domestic visitors coming for outdoor activities, Baños is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador.

Understand
The name of Baños, which is Spanish for "Baths (of sacred water)," comes from the famous hydrothermal springs in the area. The streets are lined with hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops and tour agents. Although the city seems a bit touristy and artificial — even to the extent that it's nicknamed "Gringobamba" by some — lots of people love it and it's definitely worth a visit. It's an important hub for outdoor sports and jungle tours, tours to the volcano Tungurahua, and a pilgrimage destination.

Tungurahua throws more than just its shadow on the city — it's also a threat to Baños. During a major eruption in 1999, Baños and surroundings were evacuated as a precaution. The volcano has been continuously erupting since 2000 and intensity temporarily increases several times a year.

Climate
Only around 150 km from the Equator, expect the same temperatures around the year — a little more than 20°C during the day and lows of 12-13°C during the night, creating a daily average of about 17°C. The fact that the city is 1,800 m above sea level moderates the temperatures. As with much of the Andes, the combination of high altitude and equatorial location means some of the most intense UV-radiation in the world so do protect you skin from sunburn. Also, the rain season is not as abrupt and noticeable as in many other tropical locations. The driest months, October to February, get about half the amount of monthly rainfall compared to June (the wettest month) and the transition is comparatively slow.

Get in
Road is the only way to get in; the closest airport is in Quito and there is no railway.

By bus
The small bus terminal (terminal terrestre) is on the north edge of town and is within walking distance to the center and most hotels. There are frequent connections to Baños from Quito's southern Quitumbe terminal (3½ hours, $4.45), Riobamba (2 hours, $2) and Guayaquil (5½ hours, $7). The closest bigger town is Ambato (1 hour, $1.10 from Terminal Mayorista, $2.20 from main terminal) and buses go frequently between the two towns. Coming from the east, there are connections from Tena and Coca. There are also connections from Cuenca (once or twice a day).

There are reports of scams on the Amazonas bus company, whereby passengers are ditched in the southern districts of Quito. When ditched passengers then buy another ticket with another company, they are told they have to return to Quito and argue for a refund.

By car
Baños is east of Ambato and already half way into the deep Amazon. Coming from the north (e.g. Quito), turn off the Panamericana in Ambato and drive some 45 km east to get to Baños. It's a scenic drive through the steep Andes.

Get around
Easy, just walk. Nowhere is more than a 15-minute walk from where you start and usually even less. It is relatively flat in the city centre.

Also check out the mountain biking section should you wish to explore further afield.

There are plenty of taxis around should you need one. For most places in town a ride should cost you less than $1.

Motorcycles can be rented for $15/hr for a 250cc off-road style bike. They will not ask for a license but will hold onto your passport. The agency near Hotel Passiflora has good quality Honda bikes maintained just as well. Be sure to take photos of the bike before you drive it away.

See


While the town is mostly about activities, there are still places to see.



Outside the city

 * Tungurahua is described in the Do section below.
 * Tungurahua is described in the Do section below.
 * Tungurahua is described in the Do section below.

Do
The Pastaza river valley, which Baños sits in the middle of, is a canyon with several waterfalls and begins immediately east of Baños. In addition to the waterfalls there is a botanical garden, funiculars, bungee jumping and ziplines (up to one kilometer long). Ruta de las Cascadas is a biking route through the Pastaza river valley, and one of Ecuador's most famous biking routes.

There are dozens of travel agencies offering rafting, climbing to Cotopaxi, mountain bike rental, multiple day trekking, jungle tours, etc. Shop around.

Activities

 * Several tour operators offer bridge jumping. There are two bridges this is done from, one is much higher than the other. Although the operators are not covered by any kind of liability insurance, the rigging equipment is of high quality and done professionally.
 * Many companies organize rafting trips on the Pastaza river. The rapids range from class II to IV, depending on the recent rainfall. A half-day trip costs about $30–35 and you are best off going with a respected, well-known organizer. The water is not too cold but beware of sunburn where the wet suit doesn't cover. In June 2009, a French tourist drowned when the boat capsized. Be careful! As of December 2018, the main rafting operator continues to have poor safety standards, with people regularly falling out of the boats, putting them at risk of being caught in undercurrents and drowning.
 * Several tour operators offer ziplining.
 * Dozens of tour operators offer rappelling down waterfalls (canyoning).
 * ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and motocross bikes abound in the town and you can easily rent one for a couple of hours or days. The hills surrounding the town provide good views of the town and the volcano and climbing to the antenna or to the cross are both good options. You can also drive down to Puyo if you don't feel like biking.



Take a scenic ride with the colourful local minivans that do tours daily along the route of cascades all the way to Cascada el Pailón del diablo (entrance 2$) at 10:30, 13:30 and 15:30 together with the nocturnal tours with the night view from Bellavista departing at 19:00 and 21:00. Tickets can be purchased at any of the numerous travel agencies around the town but then you pay 5$ when you can get them for 3$ at the dedicated office of Chivas close to the bus terminal in the corner of the streets Eugenio Espejo And Thomas Halflants. The Chivas vans depart and arrive at this location.

Wellness
Baños is not just well-known for its adventures, but also for healing.

The best massage studios are all on the same street, within 50 m of each other. They are all $20/hour. Try Xu Jing Casa de Salud for an excellent massage from a wise old Chinese woman. Corner of Luis A. Martínez and Eloy Alfaro, across from Casa Hood.

Hiking
Around Baños there are several easy trails. The tourist office (calle T. Halflants at the park) can provide simple maps. On some trails you can find many signs on the way, though the indicated distances seem to be quite contradictory.







Biking
Several agencies rent out mountain bikes ($5 a day or $1.25 an hour). But make sure that you or someone with experience checks out the bikes and ensures that they are safe to use. Especially check if the gear is clean and oiled enough - bikes look really good, but are sometimes not maintained like they should be. Also be sure to understand who has to pay for damage to the bike should it occur.

A popular ride is the 61 km, mostly downhill, to Puyo. The first 18 km to Rio Verde is strewn with impressive waterfalls, some reached by mini cable cars across the valley. Rio Verde's Pailón del Diablo is the most dramatic. The frequent tunnels on this road mostly have bike bypasses and the only one you need to go through is the first one. There are good signs indicating where to go all the way to Puyo. From Rio Verde or Puyo there are frequent buses back to Baños, some of which will put you bike on the roof. It is also fairly easy to hitchhike your way back on a pick-up truck.

You can also sometimes include a small bungee-style jump off a bridge some 30 minutes from Baños.

Jungle tours
Many kinds of tours are organized to the Amazon jungle from day trips to the edge to two week adventures deep in the jungle. You will get to meet natives in their villages, swim under a waterfall and see at least some small wild animals like frogs, fish and spiders. You can usually also bundle the tour with rafting if you want. The tours around Puyo have a price range of about $35-50 per day, but no matter how much you pay, you'll probably end up on the same bus, eat the same food and stay at the same place, so shop around a bit before booking.

Buy
There are a lot of different places to buy handicrafts, there are a lot of small business in front of the church in the middle of the town. In the markets of the city you can find a great selection of fruit. There you can also find cuy (roasted guinea pig), a specialty of the native Andean cuisine.

Eat
In addition to the Ecuadorian traditional specialty cuy (roasted guinea pig, available e.g. in the market), the specialties of Baños are sugar cane, candies made of it, and other colorful sweets, all of which are available at stalls around the city.

Melcocha (sugar cane taffy) is Ecuador's hallmark candy and the majority of it is made in Baños. The abundance of sugar cane in the area makes this version of taffy a local specialty. It is a naturally sweet taffy made from boiled raw cane syrup. In store fronts that sell it you are likely to see it being made by pulling it and beating it against sturdy door frames.

Sugar cane is also popular in a less worked form as chewable cane pulp sticks or squeezed juice (Jugo de Caña).



Drink
Baños has a good selection of nightlife with bars and discos concentrated in the south of the city.

There's a whole street in downtown with salsathecas where you can dance all night. Other than that, in most salsathecas around Baños, they mostly play American pop music. One place to dance salsa is the Leprecaun Bar. Go there early (around 9 o'clock) where the place isn't too busy, ask the staff to put on some salsa music and they are even happy to give you dance lessons.



Sleep
Given its small size, there are a lot of hotels in Baños, and thanks to the competition prices are in general low and standards high. Public computers with Internet access are common.

Emergency numbers

 * Police: 101
 * Ambulance: (03) 2741 367 ext. 25
 * Firefighters: (03) 2740 500

Go next

 * Quito — the capital is a couple of hours on the road to the northwest.
 * Puyo — to the northeast, here you can see a spectacular waterfall and it is a gateway to the Amazon. Apparently, there buses leaving every 30 minutes.
 * Riobamba — to the south, this is Ecuador's third largest city and next to it is Chimborazo, whose summit is the point furthest away from the Earth's center.
 * Other bus destinations: Coca (Puerto Francisco de Orellana), Ambato, Cuenca, …