Travelling in Ecuador...Baños de Agua Santa

Baños de Agua Santa

Baños de Agua Santa, night view

Basílica de la Virgen, built from 1904 to 1944

Baños de Agua Santa is a city located 45 minutes from Ambato, on the way Ambato - Puyo, at the slopes of the Tungurahua. The weather is pleasant, most of the year is warm but humid. This is  a very important touristic city since it's the entrance to the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest. Here you can find a lot of things to do. The activities,  if you have an adventurous spirit,  include:

Canopy: your age doesn't matter, because children and adults can enjoy canopying across ravines or rivers, from 250 meters to 1000 meters. There are a lot of different places alongside the road that offer this activity, where you can see the beautiful nature around you.

Rafting: if you like to practice this extreme sport, there are two different  routes, both of them in the Pastaza River, departing from San Francisco or from La Penal area (Río Negro). No experience needed in the III level route, but for the IV and V level route, you must be skilled in this practice.

Canyoning: you can practice this activity in the waterfalls, such as Chamana, Río Blanco, Cashaurco and San Jorge. The equipment is fully provided by the touristic agency of your choice. They'll send you with an experienced guide, too.

Bungee jumping: you can practice this in the San Francisco bridge and the Río Blanco bridge. When I did bungee jumping (totally amazing), it was a holiday and we just approached to the jumping spot; the people in charge told me that you can do that (just approach to the jumping spot), on holidays and weekends. If you want to go during the weekday, you need to contact an touristic agency in the city.

Mountain biking: you can rent bikes in the city and some people like to ride their bikes in the road, but I don't recommend it because the road is really narrow and it could be dangerous. I you want to practice downhill, there are bike trails, some of them for skilled bikers and some that are way easier, for people with little experience.

But if you just want to relax, don't worry, you can do it too. You can go to spas and resorts and swim in the thermal pools, whose waters have healing properties, according to the legends (that's why the city is called "Holy Water Baths").

You can visit the waterfalls, in the city are tons of touristic agencies that organize tours to visit almost every one of them.

El Agoyán waterfall

Path to one of the waterfalls

Pailón del Diablo, waterfall, Río Verde.

Manto de la Novia (The Bride's veil) waterfall

The waterfall that we enjoyed the most is Pailón del Diablo. To get there, you have to go to a town called Río Verde, 30 minutes from Baños, on the way to Puyo. In this town you can find a river and a park with an artificial lagoon where you can rent pedal boats. Well, to get to the waterfall, you have to walk about 1 km, from the town; don't worry, there's a guide and marked paths. One of the most fun parts is La Grieta al Cielo (Crack to the sky), a crack in the mountain where you have to go crouching and, in some parts, almost on your knees. More information clicking here.

You can climb the volcano; people say it's pretty easy, in comparison with other mountains. You should know that the Tungurahua has been an active volcano since October 1999. Sometimes there are little earthquakes, but occasionally, it erupts and the city needs to be evacuated. If you want to check out the volcano activity,  please click here.

While we were here, we stayed at La Carolina Hostel. Again, a non-expensive, comfortable, clean hostel with good service and it's own little restaurant. If you want information about the hostel, call this number (593) (3) 2740592.

There are resorts too, but we haven't been able to stay there. Luna Runtún, Adventure Spa is really popular and luxurious, with a restaurant called "Cafe del Cielo", where you can enjoy the view of the city, and a spa, the Volcanic SPA (for information here). Another one is Samari Spa Hotel (information here).

If you want to visit Baños de Agua Santa and you want more information about tours and hotels, click here.