NOVEMBER 2019
Baños is the self proclaimed adventure capital of Ecuador. While traveling from Colombia to Peru, we decided to spend a few days in Ecuador and we chose Baños as our main base. Baños is located in the middle of Ecuador, close to the Amazon forest, so there are many volcanoes, lush greenery and high mountains, which makes it the perfect place to spend a few active days. When visiting Ecuador, Baños definitely should be on your must visit list!
Practical information
We arrived in Baños from Quito. In Quito buses leave for Baños about every 20 minutes, so you just have to go to the Quitumbe bus terminal and buy a bus ticket and you are good to go. We paid $ 4,50 each for the 3,5 hours bus ride, which was pretty comfortable.
In Baños we stayed in the hotel Balcon del Cielo for $ 22 per night. The hotel is pretty basic, but it has amazing views of the mountains, hot water, a comfortable bed, a nice breakfast, WiFi fast enough for Netflix and it is run by a kind family. At night it is very quiet, but you do hear the soothing sounds of the nearby waterfalls.
There are a lot of stories about Ecuador being unsafe, but we experienced no issues. Baños is the perfect introduction to Ecuador, as it is a small town, everybody knows each other and therefore it felt pretty safe. We were not being hassled on the streets and could walk around by ourselves at night.
When we just arrived to Quito and Baños we thought Ecuador was much more expensive than Colombia, because a beer usually costs about $ 2,50-$3, but we later on learnt that you share beer in Ecuador as you receive a huge bottle. When a pizza is priced $ 12, it is also meant to be shared, as most dishes cost about $ 7. Sharing is caring in Ecuador!
Things to do in Baños
How long you should stay in Baños depends on which activities you want to do. In this chapter I will explain which activities we did, but you can also go canyoning, cycling a waterfall route, rafting and jump from the bridge next to our hotel for $ 20…
Paillon del Diablo: This is a waterfall in the proximity of Baños. This waterfall is really cool to visit, because it is quite high and you can get really close to it. They have pretty stairs, which you can ascend down to the waterfall and you will get completely soaked by all the water that is splashing up. The sound of the water falling down is overwhelming and only adds to the amazing experience. You can also follow a path until behind the waterfall, this was quite an adventure because you had to crawl through holes to get there. When we decided to visit the Paillon del Diablo, I did not know that you had to do a hike to the stairs, the path is pretty slippery and takes about 15-20 minutes, so make sure to bring sturdy shoes. The entrance fee for the waterfall is $ 2 and also includes entry to a suspension bridge from which you have good views of the waterfall. We took a taxi to the Paillon del Diablo for $ 7 and were able to take a bus back for $ 1. If you ask around for the bus, you can probably catch it on the way there too.
La Casa del Arbol: La Casa del Arbol is a beautiful swing above Baños which has gained international recognition by winning a price in National Geographic magazine. The swing looks quite impressive in the picture but it is not scary at all (if you don’t have a fear of heights). For $ 1 you get access to all the swings at La Casa del Arbol and you can also do a little canopy. We spent about an hour here and had a lot of fun trying different kind of swings. There are some buses leaving for La Casa del Arbol from Baños, they cost $ 1 one-way, I included the timetable in the pictures below. We decided to go by taxi, as it can get pretty crowded when several buses and tour companies arrive at La Casa del Arbol. But, to be honest, it doesn’t matter that much if it is crowded as one of the employees manages that everybody gets a turn at the “famous” swing.
Luna Volcan Spa: Baños is named after the many hot springs that are surrounding the town, so it is really easy to visit a hot spring in Baños. We decided to splurge and go to the most expensive hot spring: Luna Volcan Spa. The entrance fee for the hot springs and swimming pool is $ 20, which is quite a lot in Ecuador, but you get the best views of Baños and its surroundings. You can spend 3 hours in the pools and receive a rope, towel and a locker. We had a really relaxing afternoon and were glad we decided to treat ourselves. Besides the amazing location of the hot springs, we did think some things could be improved at Luna Volcan Spa.. there are too little pool loungers and umbrellas, the staff was lacking with cleaning the tables and the staff clearly made a difference between people staying at the hotel and day guests.
The hotel did look really beautiful, it might fit into your honeymoon budget as prices start at a pricy $ 200 per night. We took the La Casa del Arbol bus and requested at the bus driver to stop at Luna Volcan Spa. On the way back we were lucky to catch a disco bus, who brought us back to Baños.
Baños town: Baños is a little town, but it feature many charming squares and some nice churches. We particularly liked having lunch at the market building in the center of town. The market features many little restaurants, which serve a few traditional dishes, and you will have your meal surrounded by locals. We felt very welcome to join in on the fun 🙂 In Ecuador you will see many restaurants that decorate a dead pig and continue to serve from this pig (check below for the picture), and this market features many of those pigs.. The market is only open until 6PM, so make sure you visit for lunch. You will find many dishes priced from $ 2,5 – $ 3,5 which makes it the perfect budget lunch (and we didn’t get sick).
Die schommels leken mij eng hoor!…maar jullie zijn niet bang zie ik….gr.
Haha niets voor jou om bang te zijn 😉