The road east
Papallacta hot springs day trip from Quito
A Papallacta hot springs day trip from Quito climbs east into the páramo, soaks, and comes back. The village sits at 3,300 m. These are listings we could open. The price is on the partner’s page.
Photograph by David C. S., CC BY-SA 4.0.
Listings
Ways to book
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GetYourGuide
Páramo, then the pools
A set day with a hike before the soak.
Hotel pickup, a drive toward the eastern Andes, a hike on páramo paths in Cayambe-Coca National Park, and time at the Papallacta hot springs. The listing mentions a stop near 4,000 m when the weather allows a view of Cayambe.
See prices -
Viator
Private soak and a walk
A shorter private day built around the pools.
A certified guide, private transport, hotel pickup and drop-off in Quito, and the entrance to the Termas spa. The listing describes a walk of about 1.5 hours in the cloud forest of Cayambe-Coca. It asks for a minimum of two people.
Photograph by Hubertl, CC BY-SA 4.0.
See prices -
Viator
Guango and the pass
Birds and Antisana on the way to the same water.
A private day with hotel pickup, including the airport area, a bilingual naturalist guide, and the Guango cloud-forest reserve. The listing names a stop at the hot-spring complex and Antisana on a clear pass. Read the included list for whether lunch is in the price.
Photograph by Stefan Weigel, CC BY 3.0.
See prices
Buttons above are paid partner links. How that works.
On the ground
Trip tips
- Quito
- East over the páramo
- The pass
- Papallacta
- Back to Quito
The road leaves the city toward the eastern cordillera. Antisana, at 5,753 m, sits about 50 km southeast of Quito and shows on a clear pass. The village is the soak. Baeza and the Napo are farther down the same highway.
When
A morning departure, and not your first afternoon in Quito. The 9-hour listing is the fuller hike. The 8-hour private day is the soak with a shorter walk.
Weather
Páramo cloud and a cold wind at the pass, then warm water. A view of Cayambe or Antisana is a weather event, not a guarantee. Bring a layer for the overlook and a swimsuit for the pools.
Stops
The hot springs, a páramo path in Cayambe-Coca on the longer listing, and Guango if you booked the bird day. Oyacachi, a smaller community pool in the same region, is the alternative in the hot-springs chapter. It is not on these three listings.
Altitude and what to bring
3,300 m in the village, and near 4,000 m if the day climbs for the view. Drink water, eat, and skip the trip if Quito has already given you a headache. The altitude chapter is the rule for the first 48 hours.
Sources: Wikipedia, Papallacta · Wikipedia, Antisana · GetYourGuide, Papallacta day . Rewritten here. Fees, hours, and roads change.
Before you go
Good to know
- Papallacta is a village at 3,300 m in Napo, east of Quito. The pools are a resort in that valley. The lagoon is the cold water above them.
- The road continues toward Baeza and, eventually, the Amazon. The pools are a destination. They are not a stop on the way to a lodge the same day.
- One listing climbs toward 4,000 m for a view. That is higher than the village. Do not stack it on the afternoon you land.
Landing at Mariscal Sucre and would rather not start in a city taxi? UIO Transfers is a private car from the airport. It is the owner’s company, not a third-party ad.
Also on this site: Quito · Quito altitude · The Amazon chapter .
Questions
Before you click
How long is a Papallacta day trip from Quito?
One listing says 9 hours, with a páramo hike and the springs. A private spa day says 8 hours, with a walk of about 1.5 hours. A Guango and pass day says 8–10 hours.
How high is Papallacta?
The village is at 3,300 m. Quito is about 2,850 m, so the day goes up, not down. A viewpoint on one listing is near 4,000 m.
Are the pools the same as the lagoon?
No. Laguna de Papallacta is the cold lake in the páramo. The hot springs are the developed pools lower in the valley. A photograph of the lake is not a photograph of the soak.
Can you continue to the Amazon the same day?
The hot-springs chapter calls that a long drive and treats the pools as their own destination. A lodge tour is booked as nights, not as the end of this day.