Hot springs

Ecuador has the geology for hot water and the habit of building pools beside it. Two places cover most travelers. A third is there when you want the smaller version.

Baños

The Termas de la Virgen, in Baños, are the public baths at the foot of Tungurahua. The water is volcanic and the setting is the town, not a wilderness. There are other pools nearby for people who want a quieter hour. Go in the morning if you can. We will not invent an entry fee or a closing time. Ask when you arrive, and assume the popular hours are popular.

The waterfall road is the rest of that day. Do not try to combine it with a summit.

Papallacta

Papallacta sits in the páramo east of Quito, on the road that eventually falls to the Amazon. The developed pools at Termas de Papallacta are the well-known stop: a resort of hot water, with Laguna de Papallacta in the cold air above them. The altitude is serious, around 3,300 meters. People drive up from the city, soak, and underestimate the headache on the way home. Eat, drink water, and do not stack this on your first afternoon in the country.

Oyacachi, a community in the same region, runs a simpler set of pools. It is the local alternative when you want less of a resort.

What hot water is not

A soak is a pleasure. It is not a treatment, and it is not wise after a day of altitude sickness or with open cuts. The road from Papallacta continues east toward Baeza and, eventually, the Amazon. That is a long drive. The pools are a destination of their own.