Baños, under the volcano

Baños de Agua Santa sits in a green gorge where the sierra starts to fall toward the Amazon. Tungurahua, the volcano above town, was very active from 1999 into the 2010s. It is quieter now. It is not extinct. The town’s name, “baths of holy water,” comes from the hot springs at its edge.

Waterfalls

The Ruta de las Cascadas runs east along the Pastaza. People bike it, which is the local sport, or drive it and stop. The famous drop is Pailón del Diablo, at Río Verde: a powerful fall in a narrow gorge, reached by a slick path and a viewpoint that earns the walk.

The swing at the Casa del Árbol, on the shoulder of the mountain, is the photograph everyone has seen. Go for the valley, not for the swing. Clouds decide whether you get either.

Hot water and a long road

The Termas de la Virgen are the public baths in town, fed by volcanic water. There are other pools nearby. For a wider look at hot water in the country, including Papallacta, read hot springs.

Baños is also the last comfortable town before the road drops to Puyo and the edge of the Oriente. It is a gateway, not the jungle. The Amazon chapter starts where this gorge ends.

Rafting on the Pastaza and canopy rides are sold all over town. Choose operators by reputation and equipment, not by the person who meets you at the bus. The town is built for visitors. That is convenient, and it is a reason to keep one evening for the waterfall road after the day-trippers leave.