Warm baths and waterfalls at Baños - in Ecuador

Where in the world would you be asked, when checking into your hotel, whether you’d like a view of the garden or of the waterfall?

I spent three weeks last October travelling in Ecuador with two girlfriends and the prize for holiday atmosphere had to go to the town of Baños where we spent a few days. The town sits in a deep valley, with vertical cliffs on either side and is overshadowed by the still active volcano Mt Tungurahua, locally known as the throat of fire - see my last post on sleeping under a smoking volcano.

Much as we loved the night we spent in luxury at Luna Runtun spa, set on the cliff above the town, we concluded that this little piece of paradise wasn’t the real Ecuador. So we moved down to the valley, checking in first to the guest house, Casa del Abuelo and later into it’s big sister the Posade del Arte. The view of the waterfall turned out to be the right choice, as the garden was home to a noisy cockerel who we could have cheerfully strangled when he made his presence felt in the small hours of the morning.

The Casa del Abuelo offers bed and breakfast in colourfully furnished rooms with a wine bar and art gallery downstairs. The main hotel, Posada del Arte was also wonderful, with the work of Ecuadorian artists everywhere on the walls and breakfast to die for, especially all the freshly squeezed fruit juices that we enjoyed throughout our trip.

The place is run by an American couple who are keen mountain-bikers - as we relaxed over breakfast, Jim the owner was just off for a bike-ride up the mountain, but the thought was too exhausting for us to contemplate.

The town is a holiday destination for Ecuadorians families too, who come to enjoy the hot baths in the town, fed by the thermal springs and the waterfalls that cascade down the cliffs on the edge of town. We tried the Baños de la Virgen, just along the road from our hotel for a pre-breakfast dip, thinking that at 7 am on a Sunday morning we would have the place to ourselves.

No chance - we’d forgotten that it was a public holiday weekend and the place was packed with Latin mamas with their children paddling like tadpoles in the warm bath - funnily enough the cold bath was deserted! After wallowing for a little in the warm, milky green water, I moved up a notch to the near-scalding hot bath and then with a sharp intake of breath ran under the freezing showers, fed directly from the waterfall next door.

We wandered round town, sampling the local toffee called milcocha, which is made from the sugar cane growing in the area. There are rows of colourful stalls selling these sweets around the bus station and everywhere you see the toffee makers pulling the toffee on hooks in the wall.

Just beyond the bus station was the new bridge across the impressive gorge of the Rio Pastaza, making its way towards the Amazon basin. The bridge is an escape route for the population of Baños if the eruption of Mt Tungurahua forces them to evacuate in a hurry, as happened in 1999.

We clambered down to the older bridge below, passing several couples out for a romantic stroll, and got a great view of the gorge and the bungee jumpers on the bridge above us. I saw one girl being counted down time and again but not plucking up the courage to jump until finally she was given a gentle nudge - needless to say I wasn’t tempted.

One of the fun things to do around Baños is a trip along the Ruta de las Cascadas, where one impressive waterfall after another cascades down the side of the gorge. We tagged on to a group in a mini-bus, but the more energetic had hired mountain bikes to cycle along this route.

In order to see the Manta de Novia waterfall we took the rather precarious wire cable car across the gorge, and further along the route trekked along a rocky path to find the famous Pailón del Diablo or Devil’s cauldron, which we viewed from the rope bridge (only 5 people at a time) and then from a closer vantage point where we were drenched by the spray.

The guide for our waterfall viewing was slightly creepy - “Don’t worry, you can swim in your underwear”, he said, as we stood beside the pool below yet another magnificent waterfall. “I’m a Pisces, water is my life. I’m visiting England soon, will I see you?” I fiddled nervously with my wedding ring and made my excuses.

Thanks to dnlpnsk and jrubinic for their photos on Flickr

You can see my Ecuador photos on Flickr here.

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