Mountains covered in layers of green, rivers freely flowing in and out of the town, and steep hikes with striking views of the active Tungurahua volcano. The Ecuadorian town is situated in the middle of playful mountains which makes for perfect adventures. Zip lining, canyoning, bridge jumping, paragliding, horse back riding, and more. It’s a quiet town with 4 baths similar to thermals with waterfalls flowing into them. You will never get bored in this town as the night life is just as fun, I even found my first Indian Pale Ale beer in all my 5 months of travel!

I went on many hikes including one that was 3 hours straight up stairs and the side of a mountain. It was worth the work as we heard the rumble of the volcano, a louder boise similar to your stomach rumbling, and packed with enormous energy.

Once at the top we were greeted with a tree house, swing, and incredible 360 view of the surrounding mountains and directly in front was the gorgeous Mt. Tungurahua herself. The noises that came from that mountain scared me!

As we were hiking back down at night (make sure to bring head lamps) we heard the rumbling noises get louder. Immediately following, the volcano began spewing hot neon red, yellow and magenta lava high up into the air and low below, spilling over the sides of the mountain. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. The volcano has been active for 14 years and apparently it is rare to see because of the clouds. However it does happen enough where the people of Baños are not worried. Spectacular!

The next day I went canyoning through 5 different waterfalls. Cliffs that drop off 100 feet into canyons filled with sprinkling waterfalls covered in rusty orange deposits and deep green moss. We scaled down the falls with wet suits, helmets and harnesses. Repelling down the cliffs was dream like. At one point I looked up 30 feet to the spraying water bolting down rock and looked down 70 feet to the water crashing into the pebbles below. The whole trip was 4 hours long, and $20.00 USD a person, with pictures included. It was worth every penny!

The town is known for its “Baños” which in Spanish means baths, or bathroom. The baths are $2.00-3.00 USD depending on daytime or nighttime. My experience with the baths were not what I thought it would be. It was definitely worth it to see, but they were so dirty. Brown water, people like sardines stacked in a pool. I saw more than 2 children peeing as the parents held them above the water as they were doing it! If you are interested in going to thermals, hot springs, or baths I would recommend either going at 6am or go to the thermals 1.5 hours away from Quito. They are called Papallacta where there are 6 hot bright blue hot spring baths next to a river and it was so much more relaxing and worth it. The price for those baths were more, $7.00 USD and was much more worth the trip. The bus ride from Quito was $1.50 USD.

My hostel, Princesa Maria was only $7.00 USD a night for a dorm and $8.00 USD a night for a private per person. The staff was so friendly and ultimately why I stayed a week long.

Baños is a must visit city in Ecuador. It’s along the way to Peru on the main highway.

From Quito to Banos you an take a 4-6 hour bus ride (depending on night or daytime) which costs $4.00 USD. The terminal in Quito is about 1.5 hours without traffic from the Maniscal and downtown of Quito. It’s only $.25 USD on bus but can get over crowded. I would recommend taking a taxi for $10.00 – 15.00 USD as it only takes 45 minutes. Once in banos the terminal is in the center of town.

If you are coming from Guayaquil it’s about a 7 hour bus ride, and around $7.00 USD in price. It’s best to take a night bus as its fast and easy