Welcome to Baños
Baños is a mixed bag. The setting is amazing: you can see waterfalls, hike through lush forests, rest your bones in steaming thermal springs, hike down impossibly steep gorges, bike or boat all the way to the Amazon Basin, and marvel at the occasional eruption of nearby Volcán Tungurahua. The town itself is somewhat overwhelmed with garish tour operators, cut-price spas and budget accommodations, but the jigsaw-puzzle-like sidewalks in red, yellow, and blue are wide enough to stroll on, and the cathedrals, spotlit in different colors, look pretty from the plazas at night.
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Baños activities
Canyoning in Rio Blanco from Baños
ItineraryThis is a typical itinerary for this productThe meeting point is at 9am at our agency in Baños where we will get changed and put our wetsuits and shoes on. We can leave our clothes and bags at the entrance of the Canyoning place. Then, we are heading in a private car to Rio Blanco for about 20 minutes. After we have the safety briefing by our guide explaining the abseiling techniques and safety instructions, you will be able to practice on land before we enter the canyon. When everybody are prepared we will have to hike uphill for about 20 minutes through breathtaking scenery. Then we can rappel down 3 different waterfalls, almost at the end of the canyoning section you can experience a natural waterslide that is the icon of this trip. At the entrance of the Canyoning section you will change back into your clothes and will return to Baños. Our services end here.Duration: 4 hoursLocation: Imagine Ecuador, Banos, Tungurahua Province
Private 5-Day Antisana, Quilotoa, Baños, Chimborazo from Quito
Day 1: Condor's Bioreserve - Antisana Volcano (L, D)Leave Quito early in the morning and travel to the Antisana Volcano, one of Ecuador’s most-active volcanoes. Once there, you will start to drive uphill to the ecological reserve. Hike around the area to see eagles, caracaras, white tailed deer, pumas, and Andean condors.Trek through the Andean slopes until the Mica lake in order to have a better view of the volcano and to watch beautiful water birds. After lunch, you will travel along the Avenue of the Volcanos. Overnight in Cotopaxi or ChugchilanDay 2: Andes Landscape - Local Communities - Quilotoa Lake (B, L)Visit the Quilotoa Lagoon, an emerald-green crater lake whose water color changes depending on the climate. On the way, you’ll observe the colorful landscape of the moors and indigenous communities that inhabit the area. At the lagoon, you can descend into the crater and return on horseback or simply take a walk around the crater. Overnight in BañosDay 3: Pintoresque Waterfalls – Hot Springs – Baños Village (B, L)Spend a full day exploring the town of Baños and the valley of the waterfalls. Visit The Pailon del Diablo (Devil's Cauldron), one of the largest and most spectacular of Ecuador's waterfalls. Your driver is at your disposal for the whole day to give you maximum flexibility in the visits that you would like to make, including a visit to Casa De Arbol, home to the famous rope swing. Opt to go horseback riding, ziplining, or white-water rafting at your own expense. Overnight in RiobambaDay 4: Chimborazo National Park – Andes Landscape (L, D)After breakfast, we’ll take the way to Chimborazo National Park, passing through the some communities. We’ll take you up to the first shelter (Carrel Brothers) 4800 meters, we have a short hike from the first to the second shelter (Edward Whymper) 5000 meters, return the first shelter. Overnight in Alausi.Day 5: Alausí – Devil's Nose (B, L)After breakfast, early in the morning we depart to Alausí, beautiful old town with one hundred colonial houses. Time to take the spectacular train, considered the most difficult train of the XX century. You will descend gradually from the highlands to the lowlands, at times zigzagging, or hugging the cliffs. In the descending at the lowest point the incredible devils nose an interesting rock will appear in the horizon. The train descends and then returns to Alausí again. Return to Quito.
2 Day Private Tour to Quilotoa Lagoon and Baños Village from Quito
Day 1: Quito - Quilotoa Lagoon ( lunch )Your 2-day tour starts a journey through the Avenue of the Volcanoes, passing through by the towns of Latacunga and Pujilí. On the way to Quilotoa, you’ll stop to visit an indigenous thatched house from the Paramos tribe, where you’ll observe customs of residents.Visit the town of Tigua, famous for its naive paintings. Then, continue up to the Quilotoa volcano, where you will be able to descend to the Quilotoa Lagoon located inside the crater. Once there you can enjoy of kayaking ride inside of the lake or go mule riding back to the top.Overnight in BañosDay 2: Baños - Quito (breakfast, lunch)After breakfast, you will take a walk to Agoyan Pailón del Diablo and Manto de la Novia waterfalls where it is possible to take a cable car down near the waterfall and Casa del Árbol to have a spectacular view of Baños.Lunch and around 14:30 pm return to Quito.
Banos to Puyo Amazon Rainforest Full-Day Trip Including Lunch
Your day trip to the Amazon jungle starts with meeting at a central location in Baños at 8:30 am. There, you will meet your prepared and experienced leaders and board a private vehicle to head to Puyo. After approximately 1 hour, you will reach Puyo where your first stop will be a rescue center for animals. Here, you will see monkeys, ocelots and caimans. We will then head to the camp in Hola Vida Reserve, an ecological reserve of 225 hectares dedicated to the conservation of the environment. You will first head with your guide to visit a beautiful waterfall located about two hours away from the cabins in the reserve. Once there, you will have a chance to swim and enjoy the tranquility of the forest. Spend some time here, taking in the atmosphere and stunning settings, which make this area a memorable place. Then, it is time to head back to the cabins and camp. On your way back, you will pass through and explore the jungle with your guide. Learn about the rainforest and its flora and fauna and try to spot interesting flowers and birds. Once you reach the cabins, you will enjoy a delicious and traditional lunch and then head on an exciting paddle canoe ride on the Puyo river. After 30-minutes of fun in the river, you will visit a viewpoint to admire an exceptional view of the rainforest and then continue your tour by visiting a Quichua indigenous community. See the people and how they make necklaces and bracelets. Here, you can also try and practice the blowpipe and paint your faces with achiote, which is a natural paint. After a fun-filled jungle adventure, you will be taken back to Baños.
Discovering Ecuador By Public Bus
Start and end in Quito! With the discovery tour Discovering Ecuador By Public Bus , you have a 17 day tour package taking you through Quito, Ecuador and 13 other destinations in Ecuador such as Otavalo , Cuicocha lake, Tena City , the Amazon , nightlife in Banos , the waterfalls road , Chimborazo Volcano , Devils Nose Train Ride , The Avenue of the Volcanoes , Cuenca City and surroundings , Guayaquil down town, Puerto Lopez , Isla de la Plata and much more.Discovering Ecuador By Public Bus is a middle size group tour that includes accommodation as well as an expert guide, meals, transport.INCLUDED 17 Days / 16 Nights program in TWIN or DBL room ( ask for single supplement room price )English Speaking Tour GuideLocal bus Transportation ( public bus )All sightseing mentioned in program American breakfast included everydayLunch ( just at the jungle lodge )Dinner ( just at the jungle lodge )NOT INCLUDED Personal Expenses Phone CallsDrinks any activity no specified in programLocal Flight from Manta to Quito is not included, however, we recomend that you book it directly through us.Gratuities
FROM QUITO TO BAÑOS
Day 1: We start our tour from Quito early in the morning. The first day we will drive to Quilotoa Crater Lake but on the way we will have some stops. Depending of the day of departure we will stop at one of the traditional indigenous markets. This can be in Pujilí or Zumbahua that operate once a week and where the locals from the area congregate to sell their products. Another stop Tigua village and their famous painters who have achieved a prestigious name for painting indigenous traditions and Andean landscapes on goatskin. One stop more will be in the Toachi canyons before we continue to Quilotoa. This is our destination, where it will be possible to hike part of the edge of the crater or hike down to the lake (this hike is demanding but it is possible to hire a mule for the return climb. (This cost is not included). We will have lunch at one of the locally own restaurants in the area and will move to Baños. On the way we will stop to try traditional ice-creams elaborated in the area. Our final destination this first day is a little town called “Baños” one of the most popular and interesting towns on the way to the Amazon Rainforest.Day 2: We have breakfast at the hotel and we will move east to visit the amazing route of the waterfalls where we have the chance to have a little ride on a gondola crossing the big Pastaza River to get a close view of one of the waterfalls called “Manto de la novia”. We will also visit another waterfall called “Pailon Del Diablo” or Devil’s cauldron in English. To get here we will have a hike along a forest path for around 45 minutes. We will return to Baños for lunch. In the afternoon we will go swinging on the swing at the end of the world and visit the town. The rest of the afternoon will be free for you to explore the area.Day 3: This third day we will start our return to Quito. On the way we will visit the Salasacas indigenous group and their textile shops located in the main square of this town. We will continue to “Cotopaxi Volcano and National Park”, a volcano of 5.897-m-high considered the highest active volcano in the world. This is an impressive sight to see if weather conditions are in our favor. During our stay at the National Park we will admire its natural environment, its Flora and Fauna with the explanations provided by your naturalist guide. We have a hike around Limpiopungo Lake which is located at the foot of the volcano and another one by the edge of a cliff watching the native vegetation . We will have lunch in the area of Cotopaxi and will return to Quito afterwards.