Final word about Banos...and THE ROAD! (for now)

OK Everybody,

Seems to be a lot of back and forth about the road from Banos to Ambato. As of June 28, 2007 this is the final word: you can make it to Baños. Yes, the road has been washed out. The washout is fairly close to Baños (within 7km, max). We left Baños yesterday and it was fairly straightforward to get to Ambato and Riobamba. If you are coming from Ambato then simply get a bus going to Baños. They will take you as far as they can, which is where the military have set up a road block. From there you can either:

1) walk up the dirt road to where it will turn into a dirt path and a flat portion.
2) catch a small pickup that will take you up the road to the flat portion thus saving you approx. 15 min of walking

We walked so I cannot quote prices on the pickup ride. From the top of the road you will then go over a flat patch (maybe a kilometer), then will descend switchbacks to the road on the otherside. Little old ladies were doing it, so it isn´t that hard. From there you can catch any available transportation to finish your trip to Baños. Fairly straightforward. All rides were within normal price range. Around $1.50 from Ambato and 25 cents from slide to Banos.

One note to those leaving Baños to go to Riobamba. Once you get to the farside of the washout just take a bus to Ambato and get another bus to Riobamba. There are buses going straight to Riobamba from the washout but we were assured that our´s would leave in 20 minutes. It did not leave for an hour and a half. "Un poco mas, un poco mas..."

The buses to Ambato fill up fast and leave frequently.

Good luck to all...

thanks for the update. will be going to banos on sunday from quito. has it been raining real hard there everyday?
ken

I got to Baños today and just thought I'd second what is said above. Easy enough to get past the landslide if you don't mind carrying your pack for 15 minutes or so. The pick ups to the top of the hill also cost $0.25.

As for the weather, well it was really nice today, a little overcast later on but sunny most of the day. Hopefully it'll stay like this!

Enjoy

just wanted to reaffirm everything that´s been said. fishmonger is precisely right and getting to banos is very straightforward. i´ve been here since wednesday, june 27th and although the hike back up the switchbacks may be a little arduous, it´s a small price to pay for getting to a nice spot.

the weather is a bit overcast and has been raining sporadically in the evenings but nothing too severe.

so spread the word . . . banos is perfectly fine!

Hi. Any update on the road situation to Banos? We will be visiting in early August and planned to take a taxi to near Puyo, via Banos. We would be coming from either Ambato or Riobamba. There are several elderly people on our group, so we really can't do much hiking/walking if the road isn't passable for vehicles. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.