Baños de Agua Santa (or simply, Baños) is the jumping-off point for some of the best highland adventures in Ecuador. And the Ruta de las Cascadas might just be our favorite!
Lori and I weren’t sure what to expect before we came here. But we met so many other travelers with Baños near the top of their Ecuador travel itinerary. Now, we know why!
Here’s our first-hand guide for visiting this spectacular corner of the Andes. We’ll offer important tips for your visit and give you an idea of what to expect.
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First Impressions of Baños, Ecuador
From the beginning, Lori and I found Baños de Agua Santa to be a very agreeable place to spend a few days or more. It seamlessly blends some of the more colorful aspects of Ecuadorean-Andean culture with spectacular scenery and endless outdoor adventure opportunities.
Not only is Baños enveloped by spectacular mountains and volcanoes, the town itself is clean and easy to manage. But make no mistake, Baños is a Grade-A tourism town, attracting visitors from across the globe.
Still, pockets of solace and genuine Ecuadorean experiences abound—you just have to allow yourself to venture away from the Centro and tourist hotspots.
Nevertheless, for two foreign backpackers traveling for an extended period of time, Baños ended up being a thoroughly relaxing reprieve from the road.
Featured Things to See & Do
We were blown away by the number of things to see and do in and around Baños de Agua Santa, and it was a daunting task just deciding what to prioritize for the relatively short time we were here.
If we could do it over again, we would certainly add more time for Baños if we could swing it.
Here are some of the must-see attractions and experiences from our time in this very worthwhile Andean destination.
Wandering Around El Centro
We didn’t come here solely for the purposes of exploring the historic center of town, but rather found it a pleasant surprise and huge bonus. Baños gets a lot of press for being a nature lover’s paradise, but not a lot for the town itself.
At the center of it all is the impressive Santuario y Basílica Católica Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Agua Santa de Baños—a very long name for a very big church.
The basilica is definitely worth some time if you can pull yourself away from all the outdoor adventures on offer in the area.
If you want to get around town in style, hop one of these bad boys and you’re off!
What appears to be either a defunct water slide park, or one of the craziest, most epic personal residences I’ve ever seen—I’m sincerely hoping it’s the latter…
Floaty toys are a common feature of market stalls and shops in central Baños. “Why?” you ask? Because of Baños’ famous baños (baths), of course! Which brings us to…
Soaking in Piscinas Termas (Thermal Baths)
Hydrothermal swimming pools dot the landscape both inside and outside of town.
The baths in town tend to be public pools for everyone’s enjoyment (like the one above), while those around the town’s periphery tend to be incorporated into spas and resorts, like Samari Spa Resort.
Lori and I only sampled the Termas de la Virgen down at the base of the mountain, but we got the gist.
With so much to see and do in and around town, it’s hard for us to justify passing the entire day in a heated swimming pool, though some people definitely come to Baños for that reason alone.
Eating & Drinking Our Way Through Baños
Let’s be honest, not a lot of travelers head to Baños for its local food. If you’re looking for the best of Ecuadorean cuisine, there are countless better options.
With that said, Baños has to have one of the most diverse food offerings per capita on the continent. It’s pretty darn impressive. Dive into everything from Indian and Mediterranean, to Swiss, French, Italian, and down home American cuisine to name a few. Oh, and there’s tasty Ecuadorean food too if that’s what you’re craving.
Here are our recommendations of where to go in 2024:
✪ Local Specialties If you’re looking for a no muss, no fuss kind of place with darn good food, we suggest you check out Arepas To Go. For something a bit more upmarket, try La Ofrenda del Inca.
✪ Asian Cuisine Indian food wasn’t the first thing we thought of when we arrived in Baños, but if we had known about Sher E Punjab, it very well might’ve been. If you’re hankering for sushi at 5,800 feet above sea level, Zumo is probably your best bet (try their fusion offerings as well).
✪ European Swiss Bistro has become something of a local institution for their excellent food, great atmosphere, and one of the best outdoor eating areas in town. For pizza and other Italian offerings, try Leoni Pizzería.
Mirador La Virgen
We spent an entire day hiking the loop trail that starts at the Baños Hospital on Mera Street. If you start the loop in this direction, you get the seemingly endless stairs up to Mirador de la Virgen out of the way first.
There’s a lot you can do at this point. You could simply take in the views of the city and valley, and head back to town for happy hour. Or you could continue onwards and upwards for about as long as you want.
The views from here are nice and all, but they get even better the higher you go.
Hiking to The Treehouse (La Casa del Arbol)
We might have been content to hug town a bit more if we hadn’t heard about La Casa del Arbol from a fellow traveler the night before.
Hiking to the “Tree House” with the famous swing is no small feat from the city center. We managed it with a kind soul offering us a lift in the back of a pickup.
There are a number of ways to visit Casa del Arbol, but if you’re not equipped for a fairly substantial hike, we recommend finding some alternative mode of transport.
At one point early on the hike, we came upon a pleasant surprise—a coffee shop perched high above the valley with an incredible view. We stopped in, ordered a cup-o-Jose, and enjoyed la vista loca.
After hours of hiking (or what seemed like many hours, at least), we finally arrived at La Casa del Arbol! A tree house with a view!
It’s a lovely place to rest a while, picnic or take the swing for a swing over the valley below.
Unfortunately for us, the swing was out of commission when we visited. But this is what we imagine it might have been like…
After the Tree House, we started the journey back to the valley floor (and town), via another impressive viewpoint and a slippery, slidey trail, made worse by the fact that, by this point, the sun had set on the valley and we found ourselves hiking the last leg in near darkness without a flashlight, making for some harrowing near misses.
Ruta de las Cascadas (Waterfall Route)
Head east out of town in the direction of the Amazon Basin and you’ll very quickly find yourself on the Ruta de las Cascadas, a stunning stretch of highway following a narrow river dotted with dozens of waterfalls, both big and small.
In addition to picturesque falls, this is where you can also expect to find the bulk of the area’s adrenaline-inducing activities, for which Baños is now famous. Zip-lining, whitewater rafting, and canyoning are just a few on offer.
This section, however, is devoted to touring the waterfalls, which you can do by bike, ATV, or as part of a tour.
Organizing the Day Trip
A bicycle seemed like an appropriate mode of transport for tackling the Ruta de las Cascadas—a day-long excursion to experience some of the areas natural attractions. That is, until all the hiking we had been in the days before started catching up with our legs.
Yes, the Ruta de las Cascadas is mostly downhill from Baños, but that also means that it is mostly uphill coming back. In a few days, we would be trekking the Quilotoa loop as well, so a rest was in order.
Luckily, Baños offers numerous options for day trips and modes of transport to do them by.
Our Ruta de las Cascadas Tour Picks for 2024
If we were planning to do the Ruta de las Cascadas right now, this would be our day trip shortlist:
✪ Personalized Tour This full-day tour for nature lovers let’s you pick and choose which activities you would like to experience.
✪ Bike Tour Package All-day bike rental package includes expert advice and all you need for a great day out exploring Ruta de las Cascadas.
✪ Day Trip from Quito Based in Quito and want to see the best of the Ruta de las Cascadas in a short amount of time? Check out this top-rated private tour from Quito.
The road we usually followed from our guesthouse into the Centro would take us by one of several buggy rental shops.
Our first afternoon in Baños we disparaged the idea of doing such a thing. The next morning, we wondered who actually rented them and where they went. By the time evening rolled around, we were hobbling back to our guesthouse after a [very] long day of hiking and the idea didn’t sound so bad any more.
And, by the next morning, we were hitting the Waterfall Route in a dune buggy.
The Ruta de las Cascadas (Waterfall Route) follows a 61 km (31 mile) highway connecting Baños with the lowland jungles of the Oriente. Dropping 1,000 meters (~3,300 ft.) along the way, the route offers access to a dozen of Ecuador’s most spectacular waterfalls.
While it would have been possible for us to cover the entire stretch by tour bus, we opted to set our sights on the first 17 kilometers (11 miles) east of town. A total of 22 miles out and back in a dune buggy (with frequent stops for hiking) ended up being a perfect distance for us to cover in one day.
The map above gives an overview of the meat of the route, with Baños at the far upper-left corner. We made it as far as the village of Rio Negro before turning back.
If you love waterfalls, jungly mountain scenery, and a bit of a thrill, this has got to be one of the best day trips in the world for doing just that.
Plus, we were pleasantly surprised by the low number of other foot and wheel traffic along the route (this being August and one of Ecuador’s most popular regions).
Best of all, most of the other visitors to the falls accessed them via tour buses, and we rarely saw other vehicles on the road, which meant we largely had the road to ourselves.
A combination of the low number of vehicles, smooth highway, and spectacular scenery made the Ruta de las Cascadas a blast to drive in our little dune buggy.
A number of narrow tunnels dot the highway, but nearly all of them have a buggy/bike/pedestrian bypass, which is mandatory if you aren’t a full-size vehicle.
Here’s a quick overview of the three major falls we visited along the Waterfall Route.
Cascada de Agoyan
Cascada de Agoyan was our first waterfall stop along the route and was much more impressive than we expected.
It appeared you could take a tarabita (cable car) across the river to the other side, but we were going to save that adventure for our next stop where you can descend to the base of the falls.
Either way, Cascada de Agoyan makes for a worthwhile pitstop before carrying on.
Tarabita Manto de la Novia
A short while later, we arrived at Tarabita Manto de la Novia, which has the distinction of providing access to Manto de la Novia falls via a somewhat rickety tarabita.
True, an aging metal box rolling along a long set of steel cables didn’t exactly inspire confidence to begin with, but it isn’t until we were firmly latched into the box and moving that three things became immediately apparent:
1) The machine powering the cable car was a diesel monstrosity that looked like a science project…
2) The operator perched atop the belching monstrosity looked to be no older than 12, and…
3) We were accelerating downward into a narrow canyon toward a rock wall with no clear sense of how this thing comes to a stop…well, at least a stop in which all passengers exit the death box without the aid of a coroner.
Miraculously, the metal cage did come to a stop that allowed all occupants to exit unassisted, and seconds after leaving the canyon rim high above, we found ourselves on the riverbed.
Two impressive enough falls, which have since combined into one since our visit. Just goes to show how the immense power of nature can make these wonders ever-changing.
Cascada El Pailon del Diablo (Devil’s Whirlpool)
At our next big stop, we followed the well-maintained trail down into the canyon to the Devil’s Whirlpool Falls (Cascada El Pailon del Diablo).
As impressive as the waterfall is, apparently it was once much larger. Most of the water flow was diverted underground in the 1970s to power turbines for electricity.
What you see here is what was left after the construction of the hydro-electric plant. Still pretty awesome, and definitely our undisputed favorite of the day.
A series of stone and concrete stairs allows you to get up close and personal with these falls, which were near maximum volume during our visit. There was also a series of tunnels that allow you to access the back of the falls—very cool!
After a long day of waterfall hopping in our zippy dune buggy, we stopped at the famous San Francisco Bridge to watch (but not participate in…at least not this trip) the bridge swingers!
Much like bungee jumping, jumpers are tethered to a sort of bungee cable and freefall from a bridge. However, in bridge swinging, the emphasis is more on the swinging than the freefall, as there is only about 80 meters (262 feet) between your head and the rocky river bed here.
After a long and exciting day of chasing waterfalls along the Ruta de las Cascadas, it was time to get the vehicle back just in time for closing!
Final Thoughts
What can I say about Baños de Agua Santa and the Ruta de las Cascadas that hasn’t already been said a million times over? If you’re on the fence, then just go. Chances are, there will be something in and around this place that you’ll absolutely love.
There are few places that Lori and I have traveled to that offer so much in way of diversity—in activities, relaxation, cuisine, and even microclimates!
You can get your adrenaline kick in the morning, recuperate in a world-class spa at midday, hike up to an amazing mirador for sunset, and feast on delicious international cuisine all before doing it again the next day.
And after your done with that, the equally incredible destinations of Quilotoa, Cuenca, Quito, the Pacific Coast, and even the Amazon Basin await you at your next stop.