Visual Highlights from Baños, Ecuador

View of Banos Ecuador — The view of Banos Ecuador from above – Can you spot the Basilica?

Tucked under the shadow of Ecuador’s largest volcano, high up in the Ecuadorian Andes lies the beautiful town of Baños.

Baños is named for the Church of the Virgin of the Holy Water, Nuestra Señora del Agua Santa and features an incredible Basilica in the middle of town that was built from volcanic rock after an eruption of the Tungurahua volcano in 1999, which forced an evacuation of the entire town.

Tourists both foreign and domestic come to Baños to give thanks to the Virgin as well as enjoy the famous hot springs and exciting outdoor activities.

One of the greatest aspects of exploring Baños is that you can kick your own ass all day and then apologize with a $20, 90-minute full body massage (not full service) or hot springs bath afterwards.

I went white water rafting, mountain biking, jumped off a bridge, swam in waterfalls with Spaniards, hiked to the Tungurahua volcano viewpoint and even managed to get myself in a locals pick-up basketball game.

Baños was one of the highlights of my Ecuadorian adventure and here is some visual evidence as to why. Enjoy.

Main Street in Banos Ecuador — The view of Main Street in Banos from my bathroom.

The Waterfalls of Banos Ecuador — Mountain Biking around the waterfalls in Banos

Whitewater rafting in Banos Ecuador — Whitewater rafting in Banos – Group pump up before we push off.

Rafting in Banos Ecuador — Rafting break to take a group waterfall shower. I can’t show you the photos of how it ended. Big orgy.

Treking to Tungurahua volcano viewpoint above Banos Ecuador — Trekking to Tungurahua Volcano viewpoint above Baños. It’s lonely at the top.

Wild Flowers in Banos Ecuador — So many wild flowers along the hike in Banos. It took everything I had to not taste them all.

Hiking Banos Ecuador — The farm is close to the Virgen statue. So it’s a Holy Cow.

Trekking above Banos Ecuador to the Virgen — I am about to go where no man has gone before.

Nuestra Señora del Agua Santa in Banos Ecuador — Nuestra Señora del Agua Santa in all of her purity looking over the city

Basketball in Banos Ecuador — Nothing better than a locals pick-up hoops game.

Waterfalls in Banos Ecuador — Oh hell why not one more waterfall shot – double your visual pleasure. No mas. Baños out.

Shout out to Finola of Travelola.org for providing the photos from our whitewater rafting adventure.

Gareth

My name is Gareth Leonard, a Marketing Director turned World Traveler with a passion for slow, meaningful travel. I have been traveling the world full-time for the past 9+ years and document it all on Instagram and YouTube. Come join me!

6 Responses

Oliver@rafting cagayan de oro says:

November 28, 2011 at 12:10 am

Your rafting adventure is quite nice. Love to travel from different rafting sites so I could experience other types of rafting climates.
Oliver@rafting cagayan de oro recently posted..1st Rafting Adventure ties up with Phylum

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1. Gareth says:
  
  December 6, 2011 at 1:03 pm
  
  Thanks Oliver, it was a blast. I’ve been a few times around the States and Canada, but this was definitely the most picturesque rafting experience of my life.
  
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Banos Ecuador says:

December 3, 2011 at 6:27 pm

Nice photos of Banos Ecuador, we manage a tourist directory for Baños and we were doing some online research today, we found your blog and we were nicely impressed by the nice pictures you managed to take while visiting Banos.. Well done!
Most of your pictures are inspirational to me, I loved the rafting photos too! I am very happy that you enjoyed yourself when visiting us here..

Would love to hear from you back in our site if you have the time.

Maurice

Reply
1. Gareth says:
  
  December 6, 2011 at 1:06 pm
  
  Thanks for the kind words Maurice and thank YOU Banos Ecuador for the memories. ; )
  
  Reply
Jesse Hines says:

May 26, 2014 at 4:38 pm

Hey Gareth! Love the photos! I’m currently living in Quito, Ecuador for 10 weeks with a family! Over the next 6 weekends, I’m going to travel to a few different places with the other student that is living here with me! One of them is Baños! I wanted to know if you have any suggestions of what to do while I’m there for a short weekend. I’m always down for an adventure and love to get my adrenaline rushing! Thank you!!

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