Back in March we went to a small town called Baños de Agua Santa about 3.5 hours from Quito. We stayed in Baños for 3 days and got the opportunity to see the entire city, do several hikes including the Ruta de las Cascadas, one of the most popular day-hikes. Ruta de las Cascadas is a waterfall route that takes you around the city where you are able to see 7 waterfalls that surround Baños. The path follows the road from Baños to the town of Puyo, along the Río Pastaza canyon.The trip ends at El Pailón del Diablo (The Devil's Cauldron) which is the pinnacle of the experience. To say it was spectacular is an understatement. I've seen many waterfalls but never ones with so much energy and so up-close & personal. There are several ways to see these waterfalls, we opted to take a tour bus and stopped at every waterfall along the route before hiking to El Pailón. The lush vegetation and non-stop mountain views made this trip unforgettable. After seeing so many waterfalls, you would think you would be done, but then you get to the hike where El Pailón is at and you begin the descend into a massive gorge, its hard to put into words how beautiful it is. The wildlife, vegetation and sounds and smells are unlike anywhere else. Arriving at El Pailón first impression is how massive it is, you are so close to it that its almost frightening. As you get closer, there is a small staircase almost carved into the rock, along with a little tunnel to crawl through on your hands and knees. It's definitely a bit claustrophobic, but then you’ll be met with the sight of this majestic waterfall, with the sounds of rushing water around you as it cascades into the pool with a crash way down below. There are several angles and viewpoints around this area, and we really enjoyed the ability to get so up close to the waterfall. It's loud, cold and you can't avoid getting wet, but this is what makes the experience so awesome.
Once we had your fill of the waterfall, we went to the suspension bridge nearby for more views of the area. This park is so gorgeous and made our visit to Baños incredible, it is everything that I had read about and more. Baños offers not just hikes but also canyoning, rafting, bungle jumping and so many other outdoor activities that it rightfully deserves its name as the 'adventure capital of South America'. Baños is a very unique city because its the last city before heading into the Amazon, but also the last larger city before making your way back to Quito, so you run into all kinds of interesting people. We met some really cool Americans while on this tour by pure coincidence. Later in the day, we ran into them again and spend the afternoon together having amazing conversations. Baños is definitely the perfect combo for outdoor adventure, great food and meeting new friends.
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