adventures in baños, ecuador

baños is known as the backpackers destination in ecuador

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and for good reason – this adventure town is filled with waterfalls, hot springs, hikes, SWINGS!, and many other adventures. after our peaceful weekend in cotopaxi national park we weren't sure if this backpacker town would be right for us, but knew that we had to see "the swing" and chill out for a few days. and was it worth it? 100% yes. that swing is good clean fun and we were all belly laughing and asking for another turn after turn. it might have been our timing, but it also wasn't packed with other tourists – we were the only people there for a good while and we got as many rides as we could in. 

want to see the swing?
 

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read more about casa del arbol here, and don't listen to any of the bad reviews – its a grand ol' time. 
 

planning a trip to baños? some other spots worth seeing:

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1. PAILON DEL DIABLO WATERFALL | also known as devil's cauldron, this waterfall on the rio pastaza is a tributary of the upper amazon river basin. it's a relatively easy hike down to the waterfall and back, but you should allow a few hours to soak in both the waterfall itself, as well as the immense hydrologic power churning through the gorge. after descending into the gorge from town, the trail winds toward the entrance, where for a small fee, they allow access to an otherworldly set of stairs carved into the cliffs adjacent to this huge waterfall.

2. CHECK OUT THE HOT SPRINGS | [if you're not weirded out by the freaky color] – we didn't get a chance to do this, but due to the town's name literally translating to bath, these healing waters are definitely something they're known for. 
3. CAFE HOOD | this restaurant + hostel combo is a must if you're planning to eat out in town. their food is healthy, delicious and unique, we found ourselves coming back multiple times for lunch & dinner 
4. LUNA RUNTUN OR HOTEL SAMARI | these two spots were a mini splurge for us {relatively}, but with their big pools, hot tubs, and comfy rooms – we were happy to pay a little extra to enjoy our only 2 nights spent in this little funky town. even if you don't stay at luna runtun, stop by their bar and restaurant for the a magical view over the town.
    

Y O U  M I G H T  A L S O  L I K E:

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exploring cotopaxi national park, ecuador

COTOPAXI VOLCANO, AT 19,390 ft IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN THE WORLD

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only an hour and a half drive from quito [ecuador's capital] lies one of the most unique and pure national parks we have visited. with the cotopaxi volcano being their centerpiece, the park's flora and fauna is mystically intriguing due to the very rich soil. we were able to see a lot of their diverse plants and pine vegetation, but sadly not enough of the native animals that live in the park other than the beautiful wild horses. also commonly found are wolves, pumas, bears, rabbits, condors, and foxes, or the extremely rare high altitude hummingbird that lives in the slopes of the volcano between 13,000 - 15,000 ft.

we checked into the hacienda el porvenir, a cozy spot tucked away just outside of the park. we spent our days here cozied up by the fire, drinking wine, wearing panchos, riding horses through the valley, exploring the park in our car and on foot, playing cards and enjoying the crisp mountain air. next time i would love to mountain bike down the dirt road from the base of the volcano which is offered by most local outfitters.

TAKING A DRIVE TO QUILOTOA LAKE

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on our final day in the park we woke up early and drove 3 hours to the stunning quilotoa lake. this is actually part of a bigger trail, the quilotoa loop, however we didn't have enough time to make the full trek. considering making the drive to the lake? we would 100% recommend it! not only is the lake itself actually breathtaking, but the countryside drive is stunning. do be aware that if the clouds come in, they will completely swallow the lake. we watched this happen before our eyes and had we arrived 20 minutes later, we would have missed it all. 

ecuador is a country that completely took us by surprise and somewhere i look forward to visiting again soon. so many volcanoes, beautiful beaches, alpine lakes, and the warmest of people.