2 days of luxury and culture in Baños, Ecuador /

Right in the center of the Ecuadorian Andes we find the province of Tungurahua, known for its dramatic landscapes, the famous Llanganates and also for the Tungurahua Volcano, which gives the province its name. On the slopes of these volcanoes, a small town called Baños de Agua Santa is the most visited destination by international tourists on their tours of the Avenue of the Volcanoes.

Baños is known for its waterfall route and adventure sports that can be practiced in the surrounding areas. Tungurahua, in addition to waterfalls and adventure sports, has great tourism offerings for the community as the region is influenced by traditions and culture of various indigenous nations.

In this article I will show you how to combine luxury and community tourism in the heart and center of Ecuador. This small route can be included in any tailor-made tour you want to organize through the Avenue of the Volcanoes in the Ecuadorian Andes.

Community of Salasaca

A few kilometers east of the town of Ambato, on the road to Baños de Agua Santa, we find another interesting destination, Salasaca, a small village at the foot of the Tungurahua volcano.

You can reach Salasaca from Quito in a two and a half hour journey by private vehicle. You can also reach this city on a tailor-made tour after visiting Cotopaxi National Park or Chimborazo Nature Reserve, both majestic volcanoes worth visiting for a few days on your trip through mainland Ecuador.

Finally, if you decide to book a tour to the community of Salasaca, you will experience a cultural exchange with an indigenous Andean family. You can learn the sowing and harvesting system based on the indigenous worldview; you will also have the chance to participate in traditional rituals of ancestral medicine, as well as to observe and participate in the process of making traditional clothes: ponchos, anacos, vaetas (fachalina) and girdles.

Later, you can taste the delicious local gastronomy and participate in the ancestral festivities while putting your artistic skills into practice by making handicrafts typical of the place.

*You can take home a homemade souvenir (with the help of the community members).

Finally, you can rest in an inn with ancestral architecture, far from city noise, under a unique climate, while enjoying the exotic flora and fauna around Salasaca. After this tour, your transportation can take you to Baños de Agua Santa, where you will spend the night in one of the area’s most luxurious properties: Samari Hotel.

Samari Hotel & Spa

This beautiful property used to be a Jesuit monastery with over 300 years of history. During the renovation, this place has preserved the old colonial structure of the building, made of carved stone and combined with wood and wrought iron.

It has 4 acres of beautiful gardens for you to explore on your own. When you walk through the gardens, you can find several pieces of art created by some of the best artists in Ecuador, giving the property a rustic feel surrounded by nature. This renowned 18th-century building features an interior art gallery with religious pieces dating back more than 300 years. You can wander through this art gallery before heading to the hotel’s spa.

At the spa, you can choose between different massage and aromatherapy treatments designed for your well-being. You can also book a circuit through the hot and cold water baths and sauna. An indoor pool is the main feature of the hotel’s spa.

Thanks to its privileged location, right in the town of Baños de Agua Santa, you can walk to some of the available restaurants.

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Banos de Agua Santa

After waking up at the Samari Hotel, enjoy a great breakfast buffet and then take one of the available tours or experiences offered in Baños de Agua Santa.

The Ecuadorian cloud forest is a magical ecosystem with a biodiversity comparable only to the Amazon jungle and has a very interesting geography, including canyons, waterfalls, remote lakes, rivers and hundreds of microclimates populated by a wide variety of animal species. To put this in perspective, Ecuador’s cloud forest is home to more bird species than all of North America combined.

Ecuador’s cloud forest also offers great conditions to practice numerous adventure sports such as waterfall rappelling (i.e. canyoning), rafting, canopying, mountain biking, hiking and many more activities.

I highly recommend the waterfall route if you are traveling alone. Traveling on a tailor-made tour, handcrafted by a tour operator, you will have a private guide to take you to some of the main attractions. You can take the opportunity to visit one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on our planet: the Andean cloud forest.

A well-tailored itinerary takes you into the jungle to see the many waterfalls that flow into the Pastaza River canyon, which is a whopping 300 meters deep. You will stop at the most famous waterfalls before reaching our destination in the Parroquia Rio Verde, and you will cross the gorge by cable car, for a spectacular and panoramic view of the gorge and a closer look at Manto de la Novia, a very high waterfall on the other side of the canyon. Once in Rio Verde, you will walk for about 15 minutes on a path that goes through the cloud forest and ends in one of the most amazing wonders of nature: el ³Pailon del Diablo´ (The Devil’s Cauldron). The Pailon is a huge waterfall falling into a large cauldron of rocks formed by the force of the falling water. For the more adventurous there is a small tunnel carved into the rock through which you can reach the back of the waterfall, but this is a wet adventure due to the splashing water.

After lunch, your guide can take you to the swing at the end of the world for a panoramic view of Tungurahua Volcano where you can take amazing photos. On the way to this place, you can stop in several viewpoints to view Baños from above.

After a full day of activities in Baños de Agua Santa, your guide will drive to your next destination in mainland Ecuador.

Carlos Beate is the commercial manager at Andando Tours. Andando Tours offers exclusive travel experiences, specializing in sailing around the Galapagos Islands and overland along the beautiful Avenue of Volcanoes in the Ecuadorian Andes.

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