Baños de Agua Santa, a central highland town just 4-hour bus ride south of Quito, has something to offer for everyone. For those seeking the serene beauty of Mother Nature, there are the beautiful landscapes of cloud-covered mountains, green valleys, rivers and strong cascading waterfalls. For the more aggressive outdoor adventure enthusiasts, there is a plethora of activities like horseback-riding, canyoning, mountain-biking, bungee-jumping, white-water rafting, trekking and mountain-climbing to choose from. In between the two, there are the hot spring baths or chiva tours to engage in as well. The wonderful thing about this small town of population 12,000 is, despite the flocks of tourists, it has a buzzing life of its own, set against the backdrop of an active volcano (Volcan Tungurahua, elevation 5,016 m or 16,457 ft).
Here, I relaxed and reinvigorated my tired muscles in a hot thermal bath at Piscina de La Virgen, hiked a short trail to the Mirador de La Virgen del Agua Santa for a view of the town from atop, and mountain-biked the Avenue of the Waterfalls to catch the splendid falls. I definitely got my outdoor fix here at Baños – and yes, this place is definitely MUCH better than Rancho (my backyard preserve back in the Bay Area)!
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