Galápagos

Regions

Baños lies in the heart of Ecuador, close to the rainforest and surrounded by majestic mountains. On the three-hour drive from Quito, you can admire the magnificent and famous Avenue of the Volcanoes, with Cotopaxi, a perfect cone of eternal snow; Chimborazo, the furthest peak away from the earth's center and Tungurahua, probably the easiest volcano to climb in Ecuador.

After a long day of bargaining or climbing, you can unwind in the nearby hotspring baths of Baños, a town situated in a valley of eternal spring. Baños is also one of the gateways to the Amazon -- albeit down a hairsplitting eye-popping road. Also easily accessed from Baños is Riobamba, the starting point of the exhilarating train ride down the "Devil's Nose". Thrill-seekers can ride rooftop, which is the ideal place to watch the bucolic landscape roll by.

Baños is a place for relaxing while enjoying the therapeutic hot springs, unspoiled green surroundings and breathtaking waterfalls. The town's exceptional location offers a combination of colors and light that has inspired painters and poets alike. It is with good reason that artists such as Montalvo, León Vieira and Oscar Efren Reyes have been living in this pretty resort town for years. Today, several galleries offer painting and sculptures by talented local artists.

Baños's night life is certainly Ecuador's most exciting one: cinema, café theater, bars, discoteques, folkloric street music, etc...

Melcocha, Ecuador's most famous candy, comes from Baños. Made from sugar cane, hung from a hook and beaten against the door frame, this taffy is an integral part of the Baños landscape, and something of which the locals are proud.

Baños's Basílica Santuario de Baños, dominating the main square, was built with volcanic rock in the 1920s. It was constructed in the gothic style and contains illustrations of the miracles of the Virgin - a reflection of popular art. Since the Pope canonized the Virgin of the Holy Water in 1959, Baños has attracted visitors from all over Ecuador.