Banos

After spending 4 days in the Amazon it was time to move onto my next destination, Banos. It took 4 hours to get there via coach from Tena and this is where I would be spending the next 2 nights. Of course after being in the jungle the first thing I wanted to do when I arrived in Banos was to have a warm shower, wash my hair (it had been 5 days!), do some washing then go out and explore! 

Banos is known as the ‘adrenaline junkies paradise’ of Ecuador with lots of activities to get involved in from ziplining, rock climbing to paragliding. I wasn’t really feeling up to doing many adrenaline activities so a small group of us took a local bus to the top of the mountain and paid a visit to the famous Casa del Arbol or as some people call ‘the swing at the edge of the world’. I had read online the history behind it and found out the treehouse and swing was originally built by a man for his son. Nowadays, it is a tourist hot spot where many people go to have a photo where it looks like they are swinging of the edge of the cliff! There are many other swings and zip lines you can go on at the top of the mountain but for me I think the Casa del Arbol is the best. 

Another popular thing to do in Banos is to go to the natural hot springs. I’d looked online and there are about 8 different places you can do it in Banos, as the town is so close to many volcanoes. Lonelyplanet did a good review on one called ‘El Salado’ so I went with that one. It is apparently where the locals all go and after my visit I can confirm this is true - we were the only tourists there! It was about a 40 minute uphill walk there from the centre of Banos or a $2 taxi, so obviously we went with the taxi option! When we arrived there we were told to buy/rent swimming hats and shower before we entered the pools to help keep them clean. There was 6 different pools varying in temperatures and you could also go for a swim in the river which ran next to the hot springs. 

Banos is a really small town, you can literally walk from one side to the other in about 10 minutes. I went for a wander around to try a famous freakshake, check out some of the street art and to see the local market - I bought my first souvenir since being in South America, a shot glass of course! I collect them from every country I visit so after travelling I’m going to have a huge collection! 

I also managed to check out the nightlife in Banos on both nights, which wasn’t the best decision on the 2nd night as I woke up with a terrible hangover and I had a nearly 9 hour coach ride to my next destination! But it was fun night! Nearly every bar offered a free shot to get you into the bar, which obviously was hard to decline! 

I have 3 more nights in Ecuador before heading to Peru on Sunday. I can’t believe I’ve been in South America for over 1 week already!