Banos
Starting the Day
The tour to Baños is a long day, but there are a lot of stops and stuff to do. It starts around 6AM and you don't get back until around 9PM.
You'll head south down the Pan-American Highway. Every tour I've been that goes on this road loves to tell you about this: "The longest road in the world, goes from Argentina all the way to Alaska." Except it really doesn't. It cuts off at the Darién Gap, a section of mountains between Colombia and Panama. And I never really understood how a long road is a flex. Pretty much all roads are just one connected piece of concrete. Anyway, just say "wow" when any guide tells you this.
About at the halfway mark, we stopped to get some breakfast at a gas station/diner. They had some super friendly stray dogs there and a nice little grift running. The store sold small bags of dog food to feed them. I fell for this, of course. But one of the dogs even followed me into the diner and napped at my feet as I had breakfast.
After that, it is back on the Pan-American Highway to La Casa del Árbol, The Treehouse.
The goodest boy in Ecuador
This wasn't the only swing but probably the one with the best view and longest rope.
Casa del Arbol
This stop is essentially a garden at the top of a mountain. It is pretty cool, but when we went, it was like being in a cloud. We couldn't see any of the views. This was the first stop on our route, but I think some tours do it last. If we weren't here so early, I'm sure the fog would have lifted. Personally, I still thought it was cool. Kind of eerie, but still a little magical.
There is a treehouse with a huge swing attached to it that lets you swing out over the mountain (or the gray unknown). There is a cute garden to walk through and a few photo opportunities with fairy wings that the girls love to take pics in front of. They also had these weird things that I had never seen before. I thought they were kind of "hi-tech" for a low-budget site (not really hi-tech, just the only machine there). It was a thing you put a dollar in and placed your camera on a little stand, then it spins around and takes a video... I guess... I had never seen one of them before, but I saw a lot more of them in South America later. Maybe I'm a cynic, but I figured you could do the same thing by just spinning in a circle, but I guess this frees up your hands to make heart symbols or throw up gang signs.
From here, we did the "extreme sports" section of the tour and stopped at two different places. I'm not going to say this was a "bait and switch" because the person who sold me this tour did say there was an extra cost for this, but it wasn't advertised as having an extra cost. To clarify, the ad for the tour shows the cost and these activities, but it doesn't say "not included". Each activity was $25. Not that bad, but it almost doubles the cost of the tour if you do them all.
The first one we did was zip-lining. This we voted on as a group because there were two zip-line options or a rappelling option. That actually looked fun as fuck, because you get the chance to do it down a waterfall, but you do get soaked, so we didn't do that. The two zip-lining options looked about the same, just different views or something. We just picked what the guide recommended. All three options were $25 apiece.
It was the first time I had ever been zip-lining, and it was cool. They strap you in different ways for the lines, so for some, you can fly like Superman or hang upside down like Spider-Man. We did 6 different lines, and it was a semi-challenging hike to each one.
These types of signs are all over Latin America. Since I live out of a suitcase and don't have much room for souvenirs, I collect pics of these. They are called Letras Turísticas, or Tourist Letters. Even tiny villages will have these brightly colored pieces of artwork.
One of the ziplines we went on. Some were much higher.
For the "extreme sports" section, we went to what was like a mini amusement park. It is set on a huge gorge and they offer several ways to cross it...for a fee, of course. They have a setup with bicycles on a tightrope where you can bike across it. There are some counterweights that keep the bike upright and you pedal. There is also a bridge with gaps you can jump across. You are harnessed in for all of this of course. I didn't do either of those, but I think every activity was $25.
Then they have what they called "bungee jumping". I've never really had an interest in bungee jumping; the stopping and yanking never appealed to me so I wasn't going to do this. But it is actually more like a giant swing. They harness you up and you jump off a bridge, but it isn't straight down and then straight up. You swing in a giant arc like a pendulum, and then they reel you up. You feel like a goddamn tea bag dangling there.
If you don't participate in the zip-lining, I imagine it'll be pretty boring hanging out in the office of the place, but if you don't want to do anything at the park, it isn't as bad. There are a few shops, a café, and some short trails to explore. Also, the whole gorge is a hell of a good photo opportunity.
Rio Pastaza near Banos
It was actually pretty peaceful.
Just past the entrance to Pailon del Diablo
Pailon del Diablo; The Devil's Cauldron
After a quick lunch, it's time for the main event. The Devil's Cauldron. It is a very aptly named place. The whole area is just a roaring pit that you do not want to fall into. The whole place gave me an uneasy feeling...like "Oh shit, I hope I don't get one of those call of the void feelings here". I'm not saying it isn't a safe place. It is very safe; the whole place just has your flight response on edge, and I'm not even really scared of heights.
You'll start off with a calm walk next to a roaring river, then a small waterfall that empties into a huge bubbling pit. I thought that was the Cauldron, but nope. We were just getting started.
While it seems high, it isn't a hard hike whatsoever. You kind of already start in the middle, and you stop a lot along the way for pictures and such.
The path also takes you behind the falls, where it is deafening and pretty damn hard to stay dry.
260 ft (80 m). It is not the tallest waterfall by any means, but the sheer volume of water forced through such a small area creates an incredibly violent drop.
One of the many videos and pictures I have taken that just doesn't do a place justice.
This is where that family from A Quiet Place should have lived.
I would have named this bubbling pot of stew the Cauldron
Valle Hermoso
You can fit 10, maybe 12 people in that basket...
One of the things that makes this memorable is the path up and the stairs carved into the cliffs. You can really see it from all angles.
Wrapping Up the Day
After this, there will be just two more quick stops to wrap up the day. As you head back, you will stop at a cable car that goes across another gorge.
This was a fun/scary ride. The cable car moves pretty fast, so it's a quick thrill, but the entire van of people piles onto this very wobbly car. I'm sure there is no danger of it tipping, but every move any person makes, the whole car feels. It is a quick 10-minute stop to take some photos across the gorge.
Then, on the way out of town, you will stop at a mirador, or lookout, near the town of Pelileo to get a great photo of Valle Hermoso.
After that, I hope you are one of those people who can sleep in cars, because you get to settle in for the 3.5-hour ride back to Quito.
Does have some nice views at sunset. I think some tour groups do this first, but it was one of our last stops.