Baños de Agua Santa, better known as Baños, is a region in Ecuador’s Tungurahua province. Baños is considered as the adventure capital of Ecuador since it is the entry point to the Ecuadorian part of the Amazon, making Baños a popular tourist destination. Beautiful waterfalls and rivers, delicious cuisine, vibrant nightlife, extreme sports and the famous swing at the end of the world are some of the charms this area has to offer. For all adventure seekers, we are eager for you to discover this must-see location and would like to equip you with some useful information on how to get to Baños via different methods of transport.

Cover photo by Deutsch – hbieser

Baños is a city located at the foot of the majestic Tungurahua Volcano. It is 01h00 from the city of Ambato and 02h30 from the city of Quito. The distance between Quito and Baños is approximately 109 miles (175 km).

Baños is situated at 2690 feet (1.820 m) above sea level and bears a tropical, rainy climate. During the rainy season, the temperature ranges from a maximum of 75° F (24° C) to a minimum of 48° F (9° C). In summer however, the temperatures vary between a maximum of 82° F (28 °C) and a minimum of 59° F (15° C). The coldest months are July and August while the rainiest ones are February, March, April, October, November and December. Source: Dónde y cuándo ir, Clima y Tiempo.

If you are planning a trip to Baños, we reccommend you read what to do in Baños in 2 days, an article in which we reccommend the best activities to do in Ecuador’s adventure capital.

How to get from Quito to Baños

By bus

To get to Baños de Agua Santa from Quito Ecuador, take a bus from the Quitumbe Bus Terminal, located South of the city. There are bus companies whose final destination is Baños, and their buses leave every 15 minutes.

There are other bus companies that have various towns in the Amazonian region as their  final destination, and these will leave you at a bus stop on the side of the road. Since there are not many companies that travel at night, we recommend that you journey by day.

Another option is to first get to Ambato, the capital of the Tungurahua province, and from there take another bus. Buses to Baños run frequently and continuously, every 10 to 15 minutes. The bus journey from Ambato to Baños will take approximately 01h00.

Don’t forget that Baños de Agua Santa Bus Terminal is located very near to the main square, so if your accommodation is nearby you will not need to take an additional bus or taxi.

We would like to remind you to keep a watchful eye on your personal belongings at all times, whenever you take public transport. 

By car

If you are wondering how to get to Baños by car from Quito, take the Panamerican highway, Troncal de la Sierra / E35. During your jouney adhere to the following route Quito Alóag – Lasso – Paso Lateral de Latacunga y Salcedo – Pase Lateral de Ambato – Baños de Agua Santa. The car journey will take between 02h45 and 03h00, depending on the traffic.

Remember to stick to speed limits to avoid accidents and speeding fines.

If you would like to go to Baños by car but don’t want to drive, there is the option of going by semi-private transport which offers door to door service from Quito to Baños. There are various companies that offer this service, which we encourahe you to look into.

By plane

There is no airport in Baños de Agua Santa. The distance between Mariscal Sucre de Quito International Airport and Baños is approximately 130 miles (209 km) and the journey takes around 03h00 by road.

Baños Tours

The recommended way of getting to Baños is to take the Baños Tour offered by Quito Tour Bus. This is a simple, easy and fun way to get to know Baños and everything it has to offer tourists. Quito Tour Bus offers you 3 distinct tours, where you will discover Baños and its surrounding areas. Why not find out which will suit you best?

3 days 2 nights Cotopaxi and Baños

Quito – Cotopaxi- Quilotoa – Baños – Quito

This tour departs every day, very early in the morning and with no minimum number of passengers required. We will pick you up from your hotel or hostel. During this 3 days, 2 nights trip, visit Cotopaxi National Park, the wonderful Laguna del Quilotoa, and for 2 days and 1 night, discover the city of Baños.

Cotopaxi: While visiting Cotopaxi National Park, enjoy Cotopaxi volcano, one of the world’s highest active volcanoes and take a guided walk to Limpiopungo lagoon, an impressive lake formed by water from the surrounding glaciers, near to Cotopaxi volcano. Do a guided walk to José Rivas Refuge, the most popular base camp for those who plan to scale the volcano. 

Quilotoa: Afterwards, discover the beautiful Quilotoa Lagoon, famous for its turquoise colour in the caldera of an actice volcano. 

Baños: Once in Baños, you will be shown to “The swing at the end of the world” in La Casa del Árbol, from which you can see the epic mountain of the Tungurahua volcano. Take a bath in one of the relaxing natural thermal baths, visit the impressive Pailón del Diablo waterfall and travel over the Pastaza river by cable car, where you can enjoy panoramic views of waterfalls, mountains and stunning jungle landscapes. Optionally, pay a visit to the San Martín Adventure Park for some ziplining, canopy walks, rockclimbing, trekking and much more. 

You can find all the details about the baños tour in the following link: https://quitotourbus.com/tour-banos3-day-2-night-cotopaxi-and-banos

3 days 2 nights in Baños

Quito – Cotopaxi- Quilotoa – Baños – Quito

This tour departs every day, very early in the morning and with no minimum number of passengers required. We will pick you up from your hotel or hostel. This 3 day trip offers impressive views of Cotopaxi volcano, a visit to Quilotoa lagoon and 3 days, 2 nights in the adventure capital of Ecuador, Baños.

Cotopaxi: On the first day of the trip, while travelling from Quito to Baños, stop at the impressive Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador’s highest active volcano. 

Quilotoa: Afterwards, discover Quilotoa Lagoon, an incredible turquoise lake in the caldera of an active volcano.

Baños: Once in Baños, you will be shown to “The swing at the end of the world” in La Casa del Árbol, from which you can see the epic mountain of the Tungurahua volcano. Bathe in one of the relaxing natural thermal baths.

On the second day of this trip, visit the impressive Pailón del Diablo waterfall and travel over the Pastaza river by cable car, where you can enjoy panoramic views of waterfalls, mountains aswell as stunning jungle views. Optionally, pay a visit to the San Martín Adventure Park for some ziplining, canopy walks, rockclimbing, trekking and much more. 

Spend the third day of this tour, exploring Baños or participating in one of the exciting activities on offer. Options include: city tour, quadbike hire, canyoning, rafting and many more. 

Find all the details about this tour to baños on the following link:  https://quitotourbus.com/tour-banos3-day-2-night-to-banos

2 days 1 night in Baños

Quito – Cotopaxi – Quilotoa – Baños – Quito

This tour departs every day, very early in the morning and with no minimum number of passengers required. We will pick you up from your hotel or hostel. This 2 day trip offers impressive views of Cotopaxi volcano, a visit to Quilotoa lagoon and 2 days, 1 night in Baños, the adventure capital of Ecuador.

Cotopaxi: While travelling from Quito to Baños, stop at the impressive Cotopaxi Volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world.

Quilotoa: Within the Quilotoa community, enjoy views of Quilotoa Lagoon, an incredible turquoise lake inside the caldera of an actice volcano.

Baños: Once in Baños, board “The swing at the end of the world” in La Casa del Árbol, from which you can observe the epic mountain of the Tungurahua volcano. Enjoy a bath in one of the relaxing natural thermal baths.

On the second day of this tour, visit the impressive Pailón del Diablo waterfall and travel over the Pastaza river by cable car, where you can enjoy panoramic views of waterfalls, mountains aswell as stunning jungle views. Optionally, pay a visit to the San Martín Adventure Park for some ziplining, canopy walks, rockclimbing, trekking and much more. 

Find all the details about this tour to baños on the following link:https://quitotourbus.com/tour-banos2-day-1-night-to-banos-with-stops-in-cotopaxi-and-quilotoa

Leave everything in the hands of Quito Tour Bus! We are sure you will have a blast!