Day 4
We had a busy day planned with visits to :
- Quilotoa crater lake
- Tigua
- Pujili
- Swing at the End of the World
We were out of our Latacunga hotel by 7am, driving to Quilotoa crater lake. The landscape on the way to Quilotoa was breathtaking. Look out for the following :
- Farmlands on the Andes mountain
- Condor Matzi – a rock with a story.
- Toachi canyon
Farmlands on the Andes mountain – It was amazing to find farmlands on the slopes of Andes mountain. Apparently they grow all kinds of vegetables including potato, beans, onions, garlic, spinach, corn and more. The surprising fact was, the farmers walk up/down the mountain to tend the farm. Ecuador being at an elevation, it must be a lot of hard work climbing up and down the mountains day-in and day-out to keep these farms going.
The Condor Matzi (condor nest) – The rock has a romantic story about how a condor saw a beautiful young girl who was sheep grazing and fell in love with her. The condor stole the poncho of a sleeping shepherd pretending to be a human and carried the shepherdess on his wings. She felt the freedom of the heavens and fell in love with the condor. They went together to the nest and the condor ended up turning the young girl into a condor. You can see this rock for a few miles on your way to Quilotoa crater lake from various angles.
Toachi canyon – This was a small canyon but it is worth a 10 min stop for a quick peek and photo op. There were sheep grazing in the canyon.
Laguna Quilotoa – This wonderful lagoon of volcanic origin is famous for its turquoise waters and is surrounded by typical Andean moor vegetation. The Shalalá viewpoint is 3,900 meters above sea level is the perfect place to get a great picture of the Quilotoa crater and lagoon. There is a path to walk down to the lake, which is quite steep and slippery and around the lake you can rent a Kayak during the summer. Walking around the Quilotoa Lagoon is another great activity.
On the way back from Quilotoa we stopped at a art gallery in Tigua. Tigua is a small community located very close to the Quilotoa Lagoon, on the Pujilí – La Maná road. Local artisans are renowned for their colorful paintings of rural life. They use chicken feather brushes to paint on sheep hide and pine wood masks.
Pujili – We stopped in this town and spent about an hour here. We first went around the colorfully decorated main square. The trees had colorful earrings and the trunks were painted beautifully. We also climbed the many steps of the town’s colorful yellow and blue staircase. The view of the town from the top was amazing. Pujili town has a very traditional market on Sundays, where the indigenous people from the surrounding mountain regions gather to sell clothes, pottery, ceramic etc.
We were then on our way to Banos which is about 2 hour drive from Pujili. Banos is known as the gateway to the Amazon as it is the last city located in the mountain region before reaching the jungle and towns located in the Amazon river basin. We reached Banos after 2pm and had lunch in a cafe near the city square. The main square in the town of Banos is dominated by a magnificent Basilica, the Virgin of the Holy Water.
We walked around the town and came across a waterfall at the center of the town.
Our guide then drove us to the “Swing at the End of the World”. The swing is located at La Casa del Arbol in Banos. You can swing over a cliff edge with beautiful scenery of rolling hills and Tungurahua volcano in the background. The volcano was unfortunately under cloud cover throughout the 2 days we were there. We got to see a portion of it one of the evenings.
Day 5
Diego, our tour guide had planned another busy day for us.
- Hike in Hola Vida Reserve
- Visit to 3 waterfalls
We started off as early as 7am driving all the way to Puyo which is in the Amazon region. The route from Banos to Puyo is about 2 hours and is also called the waterfalls route and was quite scenic with clouds floating in the gorge.
Our activity is Puyo involved a 1-2 hour hike to a waterfall in Hola Vida Reserve. We first stopped in the town of Puyo to meet the Hola Vida Reserve guide who was going to take us into the rain forest. He also provided us with rain boots for the hike. Once we were in the rainforest, our first stop was in front of a plant used to make the famous Panama hats. The guide showed us how to make a crown with leaves of the plant.
As we hiked the guide showed us many plants and trees whose sap/leaves/fruits/seeds are used for medicinal purpose.
We finally reached the beautiful waterfall which creates a pool at the bottom where you can take a dip in the cold water if you came prepared with a swim suit.
We then visited an Indigenous Kichwa Community who entertained us with their music and dance which was followed by lunch at an Indigenous Kichwa community kitchen.
Waterfalls – The many Baños waterfalls are located on the Pastaza River or on smaller tributary rivers running directly into it. We stopped by 3 of the waterfalls, on the way back to Banos.
CASCADA EL PAILON – At 80 meters, Pailon del Diablo Waterfall is the highest waterfall in Ecuador. It is a 15 min walk to the falls from the parking lot. The path to the falls is a combination of stairs, suspension bridge and lookouts all carved into the cliffsides and very well done. You will get a little wet as the stairs are close to the falls.
Cascade el Manto de La Novia – This waterfall is across a canyon and can be seen from the parking lot near a cable car station. We took the cable car across the canyon to view the falls. The open cable car pauses for a few minutes over the falls before coming back and pausing for a few minutes over the canyon. The waterfall is beautiful and the cable car ride was a fun way to get a closer view of the falls.
Agoyan – This waterfall which flows into Pastaza river, can be seen from the road and is also across a canyon. We stopped briefly at the parking lot to admire and take pictures of the fall. It is part of the hydroelectric sources of Ecuador.
Banos is a cute town and it is nice to take a walk around the town. There were a few good restaurants and we found one that served great Mexican vegetarian food. The hotel we stayed in was centrally located and comfortable. We had to do a bit of laundry here and the hotel charged us a mere $2/kg of clothes!