Losing Ourselves in the Streets of Baños de Agua Santa
Arriving in a new travel home is always an exciting time. There are new sights to see, new shops to find, new restaurants to visit, new people to meet, and a new atmosphere to appreciate in each place we land. And we have to admit, the vibe in Baños de Agua Santa is pretty cool.
Touristy, but easy to escape if you want. Small, but not too small to entertain. Modern, but still very connected to the natural environment. Bottom line, we really like the place!
So let us take you on a meandering tour around the streets of Baños de Agua Santa so you can see what we see!
A TTT Wanderer’s Guide to the Streets of Baños de Agua Santa:
- The Town Layout
- The Tourist Zone
- The Food
- Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Agua Santa de Baños
- The Thermal Baths
- Parque Central
- The Public Markets
- Easy Hiking Access
- Final Thoughts
The Town Layout
The town of Baños de Agua Santa is not very large, laid out as a 10 x 6 grid of streets, more or less. And the town is extremely walkable from end to end, presuming a normal level of fitness.
But this isn’t to imply that the town is sleepy. The opposite in fact!
Generally speaking, the further east you walk, the more touristy the town becomes. We enjoy visiting the touristy aspects of a place but prefer to escape the noise (and higher prices) once we are done looking around.
So the fact that our Airbnb is located in the southwest part of town is ideal for us.
It is quiet in our area. More locals live here, so there are cheaper basic shopping and eating opportunities than in the more touristy parts. And we have easy access to several hiking trails too!
Last, Baños de Agua Santa has a very safe feel on the streets, both day and night. Of course, you need to practice common-sense levels of personal safety and self-awareness. But walking around at night is a much safer activity here than in Quito for sure.
The Tourist Zone
When you descend into the middle of the town from the west, activity (and traffic) picks up gradually.
In the distance, you see signs for various theme parks in the hills…
As well as waterfalls in the direction of the thermal baths.
In this area, hostels, shops, and restaurants catering to tourists abound!
And there is some pretty cool street art too.
But honestly, the level of tourism here pales in comparison to places we’ve been in the United States. Pigeon Forge, Tennesee and Panama City Beach, Florida are the most oppressive USA tourism-gone-wild examples that come to mind.
Based on that standard, the level of tourism in Baños de Agua Santa is downright quaint. And that is a very good thing.
Last, we have to give props to the street vendors of Ecuador that cater to tourism. Unlike pretty much every other Latin American country we have toured, Ecuadorian street vendors are MUCH less aggressive. Meaning, they’ll try to get you to buy something, but will respect your answer if you say no.
In other countries we have been to, the vendors will repeatedly harass you to try to make a sale! And that has the opposite effect on us.
The Food
Baños de Agua Santa has many types of restaurants here, representing local and international cuisines. And generally speaking, you’ll pay for the privilege of eating at the more international restaurants.
But there is good value to be had.
Eating more local will earn you more value, at $2.50 – $4 USD for lunch plates in the public markets.
Our favorite international restaurant (so far), Restaurante México de mis Sabores, serves Mexican cuisine…
With high-quality taco and burrito dishes averaging around $6 USD per plate. Good value if you are eating here for dinner!
But sadly, Canadian cuisine is completely absent in Baños de Agua Santa. 🙂
Santuario y Basílica Católica
One of the more visible icons of Baños de Agua Santa is the Santuario y Basílica Católica bordering Parque la Basilica.
The park here is extremely touristy, with many vendors selling their wares along the perimeter.
So much religious iconography for sale. Jesus is big business here apparently!
The Thermal Baths
Obviously, the thermal baths of Baños de Agua Santa are a major draw, as the town is named for them!
The most popular with tourists, Termas de la Virgen is in the extremely busy east end of town.
But another, Termas El Salado, is on the west end, technically part of the town of San Martin. But since we live on the west edge of Baños de Agua Santa, it is an easy walk from our Airbnb.
Prices for both places are reasonable at $4 USD per adult, but you have to make sure to bring your own towel, bathing suit, sandals, and bathing cap! Otherwise, you’ll need to rent them from each facility.
We haven’t indulged ourselves in the baths yet, but we will soon!
Parque Central
The grounds of Parque Central are absolutely beautiful and are in the final stages of renovation.
Numerous places to sit and relax, and the surrounding square has many banks, shops, and higher-end restaurants available.
The Public Markets
We love public markets.
These are usually the best places to get the best deals on lunch and produce, so long as you are comfortable doing business in Spanish!
And in Baños de Agua Santa there are two.
The first is Baños Central Market in the more touristy center of town.
Although we have yet to purchase meat or produce here, this is our favorite place to find cheap lunches.
6 empanadas for $1 USD? Seriously?
The second market, most favored by locals, is in the east part of town, well away from the tourist area. But really close to our Airbnb! 🙂
The best times to go for produce are on Friday and Sunday (especially Sunday). This place has the best reputation for the best prices on organic produce, and the variety on market days is staggering!
Look at what we bought on Sunday morning for $3.50 USD.
Easy Hiking Access
And if all this wasn’t enough to entertain you in town, Baños de Agua Santa has a network of trails leading up and down the mountains and volcanoes nearby.
But these are Swiss Alps-level hikes so your legs need to be up for the challenge!
Here is a link to the detailed PDF of the local trail network, several of which are really close to our Airbnb!
Here is a low-res version of part of the map:
Thankfully for us, we just spent a month living at 3,000 meters altitude in Quito, Ecuador. So our blood hematocrit levels are primed.
And then we did crazy hikes at much higher altitudes climbing Cumbre Rucu Pichincha and Cotopaxi, so our bodies were able to adapt to altitude and incline even further.
So we are actually as well trained for the Baños de Agua Santa trails as we will ever be.
We’ll post about our hiking misadventures soon!
Final Thoughts
Baños de Agua Santa is our kind of place.
Small town feel with lots of activities, both within and outside. And we haven’t even mentioned the multiple national parks that are nearby!
We think we will really like it here and will be a good decompression after that last month of city life in Quito, Ecuador!
Hopefully, we’ll have enough free time to blog about everything we do!
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
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