In Ecuador, there is a sanctuary for those who enjoy adventure tourism. It is located in the Tungurahua Province, at the feet of the Tungurahua Volcano. The place is called "Baños de Agua Santa" (The Holy Water Baths), a village that offers visitors a tour through the famous Waterfalls Route: a 16km (almost 10 miles) route including several waterfalls and tunnels, a cable railway ride, suspension bridges and narrow paths. The route leads to the jungle’s heart, where one of the world’s 10 most beautiful waterfalls is found: the Pailón del Diablo (Devil’s Cauldron).
The route is usually done by bike or quad, although it can also be done by car. There are seven other waterfalls along the way, whose white waters contrast beautifully with the green vegetation. Visitors take a break at the third waterfall called the Manto de la Novia (the Bride’s Veil), located facing a precipice. There, visitors can take a ride on the tarabita, an old kind of cable railway that makes a 100m (328ft) tour to the other side of the precipice, passing right over the waterfall: an experience you just can’t miss!
After the 16 km route, all vehicles must be left at the Hortensias Restaurant and the final, 1km (0.6mi) path must be done by foot. Arriving to the Pailón del Diablo, a slight climate change can be perceived, since the path takes visitors away from the Andean cold weather and closer to the warmth and humidity of the Amazonian region. Visitors walk through the jungle until arriving to a long suspension bridge, from which the power of the great Pailón del Diablo waterfall can already be felt. The final stop is at the Otro Lado Restaurant, which has a path that allows watching from a short distance the powerful waters plunging from an altitude of more than 100m (328ft).
In this tour, Nature offers us a great spectacle made up by the deafening fury of the water crashing into a black giant rock known as the Diablo; the water splashing everywhere; the smell of wet earth that invades the place; the wind desperately blowing and the fascinating vegetation that envelopes the scene in green, all of these providing an adventure that makes visitors want to go back every year. The Waterfalls Route is a unique experience that will awake all your senses.
Photo: RevThom's Sabbatical Blog
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