Baños de Agua Santa

Baños lies where the central mountains meet the Amazon provinces, and people call it the "Gateway to the Amazon". Fewer than 20,000 people live here all year. On any day, the same number of visitors or more are in town.

Above the town stands Tungurahua, an active cone-shaped volcano 5,023 m high. It was very active from 1999 to 2016, and scientists have watched it closely ever since. Even when people were ordered to leave, the residents came back to their homes again and again.

Building started in 1904 and ended in 1944. The church is made of dark volcanic stone, so people call it "the Black Basilica".

Dozens of "ex-voto" paintings hang on the walls. These are thank-you paintings that show personal moments when someone was saved from danger. Each one has a description and a date.

The most famous waterfall in the area, on the Verde River where it flows into the Pastaza. The drop is estimated at about 80 m. It lands in a natural pool about 20 m deep.

People have called it "the Devil's Cauldron" (a big cooking pot) since at least the 1940s. One story says the name comes from a rock that looks like a face.

"The bride's veil" is a separate waterfall on the Route of the Waterfalls. The water drops about 40 m. The name describes a wide curtain of water that spreads out, unlike the wild power of Pailón del Diablo.

The tarabita is a cable car that crosses the Pastaza canyon. From it you get two views: the curtain of water close up on one side, and the open canyon on the other.

The "tree house" was built by Carlos Sánchez, a local electrician. He did not build it for tourists but to keep watch on the active volcano. He added the swing in 2006, so that his grandchildren would want to visit.

In 2014 someone photographed a visitor on the swing while Tungurahua was throwing out ash behind. The photo spread very fast online, and the place became famous around the world. How much you get from the visit depends on the weather and on whether you can see the volcano.