Sep 1980

Baños is nestled between the Río Pastaza and the Tungurahua volcano, 8 km from its crater. It is a four hour journey from Quito by bus. Baños is a small town always full of bustling tourists looking for a nice temperate weather, exciting trips and expeditions around the area. There is an abundance of cafés, restaurants and hotels; most of them centrally located. It is an easy place to get around with several attractions and activities such as: hotsprings, trekking, horseback riding, climbing, mountain biking, rafting, etc.

This town has always been threatened by the Tunguragua volcano. Tungurahua volcano towers over the town lying around 8 km from the crater. After 8 decades of being dormant in 1999 the area had to be completely evacuated due to the promise of a major eruption in Oct-Dec of that year. During this time the volcano spewed ash and began steaming however, by October of 2000 most residents had moved back to their homes and the tourists began venturing back to this delightful spot as the Ambato-Baños-Puyo road was reopened to traffic and the military activity control diminished despite scientists reports that activity had not disappeared completely.

Life therefore returned to normal here but the Volcanologists are still there monitoring daily activity.