Baños de Agua Santa, or simply Baños, is a popular tourist town about three hours south of Quito. As it is situated in the mountains close to the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, it is the place to go in Ecuador for adventurous activities. We mainly went there for one activity: the “Swing at the End of the World,” which is a swing located on a mountain edge next to a steep hill.
The town of Baños itself is very charming and picturesque with lots of small shops, colorful parks, and lots of locals and tourists wandering around. It made for a nice stroll in search for cheap but quality local food.
The swing, or Casa del Arbol as the swing is officially called, is about 30 minutes outside of Baños. We decided to take the cheap (1$) public bus to the top of the mountain where Casa del Arbol is located. Once there, we had to wait a little before it was our turn to swing. The steep hill underneath the swing wasn’t that terrifying, but the guys who push the swing like to twist the rope around causing you to swing backwards: quite the adrenaline rush.
After taking the public bus back to town and enjoying some beers in the party street of Baños it was time to call it a day. The next morning we left the peacefulness of Baños behind and took the 7$ bus back to Quito.
