Archive for the ‘Banos’ Category
- In: Banos | Ecuador Travelogue | Hike | Tourism | Tungurahua
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On the way back we stopped at one of the waterfalls along the route of waterfalls. This waterfalls had a cable car that took people across the valley and adventurous ones could also canopy back across the valley. So we took the cable car and about seven of us decided to canopy back.
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| The waterfalls. |
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| The cable car ride |
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| The panorama around the waterfalls. |
After that we returned back to Vrindavan. Here some of us decided to take a bath in the waterfalls that was nearby and two of trekked with the ISCKONites along the hills beyond the waterfalls. It was quite some hike. It started raining and so we could not capture any photographs of the trail that we took. To say that least some parts were quite treacherous. But it was fun nevertheless. We came down the hill and went to the river that flows behind Vrindavan. Here we had our bath in practically freezing cold water. It was a pleasant experience.
Got to see a spider in its web at the entrance of Vrindavan and saw a stick insect crawling its way under the idol of Lord Shiva.
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| The spider that posed for me |
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| The willing spider |
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| One of the croton that were abundant in the area |
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| The waterfalls where some people had their bath |
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| The Stick Insect |
One way back to Quito, after a late lunch, we had another glimpse of fuming Tungurahua.
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| The Tungurahua |
A week after our visit Tungurahua was in full flow and was gurgling and regurgitating boulders from its mouth and it spewed ash clouds to a height of 10 KM.
- In: Banos | Ecuador Travelogue | ISKCON | Tourism | Vrindavan
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At Vrindavan we rested a bit and then towards the evening we left for the city of Banos to see the Church.
Some flora at Vrindavan to get an idea of the beauty of the place.
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| A waterfalls in front of Vrindavan |
The only place in Ecuador where one can find an idol of Lord Shiva, just outside Vrindavan.
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| Lord Shiva at Vrindavan |
A stick insect.
Vridavan is situated amidst the Amazonian forest, albeit in the outskirts. It has a river running behind and one can hear the sound of the water flowing through the night. It is a very pleasant sound.
The Church
The Church is situated at the heart of the town. And this is the view at night.
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| The Roof of the Church |
After visiting the Church we retired for the day to Vrindavan.
Banos in Spanish means bathroom and this place is called so because of the presence of Hot water springs in the town. The actual name is Banos de Agua Santa, mean bathroom of Holy Water.
On the way one cannot miss the angry Tungarahua. The story local goes that Cotopaxi is a male volcano and Tungurahua is a female. Once Tungurahua proposed to Cotopaxi and the proposal was rejected. From them on Tungurahua is angry and keeps spewing smoke and ash every once in a while.
The day we reached was one of those days when Tungurahua had decided to vent her anger. It was raining ash dust and the vehicles were caked with this fine dust. This dust is tricky and if one breathes too much of it, it can lead to respiratory problems.
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| Tungurahua in action |
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| Tungurahua in action | T |
Some flora on the way to Banos
The first stop was Pailón Del Diablo, the Devil’s Cauldron. This is a waterfalls which falls from a height into a gorge. The name is apt for the waterfalls. The water falls with a great force and the water splashes in the gorge with great force.
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| The Waterfalls |
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| The Swirling Waters in the Gorge |
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| A panorama of Devil’s Cauldron |
There are three terraces that have been constructed in front of the waterfalls for people to watch the action. At the lowermost balcony one can hardly avoid getting wet. Also there is a tunnel that has been dug alongside the hill through which one can walk close to the top of the falls and here if one wishes one can have a nice drenching bath.
Some videos of the waterfalls.
A sign that greeted us as we entered the winding trail that leads to the Waterfalls read “Be prepared to see sights which will make you believe God exists”.
And one does get this feeling as one walks along the trail leading to the Waterfalls.
Here are some sights that one comes across along the trail.
Peeled sweetlimes.
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| Peeled Sweet Limes, although they are more sour than sweet. |
See how these sweet limes are peeled.
A tour bus that goes through the waterfalls route. All along the route one can see one waterfalls after another and it ends in the Devil’s Cauldron.
A cartoon on a tour bus.
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| The Caption reads, “This is Life” |
This was taken through the window of our bus and if you notice you can see the ash deposited on the glass from the rain water.
After the visit to the Devil’s Cauldron we retired to our hotel called Vrindavan which is run by the ISKCON in Ecuador.
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